G. J. Goodhardt

Market segmentation for competitive brands

Although market segmentation is widely described as a major marketing tool, questions whether brands which are broadly similar and competitive are bought by identifiably different consumer segments. Notes that few, if any, examples of marked brand segmentation are cited in the literature. Reports on a new international study of the characteristics of brand purchasers in over 20 grocery product categories using consumer panel data, which reveals that there is little brand segmentation. Finds that the consumer profiles of competitive brands differ little in terms of the commonly‐used classification measures such as socio‐demographic characteristics, and that brands in the same product category tend to be bought by similar kinds of people.

Measuring customer loyalty to product variants

This. paper. measures. patterns. of. loyalty. for. variants. of. a. product,. such. as. different.pack.sizes.or.flavour ..Unlike.brands,.product.variants.are.functionally. highly.differentiated ..The.study.undertakes.large-scale.analysis.of.panel.data.and. the. results. shows. that. product. variants. can. attract. markedly. different. loyalty. levels ..However,.these.different.loyalty.levels.are.closely.related.to.big.differences. in. the. variants’. market. shares. –. higher. loyalty. predictably. goes. with. higher. sales .. Some. variants.were. found. to. be. very. popular,. and. some. are. bought. by. only. a. fraction.of. the.market ..However,. neither. large. nor. small. variants. seem. generally. to. attract. a. special. or.unusually. loyal. customer.base ..The. functional. differentiation. embodied. in. product. variants. therefore. affects. consumers’. preferences. but. not. the. persistence. of. these. preferences,. i .e .. loyalty ..The. study. also. illustrates.a.methodological.basis. for. the.analysis.of.consumer.panel.data .. The.mathematical.model.used.here.provides.benchmarks.for.the.variants’.loyalty. measures ..The.study.has.practical.implications.in.analysing.market.performance. of. variants,. customer. switching. behaviour,. and. understanding. the. relationship. between.product.differentiation.and.consumer.choice .

Repeat buying of a new brand – a 10‐point case history

Discusses repeat‐buying in terms of a case history of a non‐durable product. Measures the repeat‐buying behaviour by means of a survey carried out for the Market Analysis and Evaluation Grant, Unilever. Reveals how repeat‐buying of a new brand soon reaches a par with its competitors.