what are market segments 
dividing a target market into segments means grouping the population according to the key characteristics that drive their spending decisions some of these are gender age income level race education level religion marital status and geographic location consumers with the same demographics tend to value the same products and services which is why narrowing down the segments is one of the most important factors in determining target markets for example people who fall into a higher income bracket may be more likely to buy specialty coffee from starbucks instead of dunkin donuts the parent companies of both of these brands need to know that in order to decide where to locate their stores where to stock their products and where to advertise their brand a business may have more than one target market a primary target market which is the main focus and a secondary target market which is smaller but has growth potential toy commercials are targeted directly to children their parents are the secondary market target market and product salesidentifying the target market is an essential part of a product development plan along with manufacturing distribution price and promotion planning the target market determines significant factors about the product itself a company may tweak certain aspects of a product such as the amount of sugar in a soft drink or the style of the packaging so that it appeals more to consumers in its target group as a company s product sales grow it may expand its target market internationally international expansion allows a company to reach a broader subset of its target market in other regions of the world in addition to international expansion a company may find its domestic target market expands as its products gain more traction in the marketplace expanding a product s target market is a revenue opportunity worth pursuing 