B. Read and translate the text. 1 Market segmentation refers to the division of a market of consumers into people with similar needs and wants

1 Market segmentation refers to the division of a market of consumers into people with similar needs and wants. The world is made up of billions of buyers with their own sets of needs and behavior. Segmentation aims to match groups of purchasers with the same set of needs and buyer behavior. Such a group is known as a 'segment'. Segmentation, which can be done in various ways, allows marketers to identify and differentiate between the needs of the target groups of customers that make up a particular market. They may offer different products to different segments, or the same product, marketing it in different ways. For example, power tools are designed and marketed differently for professional users and do-it-yourself enthusiasts.

2 In demographic segmentation customers are divided up on the basis of occupation and social class: middle class, working class, etc. In the UK, marketers classify customers demographically as:

A. professionals such as senior business executives and senior civil servants;

B. people with very responsible jobs such as middle managers, heads of local government departments, and so on;

C1. all others doing non-manual jobs: technicians, nurses, etc.;

C2. skilled manual workers;

D. demi-skilled and unskilled manual workers;

E. those on the lowest income levels, such as pensioners.

In Britain, marketers also use a system called ACORN, which is a classification of residential neighborhoods, a system that assumes that people from a particular area will have a similar social background. It can be used to predict likely purchases of everything from cat food to financial products.

Customers can also be divided up by behavioral segmentation: why, when and how often they buy a particular product, their attitude towards it, etc.

Identifying people who eat popcorn at the cinema is an example of behavioral segmentation based on situation of use.

People from a particular social class may spend their money in particular ways, but it can be more useful to look at people’s lifestyles, the overall pattern of how they live, what they buy etc. Here, values, opinions, activities and interests are important.

Psychographics is the activity of attempting to categorize people in this way. For example, the VALS system divides people into groups such as Fulfilleds: mature people who like solid products that give value for money, and Experiencers: young, impulsive people who spend a lot on clothes, music, etc.

This information is often collected by means of questionnaires used to profile different kinds of buyers.