Market Segmentation

Modern marketing in industrialized countries cannot do without segmentation of the potential market; goods can no longer be produced and sold without considering customer needs and recognizing the heterogeneity of those needs. Since the concept emerged in the late 1950s, segmentation has been one of the most researched topics in the marketing literature. It has become a central concept in marketing, both in theory and in practice. Recent technological developments, yielding a growing volume of information and a more detailed accounting of consumers' actual behaviour, present new challenges and opportunities for market segmentation. Providing an overview of the current state of the art in segmentation research, this book aims to provide readers with both the conceptual basis as well as the tools necessary to conduct segmentation studies in a large number of markets, illustrated through a variety of applications.