Business (industrial, B2B) markets can be segmented with similar variables like those being employed in consumer market segmentation, such as: geography, benefits, and usage rate. Yet business markets can also be segmented using several other variables.
Bonoma and Shapiro proposed segmenting a business market applying several variables in five general segmentation criteria, which they arranged as a nested hierarchy. Moving from the outer nest toward the inner, the 5 criteria are: demographics, operating variables, customer purchasing approaches, situational factors, and personal characteristics of the buyers. The marketer moves from the more general, easily observable segmentation characteristics (demographics) to the most specific, subtle ones (personal characteristics of the buyers).
It may not be needed or useful to always use every stage of this nested approach for every product. The marketer may skip irrelevant criteria. On the other hand the nested approach ensures a
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