Micromarketing: Difference between revisions

In some of the literature, different labels are used to describe micromarketing. In a seminal article, Kara and Karnak (1997), referred to '''finer segmentation''' (FS) as the final advancement in market segmentation as it combines the use of differentiated marketing and niche marketing to reach the smallest groups in the marketplace <ref>Kara, A.n and Kaynak, E. (1997). Markets of a Single Customer: Exploiting Conceptual Developments in Market Segmentation. European Journal of Marketing. 31. (11/12). pp. 873-885</ref>. Richard Tedlow (1993) thought that he detected evidence of what he called '''hyper-segmentation''' which he saw as a logical extension of the market segmentation era<ref> In his oft-cited work, New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America, Basic Books, N.Y. 1990 pp 4-12 Tedlow outlines three stages: '''Fragmentation (pre 1880s)'' in which markets operated at a regional level; '''Unification or Mass Marketing (1880s-1920s)'''; '''Segmentation (1920s-1980s)'''- marketing differentiation based on demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors. In a subsequent work, published three years later, the author added a new era, termed '''Hyper-segmentation (post 1980s'''; See Tedlow, R.A. and Jones, G., The Rise and Fall of Mass Marketing, Routledge, N.Y., 1993 Ch 2, the authors added as the fourth era </ref>. These approaches combine multiple segmentation variables in ways that have been elusive within conventional approaches to segmentation.

Micromarketing or hyper-segmentation reliesrely on the extensive information technology, and comprehensivebig databases, computerized and flexible manufacturing systems, and integrated distribution systems. These approaches combine multiple segmentation variables in ways that have been elusive within conventional approaches to segmentation. Data is captured from electronic communications devices, mapped and logged with a management information system. This enables the integration of observed behaviour (domains accessed) with motives (content involvement), geographics (IP addresses), demographics (self-reported registration details) and brand preferences (site-loyalty, site stickiness). Additional data inputs might include behavioural variables such as frequency (site visits), diversity including visitation across different landscapes and fluidity spanning multiple time periods. Programmed business intelligence software analyses this data and in the process, may also source data inputs from other internal information networks. Given this reliance on digital data inputs, some theorists have also used the term, '''cyber-segmentation''' to describe micromarketing <ref>Louvieris, P., Driver, J. 2001. New Frontiers in Cybersegmentation: Marketing Success in Cyberspace Depends in IP address. Qualitative Market Research. 4. (3). pp. 169-181.</ref>.