ABSTRACT
In Chapter 8 we focused on approaches to environmental analysis and the frameworks within
which strategic marketing planning can best take place. Against this background we now turn
to the question of market segmentation and to the ways in which companies need to position
themselves in order to maximize their competitive advantage and serve their target markets in
the most effective manner. It does need to be recognized, however, that for many organizations
the strategic issues of segmentation and positioning often take on only a minimal role. In 1987
Saunders pointed to research that suggested that a substantial proportion of British companies
failed to segment their market, something that still appears to be the case today. He quotes the
marketing director of one consumer durables company as saying (Saunders, 1987, p. 25).
