MARKET SEGMENTATION IN THE ONLINE CATERING INDUSTRY (2)

By; Tifanny Tandy, SE (Alumni of International Marketing) & Annetta Gunawan, SE, MM (Faculty Member of International Marketing)

Previous article: MARKET SEGMENTATION IN THE ONLINE CATERING INDUSTRY

As the food industry and netizens number of shopping online behavior grow significantly over the time, many companies are emerging in this industry, a few examples such as Berry Kitchen, Gorry Gourmet, My Meal Catering, and Kulina. This industry has yet been realized by many, but has been clearly growing significantly the past few years. PT. BogaPanganSentosa, as a company that focuses on food and beverage industry, most recently launched a new program of web-based online food catering.

In a business, even in the online market, some of the most expensive marketing risks lie in the area of promotion. Many small business owners shy away from market segmentation and one reason is the fear of missing out. Especially so when they start up and need customers to get some income happening. It is too time consuming and wastes money going after groups of potential customers who will never buy what you offer. (Susan Oakes, 2012)

It can occur by developing messages that aren’t making an impact. They may also occur by selecting the wrong media to reach the audience with the desired impact. Messages that make no impact are wasteful. Additionally, companies sometimes inadvertently use messages that offend targeted customers or the general public. Such mistakes can severely damage the company brand. (Neil Kokemuller, 2016)

For many years, marketing specialists have segmented their target customers to understand who might buy a service or product. It does sound pretty easy. Yet, sometimes companies have fallen (and continue to fall) into a few pitfalls when thinking about segmentation. One, is that they simply don’t segment. Two, they confuse segmentation with demographics. And three, many companies forget to ask themselves why they want to segment and what decisions will be made based on the information they receive. (Vanessa Rizzi, 2015)

Pursuing this strategy, several companies have lost their market leadership or a considerable chunk of their market share.

This is why there is a need of market strategy based on specific groups of customers as buyers’ needs are different; they cannot be satisfied the same way. The division of markets into various sub groups on the basis of several variables will more closely match particular needs of a particular group of consumers. (Qadar Khan, 2015)

While it is relatively easy to identify segments of consumers, most firms do not have the capabilities or the need to effectively market their product to all of the segments that can be identified. Rather, one or more target markets (segments) must be selected. A company selects its target market because it exhibits the strongest affinity to a particular product or brand. It is in essence the most likely to buy the product.

While the market is initially reduced to its smallest homogeneous components (perhaps a single individual), business in practice requires the marketer to find common dimensions that will allow him to view these individuals as larger, profitable segments (Boundless, 2015).

To be continued to: MARKET SEGMENTATION IN THE ONLINE CATERING INDUSTRY (3)