Goblessed

helps firms decide which segmentation strategy to use. These strategies may be based on purchasing behavior, consumer characteristics, lifestyle information, or other market information. Second the team must ask, ôwhich segment or segments does the health plan wish to target?ö The market research will provide objective information facilitating this decision. Most experts would agree that it is foolish to target a segment to which you do not now have a reasonably good fit (e.g. the GMC truck division pursuing a "green", hybrid-oriented segment). Finally, the fun begins. Once target segments have been decided on, there are at least seven ways to use segmentation. 1. Positioning. Take health care as an example. Most health plans offer multiple plans where premiums and access to branded drugs and providers differ. There are segments of the market willing to trade lower premiums for more restrictions on access. But other segments are not willing to make this trade. Market segme...

forth luxury. Currently, luxury leans more towards the innovative than the traditional. 3. There are more "out of class" purchases now, both upwards and downwards. The wealthy feel no obligation to always buy expansive (actually, affluents typically look for the best deal on whatever they want to buy, no matter how extravagant). The no so wealthy have also developed an appetite for luxury when and where they can afford it. 4. There's a trend towards spending more on luxury experiences rather than goods, at least amongst wealthy Americans. This trend is stronger among seasoned affluents who already know that the attraction of objects wears out while cherished experiences just get better with time as they are remembered, told and re-told. 5. There are more luxury hits now and fewer classics. Luxury used to be defined in the tradition-driven past by classics. The novelty-driven present, that is evident in the non-luxury sectors as well, turns the success of luxury brands of ...