Market Segmentation to Become the Partner of Choice
Tara (Oliver) Deines, West Lafayette, Indiana, defended her thesis, “Market Segmentation to Become the Partner of Choice,” on April 3, 2014. She is a Senior Account Representative with The Anderson’s Inc., in Logansport, Ind. Deines is a spring graduate from Kansas State University with a Master of Agribusiness (MAB) degree.
Increasing population and shifting dietary consumption habits have intensified competition within the agriculture industry. To remain successful companies must maximize opportunities with customers and expand into new territories to stay competitive.
“To maximize opportunities with each customer and remain competitive in new territories, it is necessary to develop a repeatable process. This process focuses on determining how to interpret customer preferences and behaviors quickly to make the company the first preference of choice for target customers,” Deines said.
The process she developed focused on two areas. Identifying the most loyal customers, and understanding the needs of customers to know how to fulfill and anticipate those needs.
Dr. Kevin Gwinner, Professor of Marketing and Deines’ thesis advisor, said, “The model and thought process that Tara put in place in her thesis will serve her company well in the future as it seeks to better understand market segments and how to best approach those markets with products and services.”
