Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.4
Market segmentation strategy
The number of ways that a market can be segmented is limited only by the agribusiness
marketer's imagination. (To prove this statement, just think about the variety of restaurants
and the market segments they aim to serve that are present in any mid-size city.) A few
particular ways to segment a market are discussed here. A
geographic segmentation
may
be appropriate for some markets. Food tastes and preferences clearly vary geographically
and certain products have much more appeal in some regions than others.
Demographic segmentation
is used in many markets. Age, income, size of household,
education, number of children, type of employment, and so on can all be important market
segmentation variables. Such demographic segments are heavily used in the food industry.
The marketing plan developed to promote hot dog consumption among children under the
age of 16 might look far different than the marketing activities developed to reach the
22-29-year-old consumer.
For the farm market, segmenting customers by
operating characteristics
is typically
useful. This may involve such characteristics as type of operation (crop versus livestock, for
example), size of operation, production technology used (no-till versus conventional till;
heavy precision technology users versus non-precision technology users, etc.), and form of
ownership (owner/operator versus cash rent versus crop share). Demographic variables like
those mentioned above can be used in concert with the characteristics of the farm operation
to further defi ne the market segments.
In other instances,
psychographic
or
behavioral market segments
may be developed.
Here, the focus is on more than physical characteristics. The marketer may be interested in
wine buyers who value image and prestige in their purchase. Or, the farm lender may be
