Sawtooth Technologies helps you zero in on the customers who most need or value your product or service.

Segmentation allows you to pinpoint your target market by identifying customers with common characteristics. The result is information you can use to develop more effective strategies and tactics for reaching your target segments.

Shedding Light

Segmentation provides answers to these vital market research questions:

  • How is your market segmented—based on customer needs or attitudes?
  • What segments offer the greatest potential opportunity, and which should you target?
  • How are your brand(s) and products currently aligned with target segments?
  • How can you improve your product and marketing strategies to reach and meet the needs of target segments more effectively?

At Sawtooth Technologies, we offer two approaches to segmentation: needs-based and attitudinal. The one that’s right for you depends on your market research objectives.

Needs-Based Segmentation

Needs-based segmentation groups survey respondents into like groups based on their similar needs. This approach is often used in conjunction with conjoint analysis, where respondents are grouped into segments that place similar value on the product features included in the study. Sawtooth Technologies uses a needs-based segmentation process that leads to an understanding of what different segments need from your product or service, recommendations on which segments you should target, and implications for your portfolio.

With a needs-based approach, there’s no requirement to collect additional data—the information gleaned from conjoint analysis serves this purpose.

Attitudinal Segmentation

Attitudinal segmentation categorizes survey respondents into like groups based on what they think about a brand or product. This approach goes beyond understanding the importance of different product features across segments to shed light on the customer’s mindset. Using this process, Sawtooth Technologies provides a richer understanding of the values—lifestyle preferences, for example—of different market segments, recommendations on which segments you should target, and implications for product and marketing strategies. 

We typically recommend qualitative research—either focus groups and/or in-depth interviews—as an initial step in this type of segmentation. So we can capture the full breadth and depth of market attitudes towards a particular product category.

Beyond Segmentation

Segmentation data can be mined repeatedly. Once your market is segmented, we can design future market research segmentation studies that home in on your specific target audiences, rather than waste time and resources studying the whole market.

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Erika Bruhn, Partner
(312) 286-3477
Email Erika