Marketing Fundamentals: Segmentation, Brand Equity, and Key KPIs

Posted on Dec 2, 2025 in Marketing

Market Segmentation Criteria

  • Location: Geographical area.
  • Behavior: Seek balance between indulgence and wellness. Enjoy beer as a sensory, slow-paced experience with meals. Consume beer to relax after work or socialize casually.
  • Preferences: What do they like? Preferences for low-calorie, organic, or alcohol-free beers.
  • Demographic: Ages, occupation, and lifestyle.
  • Psychographic: Value heritage, craftsmanship, and deep flavors. Social, laid-back, lifestyle-focused. Health-focused, modern, trend-aware. Outgoing, fun-seeking, budget-conscious.
  • Socioeconomic: Income level and purchasing habits (where do they buy?).

Brand Positioning: The 4 P’s Framework

The positioning statement template (4 P’s): We are a brand of [Product Category] for men and women aged [Age Range] who, when choosing a [Product], prioritize a brand that [Key Benefit]. Excellent for occasions such as [Occasions]. It offers benefits such as [Flavor, Real Benefit].

Positioning Example

This is a brand for men and women between 18–27 years old (CD) that, when choosing a beer, prioritize a brand that “helps me to have a good time with my friends” and “has a nice taste.” This brand is excellent for social gatherings because it has a great taste.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

What We Offer

  1. Functional Benefit: Flavor.
  2. Emotional Benefit: Makes the experience more pleasant.
  3. Reason to Believe: Not filtered.
  4. Personality: Fun, creative, young.
  5. Values: Friendship, generosity.

Consumer Profile and Insight

  1. Target: Men and women aged 18–27 in CD, for whom the most important factors when choosing a beer brand are “that it allows me to share good moments with friends” or “that it has the flavor I like.”
  2. Insight: For young people, their friends are the most important thing.

Brand Essence

ENJOYMENT WITH MY FRIENDS

Understanding Brand Equity

According to Philip Kotler, brand equity refers to the value that a brand adds to a product or service, which is shaped by consumer perceptions, attitudes, and associations. Kotler defines it as the impact that brand knowledge (brand awareness and brand image) has on consumer response to brand marketing. Essentially, it is the added value that a strong brand brings to a product, allowing businesses to charge a premium price, secure customer loyalty, and achieve a competitive advantage.

Benefits of Strong Brand Equity

  • Customer Loyalty: Consumers are more likely to repurchase and stay loyal over time.
  • Price Premiums: Brands with strong equity can charge higher prices without losing customers.
  • Easier Brand Extensions: New products under the same brand are more easily accepted.
  • Stronger Word-of-Mouth and Advocacy: People are more likely to recommend the brand.
  • Greater Resilience to Competition: Strong equity protects against substitutes or new entrants.
  • Increased Financial Value: Higher brand equity contributes to the overall company valuation.

The Product Adoption Curve

  1. Innovators/Trendsetters: Risky and willing to try new things.
  2. Early Adopters: Opinion leaders. Their opinion is important to others.
  3. Early Majority: Skeptical group. They mark the tipping point of widespread adoption.
  4. Late Majority: They adopt the product after it has been widely accepted. They rely on the experience of others.
  5. Laggards: They are the last to adopt the product. They are resistant to change and require more incentives.

Distribution and Channel Strategy

Distribution is the path a product takes from the producer to the final consumer. It includes intermediaries such as retailers, distributors, brokers, and digital platforms.

Types of Channels

  • Direct Channel: The manufacturer sells directly to the consumer (e.g., proprietary e-commerce, owned physical store).
  • Indirect Channel: There are intermediaries between the manufacturer and the consumer (e.g., supermarkets, pharmacies, department stores).
  • Wholesale: The product is sold in bulk or large volumes to distributors or retailers.
  • Retail: Direct sale to the final consumer, in physical stores or digital platforms.
  • Omnichannel: A combination of integrated physical and digital channels.

The MAPS Model for Retail Execution

A tool used to improve execution at the point of sale:

  • Merchandising: How the product is presented (e.g., shelf location).
  • Assortment: What variety is offered (flavors, sizes, etc.).
  • Pricing: Price strategy versus the competition.
  • Shelving: Number of facings, height, and space the product occupies on the shelf.

Why Distribution Matters

It directly influences visibility, sales, and brand experience. A poor channel strategy can kill a good product (e.g., poorly located, out of stock, low visibility). Choosing the correct channels depends on the target, the product, and the value proposition.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

General Marketing KPIs

  • Lead Generation: Number of leads generated, lead quality, cost per lead.
  • Customer Satisfaction: Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer satisfaction surveys.
  • Social Media Engagement: Number of likes, shares, comments, and followers.

1. Awareness and Familiarity KPIs

  • Top of Mind: The first brand that comes to mind (e.g., “What brands of X do you know?”).
  • Awareness (Unaided/Aided): Unaided (any brand recalled) / Aided (Do you know the brand X?).
  • Familiarity: Emotional and cognitive connection consumers build with a brand over time.
  • Impressions vs. Reach: Impressions (number of times content was displayed). Reach (number of unique users exposed to content).
  • CPM: Cost Per Mille (Cost per thousand impressions).
  • GTR/Ratings: Gross Rating Points (often used in traditional media).
  • Distribution (Weighted & Numeric): Numeric distribution is the percentage of stores carrying the product, while weighted distribution considers the importance of those stores based on their sales volume within the category.

2. Consideration KPIs

  • Consideration: Do you consider [Brand] when buying [Product]?
  • CTR %: Click-Through Rate.
  • CPC: Cost Per Click.
  • Website Visits.
  • Abandoned Shopping Cart Rate.

3. Purchase, Repeat, and Loyalty KPIs

  • Purchase/Consumer Penetration.
  • Repeat Purchase Rate.
  • Loyalty.
  • Brand Preference.
  • Market Share (Volume/Value).
  • Sales Revenue.
  • Sales Volume.
  • Purchase Frequency.

KPIs for the 4 P’s

  • Product: KPIs like market share, product adoption rate, and customer satisfaction measure product success.
  • Price: KPIs like average order value, profit margin, and price elasticity measure pricing strategy effectiveness.
  • Place (Distribution): KPIs like distribution efficiency, reach, and market coverage measure channel effectiveness.
  • Promotion: KPIs like website traffic, social media engagement, and lead generation measure promotional activity effectiveness.

Limitations of the Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  • It does not show the “why” behind the recommendation.
  • It does not measure actual behavior (only intention).
  • It can give false positives if not complemented with hard metrics.

Combining Short-Term and Long-Term Metrics

  • Short-term: Focuses on performance (sales, conversion, traffic).
  • Long-term: Focuses on equity (loyalty, recall, reputation).