Page 30 - DCAP307_PLANNING_AND_MANAGING_IT_INFRASTRUCTURE

Planning and Managing IT Infrastructure

Notes The current situation analysis step is dominated by data collection and analysis. It is also a time
to check the validity and buy-in of the company Mission and Vision. It is a time to get feedback
on employee perceptions of the company. And, it is a time to explore the value that customers
place on the relationship.
This work process provides the foundation for the work of assembling the next four steps of
strategic planning into a working document that becomes the strategic plan, the road map for
the business plan, and the guide to long-term success for the company.

Task Make distinction between mission statement and vision statement.

Segmentation Analysis: Matching Market Potential and Company Strength

The purpose of this process is to match the company’s current or prospective products and
services with the market’s potential. The alignment of the company’s products with the market
potential helps focus the strategic planning activities of the company in areas of highest volume
potential and highest financial return.

The framework for segmentation analysis suggested here has been used successfully by a number
of companies. First, before any consideration of the products and services that the company
produces, identify the market segments from the customers’ needs perspective.
Market segments are groups of customers who exhibit similar buying decision processes.

Example: One segment of most markets consists of the customers who are very price
oriented and buy based on price alone. Other segments may look for services ahead of price.

The basic purpose of this process is to find customers who behave in a similar purchasing
manner, and to find how their behaviour is different from other market segments. A common
method of market segmentation in consumer markets is to use demographic variables such as
age, sex, income, and location to describe segments.

Example: The needs of a 25 to 35 year old college graduate recently married are very
different from the needs of an empty nesting couple aged 60 to 65.

The process of segmentation breaks the market into groups who exercise similar purchase
patterns and implies how marketers should reach these groups.
There are many ways to segment markets. In addition to demographics, many marketers of
consumer products use buying behaviour patterns, psychographic segmentation variables, and
lifestyle variables. There is no exact way to segment a market; it is a combination of science and
art in understanding the buying behaviour of your current and potential customers.
In business-to-business markets, the type of customer or customer channel, is a common
segmentation variable.

Example: Retail automobile customer segments, such as automobile dealers, and retailers
of automotive parts exhibit very different buying patterns for automobile repair products and
services. The differences between these segments buying behaviour patterns create unique
segments.

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