Segmentation is a critical part of marketing strategy, particularly during down economies when buyers need to make difficult decisions about what to buy and what to do without. Promoting benefits of your products or services that are specific to several smaller  target audiences rather than promoting the same general benefits to all increases the likelihood of purchase.

There are many elements that go into developing a meaningful strategy, and I will write more about them in upcoming posts, but at the core of an effective strategy - the piece that must be understood without exception - is data. Without meaningful data about the market - your buyers, your prospects, your competition, the need for your products or service-you can't possibly determine the best way to grow.

In 2000, I co-authored an industry-focused book about marketing called Building Profits in the Construction Industry. Recently I was asked to update it for a new publisher.