The use of need-based segmentation for developing segment-specific direct marketing strategies

Increasing costs, competition, and consumer skepticism present serious challenges to the growth of direct marketing. The future success of direct marketing firms rests with their ability to exploit their inherent competitive advantages. One critical advantage is their ability to target very specific groups of customers with individualized marketing programs. This article supports a segmentation approach to targeting customer groups based on both the needs underlying a purchase and descriptive buyer data. The steps for performing a need-based segmentation analysis are discussed. This is followed by a section pertaining to the implementation of direct marketing programs based on the results of the benefit/buyer motive segmentation analysis.