Differentiated and Undifferentiated Marketing

Undifferentiated Marketing – Mass marketing

Undifferentiated marketing, or mass marketing, is a strategy that a company my chose to adopt if the market segmentation exercise has not been useful and has not produced meaningful and substantially different segments. The strategy here is to focus on common characteristics rather than on differences. The company designs a product and accompanying promotion that would appeal to the largest group of buyers possible. This strategy is also adopted by brands that have universal appeal. For example, Coca-Cola is one of these brands that has large marketing resources and appeals to many market segments with different needs and wants.

Differentiated Marketing – Special Offers

Differentiated marketing, or segmented marketing, is deployed when the company settles on one market segment or a few market segments that provide the best opportunities for them. Each segment is targeted with special offer designed to appeal specifically to the buyers of that market. Creating a stronger position within one segment would normally lead to higher sales, more repeat purchase behaviour and higher satisfaction from the customers. All of this comes at a higher cost than undifferentiated marketing as each segment will require a different product bundle and this lowers the chance for economies of scale. Promotion cost also grow with the growing number of campaigns.