Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

The ideal free market economy is one which has the condition of perfect competition. In such an economy, anyone can join the market since there are no barriers to entry. While such a market structure is simply a utopian dream, economists believe that more competition pressurizes companies to produce better products which are cheaper and packaged in a more appealing way. In this article I will attempt to compare 3 products from 3 different product categories to see how they differentiate themselves from their competitors.

•  Fashion:

Fashion is all about expressing yourselves. The fashion industry is about more than just clothing, it is about creating clothes that your customers can identify with. The brands we really remember have a personality of their own and thus who you’re producing for and how you reach out to them become very important. The table below show 3 well-known brands in the fashion and how they have made a mark for themselves.

2 Brand	Segmentation	Targeting	Positioning	USP	Why the brand name works/doesn’t work	Success
H&M	18-34 year olds with medium to high purchasing power.	Those who have a bohemian attitudechique yet carefree and fashion forward people.	Fast FashionOffers high class brands  Trendy fashion at affordable prices.	Fashion and Quality at the Best Price	H&M stands for Hennes & Mauritz AB, a Swedish retail-clothing company established in 1947, England.“Hennes” means “Hers” in Swedish however, the company diversified their product to cater to both men and women globally. Had a strong brand image and did not want to change its name.	2nd largest clothing retailer in the world
Global Desi	Positioned between the premium high priced brands and brands catering to the mass market.	The urban youth who wear both western and ethnic wear and are bold enough to experiment with their style.	Fusion fashion	Global Styles Indian Threads. Creates your unique style Mantra.	The name reflects the attitude of the target audience as well as the style of clothing they are famous for.	Owned by House of Anita Dongre, a Rs 680 Crore company.
Allen Solley	Young fashion conscious working men and women.	Upper class and upper middle class	Lighten up the workspace	Stylish office wear	The name sounds sophisticated and elegant like the products they offer.	Part of Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle, a company that has a footprint of 7.5 million sq ft of retail space across 750+ cities and towns

• Cigarettes

Cigarettes are one of the products which have the most price inelastic demand curves. This means, even though the government may keep increasing taxes to discourage smoking, the demand for cigarettes will keep increasing as more people get addicted. As compared to few years back we have an astonishing number of cigarette brands competing in the industry today.

Brand	Segmentation	Targeting	Positioning	USP	Why the brand name works/doesn’t work	Success
Marlborough	20-25 year olds	Originally marketed as a ladies cigarette with feminine qualities Later rebranded as a masculine product	Classic product	First Filtered Cigarettes	The name was taken from the name of a street in London Later it came to represent a marketable version of the American dream, symbolized by the Marlborough Man	Number one position in the world
Wave	Young people	Non Smokers who are not yet addicted to nicotine.	Flavored cigarettes	Flavored Cigarettes	The name reminds one of a wave of freshness which is usually associated with its menthol flavor.	Introducing nonsmokers to Nicotine thereby increasing the market size.
Djarum Black	Young people	People who want natural grown tobacco.	Sophistication, modernity, boldness: Elegant looking black cigarettes	First Kretec (clove) cigarette to feature a black paper wrapper	The brand has become known as Black. Since its color is the first thing someone remembers about the cigarette the name works.	Indonesian brand which has spread to Six other countries including India

• Instant Noodles

Instant Noodles sounds like a niche product doesn’t it? Well, you’ll be surprised by the number of competitors you’d find in this very specific segment of the market. The table below shows how products which are in fact very similar.

Brand	Segmentation	Targeting	Positioning	USP	Why the brand name works/doesn’t work	Success
Maggie	Kids, Teenagers, Working Professionals, Mothers- no specific market segment	Those who want quick mealsLow prices make it accessible to people of all classes	Fast to cook good to eat.2 minute noodlesTaste bhi health bhi	Maggie 2 minutes	Maggie has become an integral part of the Indian food culture due to movements such as Mai aur meri Maggie.The name is easy to pronounce for Indians and rolls off the tongue easily.	Leading instant noodle brand in India
Wai Wai	No specific market segment	Those who want quick meals and variety in life.	First Brown Instant Noodles Can be prepared in three ways Add chili powder and eat it like a snackPrepare it like cup noodlesAdd vegetables and cook it like any other instant noodles	123 Noodles	The product originated in Nepal and is more popular in the North East. The name reflects the authentic Nepali taste of the product.	Number one brand in Nepal.
Top Ramen	No specific market segment	Health seeking families	Family favorite ready to cook noodles	Vitamin plus energy healthy noodles	Ramen Noodles sound foreign to Indians and hasn’t been able to make a place for itself in the Indian heart.	Top Ramen hasn’t been able to catch up with Maggie since it joined the Indian market almost 10 years later and lost out on the first mover benefit.