marketing

Introduction

Marketing has become different today than it was in past times due to the different changes in global business and new marketing strategies which raised the methods of trade worldwide and made business companies compete on high levels and try different innovative marketing trends in order to get a good position in the global market. The current report is discussing marketing and its segmentations in reference to an article which is peer reviewed and written by Goyat, (2011) about the basis of market segmentation as this report is using other articles to critically analyze the current article showing how it presents marketing issues such as the role of marketing segmentations, traditional segmentation bases, benefits of segmentation and the variables used for segmentation. The report is also evaluating segmentation using other two articles with reference to the Omani market segmentations and examples on this with a conclusion that gets an overall idea of the presented report.

Summary

The bases of marketing today is change as it is considered the most important element for ensuring success as this makes businesses try to find innovated marketing strategies to invade the market. An important market strategy is marketing segmentation which means to divide the market to segments of consumers with different needs. There are traditional segmentation bases for the market such as geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation and behavioral segmentation. Segment analysis uses traditional dimension reducing techniques as cluster analysis for recognizing many segmentation bases. The main steps of the need based market segmentation are needs based segmentation, Segment Identification For each needs-based segment, assessing the attractiveness of the segments, evaluating segment profitability and making segment positioning for each segment.

There are benefits for segmentation of the market including the benefits companies gain such as the increased competition among market segments as segmentation diversify customers and business companies try to produce goods that are distinguished according to each customers category as they suit their needs and demands which raises competition and bring to the market many new brands. Segmentation can also suggest new trade trends to reach customers better. The study can suggest new segmentation areas such as the Enneagram technique that depended on studying customers behaviors and psychology in order to make new segmentations. Theoretical foundation of market segmentation can be useful in segmenting the market in a way that ensures competitive advantage. 

An evaluation of the article on segmentation using other articles

The current article of Goyat, (2011) suggests many things related to market segmentation such as the importance of the traditional techniques in identifying the segmentation bases such as the various categorical data analysis tests that can be applied to assess the surrounding environment and measure the customers' needs; these methods are effective in identifying the nature of the market, consumers behaviors and needs as according to Thomas, (2007), these traditional techniques have proved its effectiveness in realizing the way customers think and what needs are changing but Thomas, (2007) added some more techniques such as enlarging the area where the tests are made as this increases the scope of competition among companies and gives them more information, he referred to the geographic segmentation as a common way in market segmentation these traditional techniques depend on and mentioned that the geographic segmentation can be a way to other segmentation techniques. Goyat, (2011) didn't focus too much on the geographic segmentation and stated that it can be used with other segmentations such as the behavioral segmentation that can tell how to address customers through their behaviors. Lynn, (2011) also discussed segmentation bases and discussed the same segmentation techniques adding that the market should be segmented according to a wide range of variables that can depend on the business type, the market and the customer and that they can be changed when needed. Thomas, (2007) added other market segmentations such as media segmentation, time segmentation and price segmentation.

Goyat, (2011) referred to the steps in market segmentations such as choosing a product category for study and finding a basis for market segmenting as he referred to the importance of creativity and managerial insight to achieve that step and to how to make a segmentation plan for doing the third step which is selecting segmentation descriptors for variables identifying and after that the fourth step which is analyzing the segments to find risks and opportunities in each market to go to the fifth step which is selecting the target markets. Premkanth, (2012) explained these steps in a simplified way as he simply referred to the degree of customers satisfaction in deciding the steps by investigating a number of factors that tell how far customers satisfaction can decide the steps of segmentation as he referred that customer satisfaction is related to the marketing mix and they can decide the steps of segmentation. Lynn, (2011) discussed the same matter referring to a number of market attributes that can state the steps of penetrating the market and segmenting it according to the types of variables that identify the customers' needs and then to list literally hundreds of different variables, analyzing them, and gradually preparing the list to see which ones of those variables produce segments or groupings of consumers that are most useful.

Goyat, (2011) was good in setting the bases of market segmentation strategy by referring to four major customers' characteristics which are the geographic, the demographic, the psychographic and the behavioral. He clearly explained and presented this issue by providing examples for the different variables related to those characteristics such as region, population density and climate related to the geographic segmentation, age, gender, family size, income and education and others related to the demographic segmentation, he referred to variables related to the psychographic segmentation including interests, activities, opinions, values and attitudes and to the behavioral segmentation such as benefits sought,  usage rate,  brand Loyalty,  user status,  readiness to buy and  occasions. Thomas, (2007) confirmed the previous segmentation variables of Goyat but he added the media segmentation, time segmentation and price segmentation as he tried to tell that using the media can be more helpful in segmentation the market as it can reach new areas of audiences, he also tried to focus on time segmentation which is less common but can be effectively used for making a brand image at a very certain point of time when feeling customers need that brand image, he referred to the price segmentation as it depends on people's incomes in different areas and how they can react to a product according to its price as there are segmentations that should be made for the luxury goods and brands for example and others for lowest income customers. Lynn, (2011)confirmed the opinions of Goyat, (2011) but had a different opinion that says that demographic and psychographic variables are poor predictors of brand choice although they are preferred by many businesses in market segmentation. 

Goyat, (2011) discussed how companies should be careful in identifying the suitable market for them and for their products as segmentation should be carefully made in order to raise profits and reach competitive advantage. This was also approved by Thomas, (2007) but he added that there are some mistakes companies make in segmentation such as segmenting a segment and overlooking the bases as this can lead to targeting people instead of profit. Lynn, (2011) also referred to that conclusion added that change is better than stability even there is a good level of success as stability may be dangerous so market segmentation should be liable for change.

An application of the evaluation to the Omani market

Oman is a Gulf country that has many different businesses beginning from simple trailers and to big oil companies and each business has its method in the market segmentation strategy. Oman's geographic is distinguished and can provide many opportunities for businesses to segment the market to areas as its capital Muscat is known as a tourist place preferred to begin business by many international companies.  Oman shares borders with the Republic of Yemen to its south-west, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the west and the United Arab Emirates to the north. It has sovereignty over a number of small islands in the Oman Sea and the Strait of Hormuz such as Salamah and Her Daughters, as well as Masirah and the Hallaniyat Islands in the Arabian Sea which makes market segmentation is easy by following the needs of the people in Oman. Its demographics also tell that it can be segmented as its population is big and they are of good income in addition to the different education segments the country has. People's behaviors in Oman can also provide good segmentation bases as most people like shopping which makes it a good place for trailer businesses and international luxury brands. People's behaviors are also referring to a high purchasing level as Gulf people prefer to purchase new innovated products and also using new shopping strategies such as online shopping and there are many shopping sites online where Omani people can online purchasing what they need. (Omandimographic, 2016) Oman is a country where businesses can make use of the psychographics in Oman such as people's interests, opinions, values and attitudes as people in Oman can be classified to traditional and modern people and this can be mixed with their demographic characteristics such as age, gender and others as when businesses target those age categories between 18 and 35 they can find new innovated ideas and modern life lived by the Omani youth where many new products can be marketed there and targeting those categories by providing them with new creative types of goods and products that suit the lifestyle they are leading such as mobile phones, tablet devices and their accessories as well as other relevant products that the Omani youth is seeking today. Other categories of segmentation bases include older people who seek traditional products and handicrafts that are very expensive today and they can be relevant to the Omani traditions and give people a touch of the past. According to the previous analysis, Oman is a country where new segmentation bases can be effective to be used such as price segmentation and time segmentation in order to target special society categories as there are different nationalities and incomes in that vivid country. (Omaninfo, 2016) 

Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, it is good to refer to the different methods and strategies in market segmentation as there are traditional ways of analyzing the market and focusing on the different segmentation bases such as the main characteristics of customers which can be clear in the main four categories including the geographic segmentation with its basic elements such as area, place and space, demographic segmentation related to the different age, gender, income and education characteristics and the behavioral segmentation that relates to people's interests, attitudes, values, interests and tradition. There are other market segmentation strategies that can depend on time segmentation, price segmentation and media segmentation in addition to building a brand that suits the needs of the customers and attract them. It is recommended that business entities can make deep analysis t the market and customer needs in order to identify how to segment the markets they are trying to invade as the successful analysis can ensure a good strategic marketing plan based on the segmentation system followed by the company and this can in turn ensure success, profit and competitive advantage. It is also recommended that the Omani market should be studied deeply by any company that seeks success as the segmentation of the market needs continuous change and this can update the product types and present new segmentation categories to the Omani market.