Segmentation in Social Marketing: Why We Should Do It More Often that We Currently Do

Abstract

The assumption underpinning use of the market segmentation process is the belief that consumers have different wants which cannot be satisfied by a single one-size-fits-all marketing program. In this book we show that market segmentation is a crucial element of social marketing. This chapter serves as an introduction to the book and provides an overview of its main parts. In the first part—Segmentation in Social Marketing—we have four chapters reviewing the current state of knowledge on the use of segmentation in social marketing and we place market segmentation’s role within a wider social marketing context. In the second part—Segmentation process, methods, and application—in three chapters we introduce a five-step segmentation process for social marketing programs, describe different approaches to segmentation, and provide key resources for social marketers seeking to employ the methods described. And in the final part—Segmentation in practice—we have four chapters presenting different case studies detailing how segments have been derived in social marketing in a broad range of contexts including healthy lunches, alcohol and adolescents, and recycling.