Two universally scarce commodities are time and money. Some people have one or the other but not both, other people have neither, while a few fortunate people have both. Brands can command a price premium or a time premium or both. This leads into a universal cross-category segmentation scheme.
Regardless of the category, some shoppers are driven primarily by price or price discounts. These people tend to lack money or are fearful that they will. Some shoppers are driven primarily by convenience. “What brand is available near me now? Which brand will be the quickest to purchase?” These people are time deprived. Maybe they are single parents with one or more jobs or maybe they have very demanding professional jobs that spare them little time for anything else.
Others are category enthusiasts. That is, they are extremely active in the category and are always seeking out the latest product, service or brand. This makes them extremely knowledgeable but less brand-loyal.
Finally, there is a group that is brand loyal. These people are comfortable with the brand that they have been using over the years and feel no need to explore other options. Their satisfaction is high and their need to seek out new options is low.
So the generic segmentation schemes are “price conscious,” “convenience oriented,” “category enthusiasts,” and “brand loyal.” Usually, people are primarily motivated in one of these four ways. That is not to say that there can’t be price conscious brand loyal consumers or convenience oriented brand loyal consumers, but usually one of these is the dominant driver of their purchase choices.
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