Addressing existing market segments is one thing. All companies do that, though companies using good segmentation market research do it better.
But not everyone is aware of the degree to which market segmentation allows businesses not merely to study consumers and consumer behavior which is already there, but to pro actively create markets where none existed before.
Standard market research may divide consumers up into categories such as age, gender, income. But genuinely insightful research can probe those to find desires or preferences for new products or services, or for new variations on existing products or services.
Existing segments often contain emerging new ones. Market segmentation can give you a sensitive reading of what trends are rising and what sorts of new market offerings may succeed.
Market segmentation allows you to study existing markets. It allows you to assess which members of those markets are most susceptible to a new product or approach. It lets you test new products in niche areas. It helps you apply and observe the results of new approaches. It enables you to sift and select the most likely potential consumers of a new product.
In these and in a host of other strong and effective ways, market segmentation helps businesses spot new markets and creates powerful new market offerings for improved market share.
