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Beyond segmentation

Article  in  Journal of Targeting Measurement and Analysis for Marketing · January 1994

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 Jenkinson A (1994) Beyond Segmentation. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing,
Volume Three. Number One. Henry Stewart Publications, London.

Beyond Segmentation
RECEIVE3 Dl: M A R C H ,t 9 9 4
AngusJenkinson

AnsrRacr reductionism; indeed, chat is its power. Angus Jenkinson,

The euolutiono;fsegrnentatiort ntoflo- The essenceof segmentation is the di-
ft,orn MA Hons (Oxon),
lithic brandsparallelschangesin psychoso_ vision of a presumed Cert Ed, is Director.
larger whole into
cial dynamics. The [Link]-oltl smaller separategroups which may re- of Sceppirrg Stones
[Link] processhas intensi"fiedin quire different treatnent. The benefits ConsulrancyLtd, a
recentdecades. [Link] is only tltefirst segmentation brings are obviously con_ solutiorrsconsultancy
step in respondingto this. It is a top-doutrt. s i d e r a b l e a n d r e p r e s e n t for innovatiou,devel-
a major devel_
analyti6 approach.A ,groupittg' approach opment over what came before. Does
opnleltt and change,
par-ticularlyin all as-
-focusesott a synthetic, clustering process. II it, however, go far enough? Specifically,
pectsof the interface
leatls to the cort,celtt of ,custornercommtu,ti- how well does segmentation cope with
with the custonler.
ties' and tlte creatiorr. and preseruationoJ the concept and fact of the 'individual' He is one of the
hyalty [Link]. This paper pro- collsllrner (a term used to mean busi_ fbundelsof modern
posesMaslotu'[Link], of ualuesds d Lrse- ness ot' private custonler throughout)? [Link]
ful typology for the ladder of loyalty, or It is proposed that a step forwar.d can Britairi and is cur-
valtte,representingan evolution of quality be taken with an approach which em- rently pioneeting
thinking. The paper [Link] proposals phasises a [Link], building, r,vorkirigin customer
for tr ruetlrcdologlt fttr success. gathering approach to snccessful mar.- loyalryrnd service.
keting. Many of the technical tech- He consultswith sev-
INTRODUCTION eraileadingdirect
niques and even rruch of the
Segmentation is a standard technique marketingservice
conceptual approach will remain valicl
which is now well establishedboth as a ploviders and a vari-
even if the arguments in this paper are
rnental framework (or paradigrn) and as ery ofintelesting
accepted. However, there should be
[Link] book,
a s e r i e so f t e c h n i c a l m e t h o d s , l i n c o n - some irnportant reframing which 'Valuing
Custoners',
tinuons evolution. Segmentation as a should enhance brand and corporate will be published
methodology has irnplications, alnong positioning, service and'targeting,. eariyin i995.
others, for: Marketers should, it is hoped, have:
- brand and corporate positioning
- campaign and promotion - a better intellectuai and practical
strategy tool
- copy, offer and other details fol dealing wirh the interaction be-
- cLlstonlerselection for participation tween the concept of the 'individr"ral'
- media selection, and and the concept of 'group'
- channel choice. - a better way to develop brand
and or-
g a n i s a t i o np o s i t i o n i n g
Wl-rat kind of thinking, however, is seg- - a t11oresignificant role for
marketing
mentation? Typically it i,san analyrical in the ongoing evolurion of quality

60
- a better value and values-related ap- a tool and term it may be described as
proach to the task of marketing' only the first stage of evolution beyond
the monolithic brands which untii re-
This paper (which is an abbreviation of cently dominated markets. ManY, of
material to be published as part of a course, are still verY imPortant'
However, rather than trY to create
book later this year) therefore aims to
show how: one brand which satisfied all, a multi-
'align- plicity of focused brands appeared'un-
- the concePt of 'grouP' and
[Link] this partly sprang ftom the
'focus' could be more
ment' or Pow-
'segmenl' and 'target' (first
erful than
part of the PaPer).
- reiationshiP management may be
'total
considered the next steP in differentiation grew as a consequence
q u a l i t y ' e v o l u t i o n ( s e c o n dP a r t ) ' and necessity when the stable world of
traditional products was shocked by the
By shifting to the language and atti-
product proliferation of the last century
tudes behind'grouping', companles
(and especiallythe last few decades)'As
will more easily create and take advan-
craft products from guilds and local,
tage of loyalty opportunltles among
known traders and manufacturers were
customers where traditional loyalties are
increasingly repiaced by relatively
no longer reliable.
anonymous supply sources,the need for
t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n to f b r a n d a n d c o r p o -
BRAND DIFFERENTIATION
rate identity became increasingly impor-
Given the current and valid emphasis on
tant in order for relationships to exist'
the individual in marketing, surnmed up
in the increasingly ubiquitous slogan'
'one-to-one marketing', how appropriate Individu al differentiation
Another driver, however, was and is the
now is the concept of segmentation?The
changing psychology of the consumer',
need for focu-s,which segmentation brings'
Space cloesnot permit a full treatment of
is not in question. Focus brings quahty
the sociological processof individualisa-
improvement and waste reduction'
Furthermore, there is a connectton tion which is taking place' However, Just
as technology has been evolvrng and
between branding and focusing' Brand-
changing over thousands of years with
ing, as a minimum' aims to establish a
dramatic acceleration in recent centurles'
distinctive and attractive petsonality for
ancl particularly this one, so can a parallei
the product. This is easiestachieved in
chrrrg. be noted in psycho-sociaiforms'
reiation to a sPecific grouP of con-
as shown in Tabie 1'
sumers. It tries to establisha difference 'We
can even see dramatic contrasts
with a premium (ie, added value)'
However, segmentation irnplies a top- b e t w e e n p r e s e n t - d a ym o r e s a n d V i c t o -
r i a n c l a s ss t r u c t u r e s o r a c r o s sd i f f e r e n t
down differentiation of a population' As

6l
 societies today. 'While there
are many of modern times: the French
factors involved, a central revolu_
and domi_ tron. Businesses
nant factor is the e todayare not immune
funego to this icon toppling.
or individuar,.lf..;::?;;n:i
Since the ,sixtiesthe pace of
In a modern sense, other such
rhan for changehasincreaseddramatically.
rare exceptions, this is really i;;
surpris_ imporranceof this
ingly recent. Various commentators
cate the real change
lo_
at different
obviou,
o"";iil: ffiiH:il,?Jil
the shift towards segmentatlon
moments, but mostiy post_15th is the re_
cen_ sponse to this phenomenon.
tury. For exampie, this analysis Con_
from a sumers can also reject the
recent survey of culturai history: marketer.,s
p:ovidential plan, or cufture
'Rousseau's (brancl).
narrative of his rnner life They may have no lnterest
in durifutiv
is also Rousseau's in,rerrtiorr... labouring to buiid our .pyram
of ii- .if
" R o u s s e a u" . profit and power.
"Rousseau,,...
Ro.,.u,,:".,
(r;i;W Consumers evaluate the relationship
inuents rnodern rnan who berween the brand image
thinks thai and th. .erl_
truth is not just something ity of experience. The brand
that exists promise is
out there - in an order of not only a component of
the uni_ the product
verse, or rn Godt providential but also a measurlng gauge.
pian for Brand
product and service components
are
perienceand history of eachindiuidwal... evaluated againstpersonal
experience
Culture cannot be imposed and expectation.
on him
fiom the outside...Tradldons Given the significance of the
and cus_ -. service
toms... have to meet the test: ,,cctn dimension, irs individurl
tltey
't ."p..[Link]..
be authentic ,2 rncreasinglyeither damages
fot me?,, (my italic$ . the brand
or rs affirmed by it. The
Rousseaut influence was significant rnomenr of
in truth [Link]:,Is this authentic
one of the great icon-toppling3 (for
events me)?'

ThbleI

EGYPTIAN FORMAI,ISM
AND CURRENT'CRAZY TIMES'
[Link] '
6 1 f
Late 2)tlt Century West
Pharaoh as god
Watergate er ai (icon toppling)
Slavery
Political correctness
Rigid hieratic classes
Mobiiity of rhe individual
Natural order
Social re-invention by humans
3 , 0 0 0 + y e a r s 'd u r a r i o n
That was yesterday'sproduct

62
 EVOLUTION OF on appropriate factors (age, gender,
SEGMENTATION buyer or not, interests etc), grouping
Segmentation therefore is a responseto means finding and collecting togerher
both: people who share common characteris_
- the need to respond tics (interests, buyer or not, gender,
to individual
tasteand personality a g e ). G r o u p s a n d s e g m e n r sa r e n o t , a t
- the need to provide first, that far apart. In practical terms
product identity
with which customers can more we could use factor and cluster analvsis.
closely associate for example, to determine both. In
both, we would create discrete pro_
with an obvious interaction. preference grammes and products aimed at a por_
niches were sought for products. peo_ tion of the consumer marketplace.
p l e ' s t a s t e sw e r e s h a p e d b y n e w p r o d _
The difference may seem subtle, but,
ucts. Proliferation of ,people, and as shown
'product' in Table 2, it can have imoor_
personalities makes the t a n t b e n e f i t s . I t i s m u c h e a s i e rt o , s e e _
matching processmore critical. ment' than to 'group'. Groupirig
The step from: requlres more intimate knowledEe and
- individual small relationship. However, if the proless of
scale craft produc_
tion/trade directed towards tradi_ grouping is stressedas a directiintowards
tional, undifferentiated, w h i c h r o e v o l v e ( i d e a sa l w a y s p r e c e d e
slowiy
changing demand parrerns i m p l e r n e n t a t i o n ) t h c n i t i s p o s s i b l et o
poslt sonre potential effectsof so doing.
to: I s n o t n r u c h o f b u s r n e s sa r n " n a r r r a r r ,
- national/global manufacture a b o u t n r a n a g i n g t h e ' s e a m s ' ,6 n d i n e
aimed at
differentiated, rapidly changing de_ ways to bring people and things to_
mand g e r h e r , e f f e c t i v e l y ? I s t h a t n o t t h - et a s k
of marketing?
requires the kind of focus thar segmenta_ 'Whatt
in a word? Ask rhe coov
tion gives. Mass marketing is
rypically too writer. For exampie, it is much ."ri.,
inefficient. Segmentation as differentiared to think of developing a relationship
massmarketing is the new solution. with a group (of people) rhan , ,"g-.n,.
But segmentation, as nornially un_ How many segmentd s o you personally
derstood, represents only the
first stage have a relationship with? Do you wanr
in the responseto the market phenom_ to be in one? A groLlp connotes indi_
ena. It is a first breakdown of the viduais who have something in com_
monolithic market into smailer units. It mon: a communlty of individuals.
is possible to go further. One may want to belong to a group,
by becoming a Gold Card Member,
Scgments and groups environmentalist or Armani client; but
w h e r e a s t o ' s e g m e n t ' i n r p l i e s d i u i d i n ga o n e d o e s s o a s a n i n d i u i d u a l .T h e t r e n d
glven population into portions based i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n i n c r e a s e sw i t h e a c h

63
 new generation4and with
the age of
the individual, Old loyalries
di;:;;
Number One comesfirst.
Hence, there are new challenges
for
the marketer,whosejob -ur,
,rr"ti U.^io everwant or rvould havethe
sensethe realities *o,r.-."ts kind of so_
".ri ;;;;; clety or market where individualism
in the psycheof society is
1o. p"r, cotallyranrpant(,the customer
of ir) and ro reac accordingly."."[Link].r, is kins,)
Trd"/r;;; and no meaningfulcohesion
demandsindiuidualked *n tt'irg. o. ,of.;;;-.;
exlstsrs open to doubt. There
This switch from a reiariiely is more
undif_ than one kind of ryranny.
ferentiated,cianmarker,
.[Link]*r,
where iarge groups behave
th. ,"_. LOYALTY: THE EVOLUTION
way,.drivenby traditions,such oF
., .l;;, GROUPING
ethnic or culrural habrts,
,, frigiif
personalmarket of individu"t,"
."ri U.
describedin four rlaJor stages
consti_
tuting a conceptuaicontrnuum,
asillus_
trated in Table 3.
Grouping asopposedto segirientation,
representsthe flip from a ,class' ,clani
or

Thble2

SEGMENTS AND GROUPS

'Segmentso
are rnore: 'Groups'
'Iop are more:
down
.What Bottom up
divides?
W'hat unites?
Population based
People based
Macro-economic
Micro-economic
Classdetermined values
Individual values shared
(Useful) absrraction
Concrete peopie
Product driven
Requirements driven
A i m i n g t o g e n e r a t ea s p r r a t i o n s
Aiming to recognise aspirations
Targeted solutions
Tailored solutions
Targeted, focused on
Aligned with, focused on
Aimed at 'target' audience
Aimed at 'listening' audience
Selectedby factors in common
Recognised as community of
tansaction potential individuals
Relationship potenrial

54
 of asa loyalryand communiry
lT:*n,
clevelopment capacity.
Deveioping loyalty is
a lonq_term
commttment. In o
European .o^u-",f,;Jil'JJi*1:
84 per cenr claimedto be .rrirrg'dir..i
techniquesand67 p"., ...,,
li:[Link]
o-eneved that promoting consumerloy_
alty is its main purpose.5yet
the Ameri_
can Direc Marketing Associarion,s
1992 Never sell to a custorner once
[Jlrect Marketer of the year, pick_ if
Jerry you can
[Link]
do it again
holz of Ogilvy & Mather 1Xu again
birect was r^rugoocl buslnesses
moved to say in his acceptance are built on repeatabie
'I address:
say we,ve failed. As direct
_rrt .[Link],
we're used to thinking and
succeeding
in the short term'.
There are a limited range of
things a
-can ported by culture,
company can do with a customer: soructures and
it ;information
-f^-*^.: ^,-
systems.

Thble3
THEDIFFERENTIAM
Past
outer driversdominate
ilXtJT.,r.r, don,]r,rrt.

'ctass'
Yi" , [Link] Group
Grouping orcia' .Keeping Ilrdiv;aual
driver
upwith #. i.r iliirll,,,",
' u^',tu
habits th"loneses;: aspirational recognised
values
Suppiy Local, traditional, Local service and Tailored nlt..,",.^,
dynamic wirhsome ;;;, brands,
'monolithic',
big somevery big
;.:::":T ,". #::H::X;
," rvrcesofall
brands
Customer I know my
L t \ f place
yrdLc II want rny
wanr m piace
y p lace Iffi:tr.
have
attitude
Archetypai ^A lvrooel
T '
I for This year's Buick Virgin
products everyone rnodel for rhe young [Link]
execullve
* * * -
1/2" screws Brass1./2,,screws Own label Giveme your
specialist sciew design
screws today

65
 A New Vorld tions for such health. His work on the
The arrivai of the
Japaneseon the world Hierarchy of Needs6 has, as far as the
s t a g eh a s c h a n g e d t h e r u l e s o f b u s i n e s s ,
'W author is aware,never before been ao_
Edwards Deming, one of the most
plied to an understanding of organisa_
influential management thinkers chis
t i o n b e h a v i o u r .a s s u c h , a l t h o u s h i t h a s
century, makeshis second rule, ,Adopt
been used very widely ,o .*pirin p.r_
the new philosophy. We are i, o .r.i
sonnel notivation and to give insighr
economlc age.' In all its forms, quality, to
management, marketing and salesprac_
flexibility and service began to ,ui.
t i c e . U s i n g i t t o d e s c r i b et h e n e e i s o f
planning. In this planning, the customer
organisations is revealing (seeTable 4).
has a new place: at the centre of the
or_ The basic principle of his rheory is
ganrsation'sthinking.
simple and cogent. He [Link]
In chis new world, direct marketing
hunrans were driven progressivelyby an
has an extraordinary role to piay. NoI
ascendingser of needs. His typology be_
the direcr marketing of junk mail and
'(.actical glns at the lowest level, the basic phvsio_
campaigns', bur a quality disci_ l o g i c a l d r i v e s , e s p e c i a l l ys u r v i v a l , a n d
pline based on a responsible use of d,ata
ascends to so-called Self_actualisation.
and a methodical and passionateap_
The idea can be understood as follows:
proach to customer focus and dialogue.
first, humans have a basic need to be
In fact, the author suggeststhat theleal
alive. They wanr fbod and rhe orher ba_
discipline (nor always applied) of direcr
sics. They want them now. Tomorrow is
marketing is the ace up the sleeve of
rather a long way off. 'When they are
modern businessthinking.
starving rhey will work quite hard to qet
food. If their lives are rhrearened by
TT{E QUALITY HIERARCHY: A someone wiih a gun, their current salar.y
LADDER OF VALUE rather takes a back seat. The immediate
The 'ladder of value, is a new concept,
presetlt becomes all.
developing the understanding of the con_
As basic survival is rnet, safetv and
cept of relationship marketing. As a the*
comfort becorle lnore llnportant. They
ory, it explains both the development of
want to know that they will have a roof
totai quality production and suggestsits
over their heads tomorrow, and be able
future development, in a way rather at_
to pay the bills and so on. Satisfactionat
tractlve and irnpor:tarlt to che rnarketer,
this level leads to a higher level of moti_
One of the nrost inrportant contri* vation; they wanr to feel that they belong
butions to 20th centrlry psychology has
to a group of people who valne and ap_
undoubrediy been rhat of Abraham
preciate rhem, who love them. This
Maslow, particularly in its impact on
builds confidence unril the need to feel
the business community. Unusuaily
g o o d a b o u t o n e s e l fb e c o m e s d o m i n a n t .
among earlier psychologists,his work
They want self-esteem, depending not
emphasisednor rhe parhological condi_
on the views of others, but themselves.
tion, but healthy ones, and the condi_
Finally, rhey want ro express their full

56
 selves: to do what lies within
them as
their potential, what expresses
their

becomes ever more urgent. Ascendance

representsreal development: a ladder
ro a
more successfulexistence.
[Link] this theory be used to explain
.
the behaviour and give directior,
,o
evoiutionary possibility for such ".,
behav_
r o u r i n o r g a n i s a t i o n s ?G i v e n
the fact
t h a t o r g a n i s a t i o n sc o n s i s t o f p e o p l e
in_
teracting with other groups of
people,
i t s e e m s a t l e a s r r e a s o n a b l e .I n - f a c i ,
it

Thble4
LADDER TO VALUE, BASED

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Related organisation state
Se!f-artuolkatiorr:achicving [Link].
SaruiceMastery
d o i n ga r r db e i n gc r c a r i v ei n w h e t
h . o r ^i h . i "s Integration of personal, corpotate
fitted for, [Link],self_knowledge, and [Link]
joy in the capacityto give a i n r si n a n e f f e c t i v e ,d y n a n t r c ,r r r u o v a t r v e ,
livelv
o r g a n i s a t i o n k, r r o w i r r g a n d a c h i e v i u g
i,, ,,rirrioir
a n o p o t e n t t a lr n h r r . r n o r r yw i t h s u p p l i e r s
and
cLlstolners.
Self-esteenr:
[Link]
sornethingfelt to be [Link]

Bclonging-:being welcomed into

n-reaningful Seaking loyalty
relationship with others
Relarionship quality [Link] [Link].
tlaV, p a l r n e r . s hi p p r . o g r - a l l ) n r e sc ,u s r o l
uer
[ e r a r t o l ] s h l pf o c u s , )
SaJety contfort:Effectiveness: Tauing
,and the Auoiding tlte pain
World: [Link] [Link]
P r o d r - r c tq u a l i t y a s s u r a n c ed i r e c t c , d
at
avoidrng tr-or-rble,[Link] ancl hassle_fi.ee
proclu c ti on,
IS9000and 8S5750.
[Link] necds:Security and
Strruiuing[y salss
S u r v i v a l : S r - r r v i v i n gN o w
P r o f it q u a n t i t y d i r e c t e d : S r r r v i v a l

57
 panies are focused on this month's prof- l i v e r a u t h e n t i c s e r v r c e l n r e s p o n s et o
its. When this is a crisis which mori- the real interests of its members: the
vates change, it has merits, but as a way customers, This means managing the
of life it is rather meagre. interaction with customers successfully:
'numbers'
A obsessed business is a d d i n g p e r s o n a l i s a r i o nr o t h e s o - c a l l e d
probably focusing on maintenance and moments of truth.
survival; basic physiological needs. One Companies rnay have relationship as-
o f t h e t e s r so f a s t r u g g l i n g c o m p a n y i s piration before they know how to do a
that the monthly financtal figures dom- good product quality job. This rends ro
inate attention. lead towards disappointment at 'hype'.
Organisations are also threatened by Furthermore, quality improvement
p o o r p r o d u c t . T h e y p r o g r e s sb y f i g u r - needs continually to evolve to keep
i n g o u t t h a t t h e r o u t e t o s u c c e s si n - pace with customer aspiration and
volves using resources to improve competency trends.
product quality ro reduce error (safety Sussex-basedSaga Holidays is one ex-
and comfort). ample of a company which demonstrares
This is a decisive shift, but nor yet a someof these [Link] saw the oppor-
final goal. Developing basic product tunity to match the freedom of senior
quality (difficulr enough for some com- citizens to travel, their desire to find
panies) is a prerequisire of relationship warmth in che winter cold, and the need
qualicy. Total quaiiry thinkingt cusromer to do so cheaply, with off-season, idle
focus leads naturally over to relationship capacity in Mediterranean holiday re-
qualiry and lifetime value thinking. sorts. Sagacreated the brand leader in a
Just as the debate about the cost of new market with a daiabaseof well over
quality has broadly been resolved: two million people. In their category,
- they are well known; outside it, relatively
quality saves money (by reduced
obscure. This is because chey focused
waste: ie, a comfort factor);
- even if it did not, there is no choice: their communications where it was tele-
vant. Not only that, but they recognised,
no quality, no business (safety, sur-
in serving their chosen communlty, an
vival);
opportunlty to capitaliseon the percep-
so has the need and value of relationship tion of Saga as lifestyle leaders. Now, a
m a n a g e m e n t b e e n r e s o l v e d .B u t , m o v - special interest consumer magazlne ex-
ing up this ladder, which will mean be- pands their service. The rnagazine also
comlng nrore successfuland profitable, promotes other products and [Link]
demands culture and paradigm shifrs in asking questionsabout curstomerlnterests
the business. 'Would
like, you be inrerested in home
Becoming relacionship or comlrlu- security and if so what would be impor-
nity value directed rneans progressively tant?', they have developed a range of
understanding the nature of the corn- services frorn knitting patterns to spe-
munity and recognising the need to de- cially-designed aparrments for the e1-

68
 derly. The database enabies interesred
another community, a community
customers Cobe informed about new
of_ which even had a colourl IBM users
fers after they have been researched.
were quite distinctive with respect
There are many others:
r o , s a y I C L o r D i g i t a l u s e r s .B o t h
of
these, in turn, had their own charac_
- Control Data
Corporation whose real [Link] the company and the
comlrttment to poorer neighbour_
people in the company were often
hood communities as long ago as the
detectably different.
1 9 7 0 s m e a n r i t e v e n d e s i g n e dp r o d _ - Land Rover
customers; a group of
ucts and serviceswhich would aim
wealthy individuals who tend ro be
to legener-atethese communltles;
o w n e r s o f t h e i r o w n b u s i n e s s e ss, e _
- [Link]-profi t
mernbership organisations nior directors or landed gentry.8 fl-r.
- perhaps the Institute of Direct
establishment.
Markering?
- Weleda, an international Obviously, every user or customer does
non_profit
making commercial businessprodu._ not precisely fit rhe rnould; perhaps none
ing and selling natural medicines and do. In a comrnunity or family there is
a
therapiessince early this century; spread. But, the commonaliry is real.
- Weight 'Warchers, any company be really sllccess_
which focuseson
an international community of mil_ ful, change the world, even in a small
lions and whose parent, way, become iconic or even stand out
JR Heinz,
has been building a verrically_inte_ u nlessit, in some way, plugs into this
grated businessto focus on thern; factor? FIow can one rlake this happen?
- American Express H ow can one move up the ladJer of
Gold Card;
-John Sculiey, v a iues, which is also a stairway
a marketer who was no to
soft rouch, teils how,7 at pepsi, he [Link]? A few suggesrions follow (see
aufhorised the 'pepsi Generation, ad_ alsoFigure 1):
verts, surely aimed at exploiting just - etlsure the product
comes wrapped in
the power this concept owns. There
the company soui. Cold, uncaring
was a time when self_respectingpeo*
c o m p a n i e sb r e e d c o l d , u n c a r i n g c u s _
pie did not offer pepsr ro ,[Link]
tomers
fi'iends becauseit was perceived as an - work for 'alignment,.
The company
inferior brand. Later, he became
must stand for values belonging to
president of Apple, whose vision and
the cornrlunity or group the indi_
p a s s t o n a t ec o m m i t m e n t t o c h a n g i n g
vidual is related to. These mnst be
the world by providing , r",", [Link]
demonstrable and intrinsic. The
friendly tool for eclncation, life and
e s s e n c eo f ' s e g m e n t a t i o n , g o e s d e e p
w o r k c r e a t e da d i s t i n c t i v e c o m m u _
into the organisation niche_
nity of users;
manship
I B M m a i n f r a m e u s e r s , e s p e c i a l l yi n - the individual
and cornpany mLlsr
the cornpany's heyday, constituted
want to form an associativerelation_

69
 shipe appropriate to
the service and - use quality
clrcumstance,for development technioues
which there must
be good reasons. whjch have a ful teft
Customers ;-;; b."i;_;.T;;
more stupid than companies brain approach to lmprovement.
The
- dialogue
- the individual
are
ff :';ff l"T"
_.
lr.d' D;;i;
should nor tyrannise. Japanese,
are
the company serves If a good placero ,:;:[Link]
a group or com_
munlty, each consumer
needs the To achievethis, marketing
company to be successful. needsto be_
Companies long to the whole organisation,
need to know the;
,r,.y,,..J,.ir-#:;
T#;:lt ;l,l end-to-endcommitment.
with an

out of a willingness
to do a goodJob,
noc out of fear. If companje, TALKING WITH CUSTOMERS
,.hi.u. n.,^00J. Cor.p-.J__i'rii.
that, they will find
it much ."ri.. to -r- oration;, n,
Iisten to customer complaints. Lo cnanglng rhe world, ro delivering
[Link].r_ better future for society, a
more, with this attitude, rs what drove it
.urro*.., to rts world_classstatus.
begin to communj Th. p.o..r, of
want
/ nee
d/donofri::i:,,Il:.lr',?..1 beganwith [Link],*;;;
l,1"^Y"ni.".t
deas and desiresof
the customer who does
not communi_ "
',^rty^a.^pr;;;, t:r*J.'
cate about probiems
does not care. r;. LHt'"f
contprrterclubs of the
early ,.rr"[Link].r.

Figure 1: Indiyiclualised
marketing

Values
Comnrunity/Group

Product Relationship
& service Service
[ransactlon

Corirpany

70
 From these came the first ideas and the
truth. (This term was coined by SAS,s
first product, intended for hobbyists. rnanaging director and refers to each
Later, the genesis of the best personal
moment of interaction when the cus_
computer on the market, the Macintosh, tomer's contact with the company
came abour through feedback on Apple
means that the company is evaluated.)
II, information from journalists arrd ure.s
Direct marketing could be the natural
of the less successfulLisa and from first
discipline to enhance this service con_
useis and buyers of the Macinrosh (who
cept, adding personal value to the rela_
pointed out its early deficiencies,such as
tionship. Direct marketing's natural
lack of memory). The involvemenr of progressionls towards a database_sup_
thousands of dealers,customers and in_ ported lifetime commitment to devel_
dustry commentators refined and devel_ oplng and maintaining individual
oped the product Llntii it had B0 per cenr c u s t o m e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s .D i r e c t m a r k e t _
of the personal computer markec. ing skiils enable the niche focus which
Since then, despite loss of share dur_ differenriates the company co and aligns
rng market growth, customers have
ir with, the community, while also en_
been coming back again ancl again and abling pelsonalised servrce.
telling their fiiends.
The relationship consists of these
Sone prodncts have been built frorn p e r s o n a l m o m e n t s , w h i c h s h o r . r l db e
d e c a d e so f l i s t e n i n g a n d d e v e l o p m e n r . cuitivared with personalised care: the
The Levi [Link] quality of the catalogue,the donation
d e s c r i b e st h e s r a g e sb y w h i c h 5 0 1 s b e _ thank you, che response to a careline
came a classicis an exerctse1n colrmlr_ phone. (There are also the moments
nicating that idea. Some products cilat companies overlook, or fail to
explode new onto the world stage,like r e c o g n r s e :s i n s o f o m i s s i o n a s o p p o s e d
Walkman or Apple, but these too arrive to commission; for example, failing to
by tuning in to the voice of inspiration thank or inforrn a customer.) Increas_
arising from the senseof the time, or a ingly, direct marketing skills will be
deep intuicion aboLltpeople. Even so, if u s e d t o e n c o u l - a g ea n d e x e c u t e p r o a c _
t h e s e p r o d u c t s a r e t o s L l r v i v ea n d p r o s _ trve and event l-esponstvecornmunlca_
per, a process of ongoing dialogue with tron. This will range far beyond direct
cltstonrerswill be required and a conse_ mail. In particular, people are likely to
quent tuning of the product and ali as_ b e c o m e m o r e , r a t h e r t h a n l e s s ,i m p o r _
pects of its process to the customer, tant in the channel mrx.
including maintenance and service.
Database [Link] therefore be_
This art of conversation is the aim of colnes: The effective use of information
direct marketing. to support, at minimum cost for. opti_
rnum effect, a creativeand continuous
MOMENTS OF TRUTH development of [Link] with
It is cultivared by developing the disci_ a company's custonter conrnrunity
pline of managing the moments of through an informed, personalisedcon_

7l
 versatlon, service and trade which
the brand and the customer. This will
somettmesrespondsto and sometimes
need just as much iong-term invest_
initiates posirive changes in both the
ment and care, and neither is possible
company and its individual customers.
without the other.

BRAND STEWARDSHIPlO IS
CUSTOMER STEWARDSHIq IS
BRAND STEWARDSHIP DONE REFERENCES
RIGHT 1 Theseinciude RFM analysis, geodemo_
Going beyond segmentatlon neans
g r a p h i c p r o f i l i n g , r e g r e s s i o nC
, HAID
total internal alignment with the cus_
and other modelling rlethods, value
spectrunl, action profiling, and event
trlggeramong others.
2 Casey,J.'The Culrure Essay',The Sun_
day Times March 13th 1994.
3 Icon topplingis one of the key trencis
new age will focus on a partnership of
idencifiedby Faith popcorn'sBrain Re_
a c c o u n t a n d b r a n d s r e w a r d s h i p ,w h i c h
s e r v e .S e e' T h e p o p c o r n R e p o r r : R e v _
makes more sense. Companies will
oiution and Trend predictions for
need to ask themselves:
M a r k e t i n g i n t h e 9 0 s ' , ( 1 9 9 3 )A r r o w ,
- what will my for more details of chis reported trend
custoners want that I
can seil them? towardsconsunersoverthrowing social
- how do I make icons,ie, establishment personalities
sure they are my cus_ and
tomers tomorrow and the next year? [Link] (eg, rhe challenges to the US
- how do I ensure President).
thar cheir perception
and experience of what I sell ihem 4 Note Popcorn'strend:Egonomics
will ensure my future? 5 C a r r i e d o u t b y I n r e r n a r i o n a lD i r e c r
M a r k e t i n gA l l i a n c e .
Brand management clearly needs to re_
6 Maslow, A. (I970) ,Motivation and
spond to a new chalienge. It has always
Personality',Harper & Row.
valued a long-term approach. It takes a
7 S c u l l e y , J(. 1 9 8 S ), O d y s s e y F ,,
onrana.
lot of money and rime to really develop
8 Voelkel, J. Jowrnalof DatabaseMarketing,
a brand. Brand loyalcy depends on a
Volume One, Number One, Henry
sustained relationship between the cus_
StewartPublications,London.
tomer and the brand. What is being ar_
9 I am gratefuito Rudolf Steiner,an ini_
gued for is the complement of this
trator and philosopherat the beginning
philosophy. If a company wancs to cre_
of the century, whose ideason this
ate and sustain a relationship between
s t i r n u l a r endr y t h i n k i n g s o m ey e a r sa g o .
the customerand the brand, it might just
W o r l d E c o n o m y ,1 9 7 2 , 3 r de d i t i o n .
need to create and sustain orr. b.t-..r,
10 An Ogilvy & Mather term.

72

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