1.

Target Marketing:
Target Market refers to the consumers a company wants to sell its products and services to, and to whom it directs its marketing efforts. Identifying the target market is an essential step in the development of a marketing plan. A target market can be separated from the market as a whole by geography, buying power and demographics, as well as by psychographics. Three steps of target marketing: The following figure shows the three steps of target marketing which have defined below:

Market Segmentation: Dividing a market into smaller groups of buyers with distinct needs, characteristics or behaviors who might require separate products or marketing mixes.

Market Targeting: Evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more of the market segments to enter. Market Positioning: Setting the competitive positioning for the product and creating a detailed marketing mix.

2. Market Targeting:
Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more of the market segments to enter. Market targeting options include a single segment, selecting segments or extensive segments. Choosing among options involves the consideration of the stage of product-market maturity, extent of diversity in preferences, industry structure, capabilities and resources, opportunities for competitive advantages etc. By segmenting the market, the company discovers its opportunities and evaluates different segments to identify which ones and how many segments it should target. The market targeting decision is critical to guide the positioning of a brand or company in the marketplace. Market targeting decision establishes key guidelines for strategic planning.

3. Approaches of Market Targeting:

The targeting decision determines how many customer groups the organization will serve. Management may select one or a few segments or go after intensive coverage of the

production market by targeting most of the segments. Generally, market targeting approaches tend to fall into two major categories. They are Segment Targeting: Ranges from a singles segment to target all or most of the segments in the market. Targeting through product differentiation: When segments are difficult to identify even though diversity in preferences exists, companies may appeal to buyers product specialization or product variety.

4. Steps/ Factors of Market Targeting:

There are three steps in market targeting process which are briefly discussed in the following: A) Evaluating Market Segments: A company takes into account following three factors in evaluating different market segments. 1) Size and growth of Market Segments: Here, the company collects and analyses data on current segments sales, growth rates and expected profitability for various segments. 2) Structural Attractiveness of Market Segments: A segment with desirable size and growth may not have strong profit potential. For assessing long-run segment attractiveness in terms of profit, the company must examine several major structural factors. 3) Companys Objectives and Resources: Even if a segment appears to be lucrative in terms of size, growth and structure, the company must consider its own objectives and resources in relation to that segment. B) Selecting Market Segments:

There are some factors that affect the selection of targeting strategies. The relative importance of these factors often varies by companys situation. The objective is to consider how much each factor affects the market target strategy. C) Choosing Market Coverage Policies and Strategies/ Approaches for Selecting Target Market: There are different three alternative approaches i.e. market coverage policies and strategies for selecting target markets a) Undifferentiated Approach: It is used when an organization defines the total market for a particular product as its target market. Here, a company does not take into account market segments differences and approaches the whole market with one offer. b) Differentiated/ Multi-segment Approach: An organization, which uses this approach, directs its marketing efforts at two or more segments by developing a separate marketing mix for each segment. Here, a company targets several market segments and approaches each of these segments with separate offers. c) Concentration Approach: When an organization directs its marketing efforts toward a single market segment through a single marketing mix, it is using a concentration approach. It is especially effective when the company has resource constraints.

5. Concept of Market Positioning:

Marketing positioning refers to the complex set of perceptions, impressions and feelings, that customers bear in their minds for the product compared with competing products. The concept of positioning indicates the desires positioning of product (brand) in the eyes and minds of the target buyers. Positioning intended to deliver the value proposition appropriate

for each market target. A products position is the manner in which consumers on important attributes define the product. It indicates the place the product occupies in consumers minds relative to competing products.

6. Strategy of Marketing Positioning:

A market positioning strategy is the combination of product, value chain, price and promotion strategies a firm uses to position it against its key competitors in meeting the needs and wants of the market target. Choosing positioning concept is an important step for delivering the positioning strategy. The strategy is used to gain a favorable position in the mind of the customers and distinguish the product from the competition are also called the marketing mix or marketing program. Different market positioning strategies are a) Competitive Differentiation: A Company must try to indentify the specific ways it can differentiate its products or services to obtain competitive advantages. It can be defined as the act of designing a set of meaningful differences to distinguish the companys offerings from those of competitors. The ways of differentiation Product differentiation Personnel differentiation Service differentiation Channel differentiation Image differentiation

b) Position differentiation: Here, the company will try to offer better advantages to satisfy the customers than competitors. i) Highlight and promote the brand Under-positioning Over-positioning Confused positioning Doubtful positioning

ii) Highlight and promote the quality iii) Charge reasonable/ high/ low price c) Execution/ Implementation Strategies: When the offer will execute?

How the offer will execute? Communicate with the related parties to execute the selected strategies

7. How many Positioning Strategies will promote?

Many marketers advocate stressing only one strong positioning strategy. Their argument is that, we have the best chance of making an impression if we pick only one message and stick to it. That way, we can avoid the confusion that can result from making too many claims. Of course, our one positioning strategy will count better. If we choose something that customers do not care about, we will make little or no impression at all. In some cases, it is better to offer two or even three positioning strategies. If the company focuses on only one aspect, some customers may assume that the company is weak in other areas they care about.

8. Differentiating and Communicating the Positioning Strategies:

A question is very important to the marketers that, how the company will differentiate its offer than their competitors. Not every difference is meaningful or worthwhile and makes a good differentiator. Each difference has the potential to create a company costs as well as customer benefits. Therefore, the company must carefully select the ways in which it will distinguish itself from competitors. A difference is worth establishing to the extent that it satisfies the following criteria: Important: If a product is able to deliver highly valued benefit to majority of the customer, it will be considered important by them. Distinctive: A product will be considered distinctive by the buyers if it offers something not offered by the competing brands. Superior: The difference needs to be considered as superior to the customers and thus by obtaining the same benefit. Communicable: The difference is to be communicated and be able to visualized easily to buyers. Preemptive: If the difference cannot be easily copied by competitors, then it is considered to process the preemptive features. Affordable: It should be considered that whether the customers are in a position to afford that or not. Profitable: It should be taken consideration that differentiation should profitable. If the cost of differentiation cannot be realized through increasing sales, and then it becomes meaningless.