6. Segmenting Targeting and Positioning in Global Markets

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are core disciplines in marketing strategy, both in a domestic and global environment. Mistakes in these areas are likely to be costly and may result in failure; getting it right is a critical prerequisite for corporate success. In the age of “Big Data,” companies now have the possibility to micro-segment, target, and position in seconds. This represents a tremendous advance compared to the traditional approaches based on coarse-grained geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral categorizations. Still, in many parts of the world, Internet penetration and smart phone usage are still low, and consumer segmentation via Big Data remains limited. Moreover, we are increasingly facing a technologically divided world, where search engines and applications are not universally accessible and governments and consumer rights advocates are concerned about passing data across country boundaries. This chapter starts with a short review of traditional segmentation methods and an explanation of how Big Data has advanced segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Next, we look at potential challenges to segmentation, targeting, and positioning faced by companies that work internationally.