Emergent Consumer Behaviour and Market Segmentation

To date, there has been little attention given to the fundamental issue of how organisations might approach market segmentation in a context where customers move between an on-line and off-line marketplace, and exhibit changing needs, changing skills and changing market understanding. An analysis of interview data and market research and strategy documentation provided by a major competitor in the wealth management sector revealed previous and current approaches to market segmentation, issues surrounding the strategic application of these traditional approaches, and forces shaping emerging wealth management markets. Scenarios capturing key risk elements of the emerging market were developed jointly between researchers and interviewees, and two alternative approaches to segmentation which capture the dynamic nature of customer behaviour as they engage in wealth management decision-making were tested against those scenarios.