MARKET SEGMENTATION
Segmentation factors
The significant rise in Singapore’s wine consumption, in recent years, has lead to the rapid increase in the number of brands looking to enter this seemingly attractive market. In order for Seabrook to gain a competitive advantage and market their Pinot Noir and Shiraz successfully, they need to ensure that they effectively segment their potential customers in order to maintain focus, save resources and provide measurability.

Market segmentation is a useful tool used to identify categories of consumers or groups of firms that are likely to use or buy a product or service (Hall & Winchester, 2001). It is the process of defining and subdividing a large, homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments of consumer, who have similar needs, wants and demand characteristics. Market segments ideally should aim to be measurable, sizeable, accessible and actionable. Once segments are established an organisation should then chose to target the segment they believe they can serve most effectively.

Therefore, Seabrook should aim to segment consumers in the market by a combination of the following bases:
• Demographics – Age, Gender, Income
• Psychographics – Life style, Social Class
• Behavioural – Benefits sought, Brand loyalty, Type of users.

Through the use of all three bases, four wine consumer segments based on Spawton’s (1991) wine consumer model, can be derived. These four segments consist of the ‘Connoisseur’, the ‘Aspirational drinker’, the ‘Beverage Wine Consumer’ and the ‘New Wine Drinkers’.

Consumer segments based on Spawton’s (1991) wine consumer model.
The Connoisseur
Consumers categorised in this segment, are charcterised by their daily consumption and therefore knowledge or “expertise” in wine. They tend to withhold strong preferences, resulting in slow adoption, of new wines, and therefore