Benefit segments in a freight transport market

Understanding the factors which are influential in the choice to purchase a service (or product) may be insufficient for the basis of a marketing strategy. It is also important to understand the interrelationships among these choice factors. Customers, or groups of customers may place a different order of priority on the factors influencing their choice of service. Groups of customers with a similar pattern of priorities can be termed “benefit segments”. Considers benefit segments in the Irish Sea freight transport market. Three segments, route sensitive, not price sensitive, and price sensitive, are developed using principal components analysis and cluster analysis. The segments are profiled in terms of product characteristics, transport service characteristics, company demographics and control variables to facilitate the transport service marketing manager in identifying the segments. Implications for marketing strategy are discussed.