Marketing StrategyMarket Segmentation and Target StrategyA market consists of people or organizations with wants,money to spend,and the willingness to spend it.However,within most markets the buyer needs are not identical.Therefore,a single marketing program starts with identifying the differences that exist within a market,a process called market segmentation, and deciding which segments will be pursued ads target markets.Marketing segmentation enables a company to make more efficient use of its marketing resources.Also,it allows a small company to compete effectively by concentrating on one or two segments.The apparent drawback of market segmentation is that it will result in higher production and marketing costs than a one-product,mass-market strategy.However, if the market is correctly segmented,the better fit with customers needs will actually result in greater efficiency.The three alternative strategies for selecting a target market are market aggregation,single segment,and multiple segment.Market-aggregation strategy involves using one marketing mix to reach a mass,undifferentiated market.With a single-segment strategy, a company still uses only one marketing mix,but it is directed at only one segment of the total market.A multiple-segment strategy entails selecting two or more segments and developing a separate marketing mix to reach segment.Positioning the ProductManagements ability to bring attention to a product and to differentiate it in a favorable way from similar products goes a long way toward determining that products revenues.Thus management needs to engage in positioning,which means developing the image that a product projects in relation to competitive products and to the firms other products.Marketing executives can choose from a variety of positioning strategies.Sometimes they decide to use more than one for a particular product.Here are several major positioning strategies:1.Positioning in Relation to a competitorFor some products,the best position is directly against the competition.This strategy is especially suitable for a firm that already has a solid differential advantage or is trying to solidify such an advantage.To fend off rival markers of microprocessors,Intel Corp.launched a campaign to convince buyers that its product is superior to competitors.The company even paid computer makers to include the slogan,Intel Inside in their ads.As the market leader,Coca-Cola introduces new products and executes its marketing strategies.At the same time,it keeps an eye on Pepsi-Cola,being sure to match any clever,effective marketing moves made by its primary competitor.2.Positioning in Relation to a Product Class or Attribute Sometimes a companys positioning strategy entails associating its product with(or distancing it from)a product class or attributes.Some companies try to place their products in a desirable class,such asMade in the USA.In the words of one consultant,There is a strong emotional appeal when you say,Made in the USA.Thus a small sportswear manufacturer,Boston Preparatory Co.is using this positioning strategy to seek an edge over large competitors such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger,which dont produce all of their products in the U.S.3.Positioning by Price and QualityCertain producer and retailers are known for their high-quality products and high prices.In the retailing field,Sake Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are positioned at one end of the price-quality continuum.Discount stores such as Target and Kmart are at the other.Were not saying,however,that discounters ignore quality;rather, they stress low prices.Penneys tiredand for the most part succeeded inrepositioning its stores on the price-quality continuum by upgrading apparel lines and stressing designer names.The word brands is comprehensive;it encompasses other narrower terms.A brand is a name and/or mark intended to identify the product of one seller or group of sellers and differentiate the product from competing products. A brand name consists of words,letters,and/or numbers that can be vocalized.A brand mark is the part of the brand that appears in the form of a symbol, design,or distinctive color or lettering.A brand mark is recognized buy sight bu cannot be expressed when a person pronounces the brand name.Crest,Coors,and rider for Ralph Laurens Polo Brand.Green Giant(canned and frozen vegetable products)and Arm&Hammer(baking soda)are both brand names and brand marks.A trademark is a brand that has been adopted by a seller and given legal protection.A trademark includes not just the brand mark,as many people believe,but also the brand name.The Lanham Act of 1946 permits firms to register trademarks with the federal government to protect them from use or misuse by other companies.The Trademark Law Revision Act,which took effect in 1989,is tended to strengthen the the registration system to the benefit of U.S. Firms. For sellers,brands can be promoted.T