Airbnb is the worlds largest accommodation-sharing site. The concept of paying to stay in a complete stranger's house could be considered odd by some. Nevertheless, Airbnb can proudly say that theyve made it. Theyre super successful. Some of their success can be attributed to innovation, diverse pricing and experiences offered. But business success rarely comes without intelligent marketing strategies, and thats where Airbnbs clever segmentation and targeting comes in. Airbnb also uses consumers behavioural data and preferences to essentially pair hosts and guests. They do this by noting the preferences and online behaviour of potential guests and the preferences of the hosts and then produce coefficient listings. Consumers can be grouped according to occasions when they get the idea to buy, make their purchase, or use the purchased item. Occasion segmentation can help companies build up product usage. Soup retail marketers like Campbells advertise their soups more heavily in the cold winter months, and hyperstores (Pick n Pay, Checkers and Game) run special springtime promotions for lawn and garden products. Other retail marketers prepare special offers and ads for holiday occasions. For example, Bakers Biscuits runs ads throughout the year but prepares special ads and packaging for holidays and events such as Christmas and Easter.

Required:

Critically discuss consumer segmentation and its benefits. Justify the word of caution raised by Kotler on age and life cycle segmentation. You may use the context of Airbnb, Campbell or Bakers Biscuit.