Editing Market segmentation (section)

=== A-priori segmentation ===

A priori research occurs when "a theoretical framework is developed before the research is conducted".<ref>Market Research Association, ''Glossary of Terms'', Online:http://www.marketingresearch.org/issues-policies/glossary</ref> In other words, the marketer has an idea about whether to segment the market geographically, demographically, psychographically or behaviourally before undertaking any research. For example, a marketer might want to learn more about the motivations and demographics of light and moderate users to understand what tactics could be used to increase usage rates. In this case, the target variable is known – the marketer has already segmented using a behavioural variable – '''user status'''. The next step would be to collect and analyze attitudinal data for light and moderate users. The typical analysis includes simple cross-tabulations, frequency distributions, and occasionally logistic regression or one of several proprietary methods.<ref>Wedel, M. and Kamakura, W.A., ''Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations,'' Springer Science & Business Media, 2010, pp 22-23.</ref>

The main disadvantage of a-priori segmentation is that it does not explore other opportunities to identify market segments that could be more meaningful.