Technographic segmentation for
marketing management
Marketing management is the strategic organizational discipline that focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of marketing resources and a ...
is a
market research
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...
analysis tool used to identify and profile the characteristics and behaviors of consumers through the process of
market segmentation
In marketing, market segmentation or customer segmentation is the process of dividing a consumer or business market into meaningful sub-groups of current or potential customers (or consumers) known as ''segments''. Its purpose is to identify pr ...
. Traditionally market researchers focused on various
demographic
Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.
Demographic analy ...
,
psychographic, and
lifestyle schemes to categorize and describe homogeneous clusters of consumers that comprise possible
target markets
A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total ma ...
.
With the advent of
personal computers
A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
and
home video
Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...
in the late 1980s and the explosion in
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
use,
personal digital assistants
A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDAs were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smar ...
,
BlackBerries
BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...
,
video games
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
,
cell phones
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive Telephone call, calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones (landline phone ...
, etc. in the 1990s, information and communication technologies have emerged as a central focus and defining force in a wide range of occupations and lifestyles. Accordingly, market researchers realized the need for a segmentation scheme based on the role that technology plays in consumers' lives.
Development
Technographic segmentation was developed to measure and categorize consumers based on their ownership, use patterns, and attitudes toward information, communication and entertainment technologies.
The concept and technique was first introduced in 1985 by Dr. Edward Forrest in a study of
VCR users. It was elaborated upon in the article "Segmenting VCR Owners" published in the ''Journal of Advertising Research''. The article suggested that the profiling of technology consumers "should be based on an amalgam of variables which might best be referred to as 'technographic'... which focuses on the motivations, usage patterns, attitudes about technology... as well as measures of a person's fundamental values and lifestyle perspective."
The concept has been adopted by Forrester Research, Inc. as a research service for information-technology and marketing professionals, business strategists, and technology industry executives.
Technographics has two categories, Social Technographics and Mobile Technographics. Technographic
data can be mined from technical support forums, company social media postings, press releases, government/public websites, and even online job postings.
See also
References
{{Reflist
External links
Benefits of Technographic Data
Market research