Core Concepts of Marketing

UNDERSTANDING AND

APPROACHING THE MARKET

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Afterstudyingthischapter,youshould beableto:

• Understandtheroleofthemarketintheexchangeprocess.


• Distinguishbetweenthe basickindsof markets.


• Appreciatethedifferencesbetween theundifferentiatedand seg-
  mental approachtowardmarkets.


• Understandthevariousbasesformarketsegmentation.


• Translatesegmentationconceptsintothe activityofselectinga
  targetmarket.

THEWEBSEGMENT

Onlineadvertisingisstilla relativelytinymarket,butanincreasingnumberof

companiesarevyingfortherighttotelladvertisersandtheiradagencieswhereandhow

toresponsiblyspendtheirlimitedpoolofWebaddollars.

Easiersaidthandone.Noreliablemeasurements existfordetermining thesizeof

theWebaudience,leavingadvertiserstosortthrougha dizzyingnumberofcompeting

claimsfromdifferentwebsites.Thecreatorofa systemthatcatchesonwithadvertisers

has abigopportunity:thechancetobecometheNielsenoftheInternet.

ThelatestentrantintheracetoaccuratelycountWebviewers:Relevant.Knowledge,

anAtlanta-based companyfoundedbyfOrmerTurnerBroadcasting executivesand

staffedwithre searchexecutiveswithexperiencecountingeyeballsintraditionalmedia

liketelevisionandradio.Thiscompanyprovidesstandardized,detaileddemographic

data andfasterfeedbackaboutWebviewing,amongotherservices.Relevant.Knowledge

has beendeliveringdata ona testbasistocompaniesincludingCNN,Sony, cINET,and

Microsoft'sMSNNetwork.

Relevant.Knowledgeistaking aimatoneofthebi ggestissuesbedevilingonline

advertisersan d publishers: a dearthofreliableinformationthatadvertiserscanuseto

justifybuyingadsontheWeb.Sofar, advertisershavebeencaughtina cultureclash

between technologybuffsandtraditional researchers.Theresult:notenoughdatathat

canbeappliedtomultiplewebsites.Individualsitesprovideinformationaboutthe num-

berofvisitorstheyreceive,butsuch resultscan'teasilybecomparedtowhatothersites

maybesupplyingAndmostsitescan'tdistinguishoneDersonvisitingthesamesiteover

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