Discusion 3

Describe the different stages of market segmentation; the steps a firm would go through to get to the ideal group of prospects with the interest, need, desire, budget, decision making authority to buy or respond to a lead generating ad, or to go to a retail location to purchase a specific product or to remember a specific brand if asked in a survey. 

What marketing segmentation actually represents is a “consumer needs gap”. How would you best describe a needs gap by an example? If marketers know what needs gaps are, then why are they allowed to exist? Describe a “positioning map” and how it is used by marketers and how it would be used to eliminate a needs gap? 

· Main responses should be no less than 300 words.

· Please provide APA in-text and end-of-text citations for all your research. Do NOT copy and paste material as that is plagiarism. If using direct (word-for-word) quotes, these need to be properly cited. 

· Main responses are original in content and demonstrate a thorough analysis of the topic.