In this segment we will learn how to proceed in the targeting of markets. We'll find out what the criteria are when targeting markets, and the really fun part will be when we actually get to do it. So let's get started. Okay, target selection it's a process and here we have some key words: align, balance, backup, and aggregate. And that's something, these are the things that you have to constantly keep in mind when you target your market. So, let's learn what each of these key words mean, in the context of target market solutions. A line, what does a line mean? Well I've mentioned alignment very much in this course, especially in the context of VSA. So that's what you want with your vision, strategy, and action. STP is a form of VSA. Of course we have the overarching VSA. But inside that overarching VSA, you have individual VSA, as we learned with consumer behavior. So with STP, here too, we want something that reflects our long term vision and in terms of targeting it could be reflected in the type of criteria that we use. Some were which are future goals oriented. It has to be reflected in our strategy in terms of the wiggle room that we have and choice of our targets. You don't want limit yourself to just one target. And of course it has to be aligned very well with the kind of action that you ultimately take, with respect to your chosen target segment. And in fact your target segment can be your point of difference, if you're the only company that has chosen it. So again we see that STP is very much an important part of your VSA. Okay, what does balance mean? Balance means precisely that. You want to make sure that, again, you're not just limited in terms of the kind of criterion that you use, in terms of choosing your target segment. Whether it's just thinking about the present and we have to guard against becoming like that monkey with those clenched fist in that coconut, because the present market may mask maybe limited future potential. So you want something that is balanced in terms of present and future market size. You also want to make sure that you're not just looking at quantitative criteria, because a lot of criteria are hard to measure. You also want to make sure that your criteria are not just externally oriented and that it also reflects internal criteria, such as your resources. And especially for this course, so you want to make sure that your criteria or balance in terms of domestic and global criteria. And more and more it's not just what you do offline, but it's also what you do online that matters in terms of how successful you are in your targeting. Okay, so let's look at an example of a company that has targeted this offline segment and that is Magnum, in not only in Thailand, but in many other southeast Asian countries, and Magnum is a masstige ice cream plant from Unilever. And they launched this viral campaign called try shoot and share. And you can have a view on YouTube at this link. And the key takeaway here is that even though this is an offline product, this is I think a very good example of O to O. Something that you can do online to promote your offline sales. So they were aided by 200 or more opinion leaders who had many followers. And they posted pictures of themselves eating ice cream. Which was then emulated by their legions of fans who then took selfies doing the same thing on these social network sites. And they achieved incredible growth in a very short period of time. So again, sometimes under the radar online segments can actually help your off-line performance. What does backup mean? Backup talks about a contingency because your Plan A, meaning your primary target may not pan out. And this could be for a host of reasons, such as distribution not being available like you assume. And more and more even with lux brand returning to again Omni Channel, because it helps them create a presence and in fact they can actually conduct e-commerce online. So again, this is something that you can plan for. And we'll learn later on that Plan B is something that you can eventually do anyway. So, it can be part of your long term road map and therefore, Plan B can actually be backed up with a Plan C. And lastly, aggregate means we should think about not just a single segment, but multiple segments, but in a sequential manner. But it behooves you to have a road map, and it should be organic in terms of how you extend your market presence. So this is where scalability matters, whether it's based on demand or whether it's based on supply. So demand could be similar kind of branding, and supply could the kind of scalability base seed that we learned of in another segment. So either way, again, there has to be this commonality created between segments, therefore enabling you to, again, be Lego like in terms of having Differentiated a demand, but behind the scenes, maybe much more integrated supply.
