Pigeon-holes are for the birds

How do you tell a fast pigeon from a bird of a different feather?

Do the white ones go faster than the grey ones? Does bigger mean better, or does it just indicate fatter and slower?

If you're into racing pigeons (and I'm not) you may know the answers. I'm sure they'll have more to do with the pigeon than the hole it's put in.

But when it comes to segmenting a market, developing research, applying the results to marketing and marketing communication — pigeon-holes are exactly what we try to use.

Big mistake.

Applying arbitrary demographics isn't always useful as a means of defining market segments.

Perception and motivation are not only a more effective basis for marketing and communication, they can
also automatically qualify the market segment, gain attention and capture interest.

Your market may be young/old, male/female, a particular ethnic group or income band. Do those factors make it any easier to target them?

Take your friendly neighbourhood dentist as an example.

The dentist's market is basically people with teeth. On second thoughts, maybe we should also include people without teeth.

That makes for a fairly broad definition. So how can the dentist segment the market?

Should the dental surgery base its marketing on demographics like age, gender, or ethnic origin? Should it create separate appeals based on the different characteristics shown by such groupings?

This "pigeon-holing" is often the direction many businesses take in their thinking about how they categorise their market segments.

But as in the case of the dentist, it can be unwise to use such factors as a sole basis for marketing and communication.

Are demographics the factors which determine whether people become patients or visit a dental surgery? Or is there a closer connection to motivation, for example the need to relieve pain, or the desire to improve appearance?

If the dental practice looked only at demographic factors it might conclude that most of the cosmetic dentistry market was female. This can easily lead to self-limiting marketing strategies — attracting patients who are female, rather than those who want to look better.

Dental practise marketing aimed at people who have a desire to improve their appearance would attract all of that group, not just the women.

Common perceptions, concerns, and motivations are much more important than demographic descriptions in defining market segments. They hold the key to developing effective marketing and communication.

Research to reveal perceptions, concerns, and motivations is money well-spent.

It helps define the style of communication, the best channels to use, and the approach which will generate the most response.

You'll be able to define the market as "People who want . . . / need help with . . . / have a problem with . . . / or are looking for . . .". With the right information, you can fill in the gaps to provide definitions of the market segments for your products or services.

That will place you well ahead of competitors who are either guessing or using arbitrary pigeon-holes.

Like to know more?

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