Market Segmentation

Market segmentation depends on two levels − the strategic level and the tactical level. At a strategic level, it has a direct link with the decisions on positioning. At a tactical level, it relates with the decision of which consumer groups are to be targeted. We will discuss here the parameters based on which a market can be segmented. Market segmentation is the identification of portions of the market that are different from one another. Segmentation allows the firm to better satisfy the needs of its potential customers.

Marketing Strategies

Consumer behaviour is the study of the way people seek, purchase, use, evaluate and dispose of products and services. It is the phycology of marketing, and it is used to determine why consumers seek one product alternative from the other.
But why do consumers seek and purchase products? This is linked to the ideology of needs and wants. Needs and wants exist if a consumer is unsatisfied, consumers seek and purchase the products that can provide them with maximum satisfaction.

Developing Marketing Concepts

There are 5 different concepts of marketing, each of which vary in the function that they deal with. For example – production concept deals with production and selling concept deals with selling. Each of the concept was developed as per the need of the market. As the market changed, so did the concepts of marketing. And today, we have an opportunity to look at all 5 concepts of marketing and what they represent.

Buying Decision Process

The marketer is responsible for selling the goods in the market so he must have the knowledge how the consumers actually make their buying decisions. For this he must study the consumer buying decision process or model. It involves five stages:

Demand Analysis

The Demand Curve
The quantity of a particular good or service that a consumer or group of consumers want to purchase at a given price is termed as demand. It is the consumer’s ability or willingness to buy a specific product.

Consumer Behavior - Significance

Consumer behavior covers a broad variety of consumers based on diversity in age, sex, culture, taste, preference, educational level, income level, etc. Consumer behavior can be defined as “the decision process and physical activity engaged in evaluating, acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services.”

With all of the diversity to the surplus of goods and services offered to us, and the freedom of choices, one may speculate how individual marketers actually reach us with their highly definite marketing messages. Understanding consumer behavior helps in identifying whom to target, how to target, when to reach them, and what message is to be given to them to reach the target audience to buy the product.

Consumer Behavior - Consumerism

Consumerism is the organized form of efforts from different individuals, groups, governments and various related organizations which helps to protect the consumer from unfair practices and to safeguard their rights.

The growth of consumerism has led to many organizations improving their services to the customer.

SBP offering merit based scholarships for students

State Bank of Pakistan Banking Services Corporation (SBPBSC) is inviting the application from the brilliant children of its serving, retired, deceased employees (OG-2 and below) to continue their studies at intermediate, graduate and post graduate level.

The merit based scholarships for the academic session 2016-17 are now available and the bank in inviting applications from the children of above mentioned employees.

UIT Becomes Solar-Powered Engineering University

Usman Institute of Technology (UIT), an engineering university based in Karachi, has started generating electricity from solar energy to meet the growing energy requirements of the campus with the long-term available solution.

The UIT installed 198 solar panels of 320 Watts each in January 2017 as part of its energy conservation drive that started in August 2016.

KPK to Allocate Rs. 139 Billion for Education in Upcoming Budget

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has set a high bar for other provinces by taking its upcoming fiscal year (2017-18) education budget to Rs. 139 billion from what it was a mere Rs. 61 billion four years ago.

“This reflects an increase of 128% since the time Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) assumed government in 2013,” announced KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Wednesday in Islamabad.

High fee, low education

The future of any country rests on the shoulders of education system. It is sadly said that Pakistan’s educational system is plagued with disparity at every level. Only a section of population can afford private schooling which has become the synonymous with the term ‘Quality Education’. Others can only dream of. Under the guise of quality education, private institutions have introduced crushingly high fee structure with yearly increment. Private institutions are taking massive amounts of money from parents, instead of working on quality education they are engaged in opening new branches in other areas. I want to request the management of private institutions to have mercy on the poor parents.

PHEC chief calls for focus on teachers' training

LAHORE: Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Chairman Prof Dr Nizamuddin has said that there is a dire need of teachers’ training to produce quality students for development of the country.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the newly constructed building with the funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the Punjab University (PU) Faculty of Education, the chairman said that the PHEC had launched a comprehensive programme for training of teachers and the Faculty Development Academy had been established for equipping teachers with modern teaching skills.

FBISE to ensure revised computer textbook for class IX

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Engineer Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman on Tuesday instructed Chairman Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) to ensure that revised Computer Science textbook for class IX is made available in the market by next week.

While chairing eight meeting on National Curriculum Review, the State Minister further instructed FBISE to conduct curriculum comparison exercise for class IX to XII curriculum with that of Cambridge University Press and submit their findings and recommendations on priority basis.

Swati girl beats the odds to become IT Expert

MINGORA: Orphaned at the age of one year and looked after by her mother, a domestic worker, 17-year-old Tahira Mohammad has become the first female IT expert in Swat.

She wants to become a software engineer and leads her own firm, however, financial hurdles have made realisation of her dream difficult.

Evolve 20-year education policy: experts

LAHORE: Pakistan needs an awareness campaign for students and graduates for the promotion and importance of vocational training and technical education and a comprehensive policy should be evolved for 20 years.

These views were expressed by experts in the Jang Economic Session on 'how public private partnership is possible for technical education and vocational training' here.