“Virtual Erudite” as a New Entry in Segmentation

• Published in: Productivity (New Delhi) 2021-12, Vol.62 (3), p.225-234
• Main Authors: PRAKASH, AJAI, K. TIWARI, AJITESH
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Competition; Competitive advantage; Customers; Decision making; Market segmentation; Market segments; Productivity; Questionnaires; Rationality; Research methodology; Technological change; Technology; Value creation
• ISSN: 0032-9924; 0976-3902
• DOI: 10.32381/PROD.2021.62.03.2

Improvements in productivity are the mainstay of manufacturing companies. These companies face the challenge of identifying suitable groups of customers to present their offerings and hence are on a constant lookout for innovations either in their product, ways to market the product, or to influence other stages in their value chain. Given the emergence of diversified purchase platforms, a new insight is the emerging segment of 'virtually erudite' customers that emerges out of this research. This segment promises a range of gains for both companies and customers in the given group. Frameworks for segmentation are evolving, and the most significant evolution in recent times is the departure from existing frameworks due to technological interventions. This piece of research establishes how there is a shift from the traditional brick and mortar purchase considerations to the behaviour of the virtually erudite segment. The research finds out how humans of different age groups exhibit different purchase behaviour (this is true for the year 2021). Differences in purchase behaviour have evolved due to technological exposure and technology adaptation which gives rise to technological rationality. The result of complete interaction between the abovementioned variables is the virtual erudite segment. Segmentation as we all know is the classification of a group of customers with different needs into sub-groups with similar needs and preferences. This has its own ramifications at the production level also. The STP model which consists of segmentation, targeting, and positioning is well accepted in modern marketing. It is important to create a clear segmentation strategy to successfully implement STP practices in the current dynamic environment. The approach falters if the right criteria have for segmentation are not set. The following work looks at how technology has influenced the understanding of the prospects of customer groups and has changed their perception, process of purchase, and post purchase behaviour. This work has been addressed to four different groups consisting of students, businessmen, servicemen, and executives of the e-commerce platforms, through unstructured questionnaires. The work introduces virtual erudite as a new category of segmentation, and presents a detailed discussion on how this category has evolved and is applicable to most parts of the globe.