20+ Differences Between Segmentation And Targeting (Explained)

The subject area concerning marketing is considered a wide area of discretion, further involving several different areas of interest. However, at times, laymen like you and me are bound to get confused between two similar terms associated with marketing, no matter how general they sound in the usual daily life.

Thus, in the instant article, we endeavor to solve this crisis by looking at the most basic principles associated with the wider marketing subject, i.e., the particular structures in relation to segmentation and targeting.

Table of Contents

Comparison Between The Structures Of Segmentation And Targeting

Particulars	Segmentation	Targeting
Concern	The major focus of segmentation is the split of a certain market based on the shared requirements of the specific clients working in a specific sector.	The fundamental goal of the theory of targeting is in relation to choosing a certain segment after considering various industry-specific influencing elements.
Formation of Groups	Within a given market, segmentation entails the creation of groups that are further based on the shared requirements of the specific clients involved in a certain sector.	Unlike segmentation, the theory concerning targeting is more concerned with a specific type of client who works in a specific sector rather than creating groups within a specific market.
Bases	Based on the unique demands, interests, marital status, sex, purchasing behavior, etc., of the specific clients who are supposedly involved in the particular industry that is in question, the theory of segmentation divides the market into a variety of sub-units.	The theory in relation to targeting mostly depends on the segment’s attractiveness, which has been selected by the marketer tasked with advertising the products and services made available by the specific business with which the marketer is affiliated.
Stage of Target Marketing	The procedure engaged in the initiative regarding the concept of target marketing is thought to start with the segmentation process itself.	The theory in relation to targeting is considered to be the second step of the process that is involved in the initiative in relation to the idea of the target marketing, i.e., after the step of segmentation.
Factors Dependent On	Measurability, accessibility, viability, and the intensity of the specific segments under consideration, are considered to be the main determinants of the theory in relation to segmentation.	Targeting is largely influenced by aspects related to the company’s degree of resources, the specific benefits and features that the items in question have to offer, and the specific traits in the specific market segment.
Differentiation of Buyers	When it comes to segmentation, all of the consumers who are involved in the purchase of goods and services within a specific segment are not thought of as being the same but rather as different based on their own unique interests and needs, which are further defined in the first step of the target marketing process.	Since they have been divided based on their unique needs and interests, which in turn have been determined in the first step of the process that involves target marketing, all of the buyers who are involved in the transaction of goods and services in a specific area of the segment are taken into consideration to be the same when it comes to targeting.
Nature	Segmentation is especially important in a generally diverse market that is further separated into subunits that are considered homogenous.	Compared to segmentation, targeting is more common in mostly homogeneous markets.

Contrast Between Segmentation And Targeting

What exactly is the structure of segmentation related to?

The structure in relation to the idea of segmentation is considered one of the core-most principles quoted in the various marketing strategies available to us.

In particular, the structure in relation to the idea of segmentation involves the division of a heterogeneous market into several sub-units, which are further based on the similar needs of the particular customers engaged in such a market.

Segmentation:

The segmentation structure involves forming sub-units in an already existing heterogeneous market.

All the buyers involved in a particular segment are not the same and vary according to their interests and needs.

The structure of segmentation is particularly based on the particular needs, interests, marital status, sex, the behavior of buying, etc., in relation to the particular customers who are engaged in such an industry.

What exactly is the structure of targeting related to?

The structure concerning the idea of targeting is considered to be one of the core-most principles quoted in the various marketing strategies available to us.

In particular, the structure in relation to the idea of targeting particularly involves choosing a particular segment after considering different factors of influence in a particular industry.

Targeting:

The targeting structure does not involve forming sub-units in a heterogeneous market.

All the buyers who are involved in a particular area of the segment are the same since they have been divided based on their own particular needs and interests.

The targeting structure is particularly based on the attractiveness of the particular segment the marketer has chosen.

Major Differences Between Segmentation And Targeting

Concern:

Segmentation: The structure of the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is mainly concerned with the division of a particular market based on similar needs of the particular customers engaged in a particular industry.

Targeting: The structure in relation to the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, mainly concerned with choosing a particular segment after considering different factors of influence in a particular industry.

Formation of Groups:

Segmentation: The structure of the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company. It specifically involves forming groups inside a particular market, which is further based on the similar needs of the particular customers engaged in a particular industry.

Targeting: The structure of the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which does not involve the formation of groups inside a particular market but is rather focused on a particular kind of customer who is engaged in a particular industry.

Bases:

Segmentation: The structure of the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which forms a range of sub-units in a particular market based on the particular needs, interests, marital status, sex, the behavior of buying, etc. about the particular customers who are engaged in such an industry.

Targeting: The structure of the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is particularly based on the attractiveness of the segment which has been chosen by the marketer who is involved in the task of promoting the goods and services that the particular company is offering that such a marketer is associated with.

Stage of Target Marketing:

Segmentation: The structure in relation to the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is considered to be the first step of the process that involved in the initiative in relation to the idea of the target marketing.

Targeting: The structure in relation to the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is considered to be the second step of the process that is involved in the initiative in relation to the idea of the target marketing.

Factors Dependent On:

Segmentation: The structure of the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is primarily dependent on the factors of measurability, accessibility, and viability, as well as the intensity of the particular segments that are in question.

Targeting: The structure of the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which is primarily dependent on the factors relating to the level of resources within the company, the particular features and the benefits that the particular products in question have to offer, as well as the particular characteristics involved in the particular segment that is in question.

Differentiation of Buyers:

Segmentation: When it comes to the structure of the idea of segmentation, all the buyers who are involved in the transaction of goods and services in a particular segment are not considered to be the same but rather tend to vary according to their own particular interests and needs, which are further defined in the first step of the process that involves target marketing.

Targeting: When it comes to the structure of the idea of targeting, all the buyers who are involved in the transaction of goods and services in a particular area of the segment are considered to be the same since they have been divided based on their own particular needs and interests, which in turn have been defined in the first step of the process that involves target marketing.

Nature:

Segmentation: The structure of the idea of segmentation is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which particularly exists in a large heterogeneous market that is further divided into forms of sub-units that are considered to be homogeneous in nature.

Targeting: The structure in relation to the idea of targeting is one of the core marketing strategies that are available at the expense of the particular marketer in a particular company, which particularly exists in a largely homogenous market if placed in comparison with the structure in relation to the idea of segmentation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is the key difference between the two structures about the idea of segmentation and targeting?

Ans. The key difference that exists between the two structures about the idea of segmentation and targeting lies in the main basis of it. In this regard, it must be understood that while the structure in relation to the idea of segmentation is involved with the formation of sub-groups, the structure in relation to the idea of targeting is involved in particularly focusing on an area in a segment of the whole market.

Q2. In the instant context, which structure involves the formation of sub-units based on heterogeneous groups, the structure about segmentation or targeting?

Ans. The structure in relation to the idea of segmentation is the structure that is particularly involved in forming groups inside a particular market, which is further based on the similar needs of the particular customers engaged in a particular industry.

Q3. What kinds of factors influence the particular structure in relation to the idea of targeting?

Ans. The structure in relation to the idea of targeting, in the most general sense, is considered to be dependent on the factors relating to the level of resources within the company, the particular features, and the benefits that the particular products in question have to offer, as well as the particular characteristics involved in the particular segment that is in question.