3 Differentiated Marketing Strategy Examples

Differentiated marketing is a marketing approach companies use to create multiple campaigns that appeal to distinct segments of buyers and audiences. Marketing teams may advertise various products to different market segments, or share the same product to varying target segments with individualized messaging. Different types of customers have varying customer needs, and differentiated marketing allows companies to craft marketing messages that best speak to chosen demographics. These market segments can be based on age groups, gender, interests, and other niche market differentiators.

Differentiated marketing can offer brands a competitive advantage in the following ways:

1. 1. Build up a customer base: Differentiated marketing invites brands to speak more directly to target markets and effectively build up their customer base.
2. 2. Return on investment: Mass marketing may cast a wide net for potential customers, but this expensive marketing effort does not guarantee a great return on investment. Differentiated marketing can allow brands to spend the advertising budget strategically.
3. 3. Brand loyalty: Differentiated marketing can lead to repeat customers and stronger brand loyalty. When marketing efforts speak to a customer’s specific needs, the target groups may feel greater allegiance to the company.

There are some drawbacks of differentiated marketing strategies, including:

1. 1. High cost: Advertising can come at a higher price if brands advertise to more customer segments.
2. 2. Customer response: Customers in various segments can respond differently to the good or service, making it challenging to identify the ideal customer.
3. 3. Complex: It can also make for a more complex marketing plan dependent on more significant market research and more staff members to synthesize this information and spin it into compelling messaging and content. An undifferentiated marketing strategy may be easier for newer or boutique organizations, like startups and small businesses.

Consider these examples of marketing campaigns that utilize this target-specific strategy:

1. 1. A restaurant reaches college students: A downtown restaurant is busiest on the weekends but slower on weekdays. It has a longstanding customer base of families on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but college students in the next town over tend not to come to the restaurant. The restaurant may publicize a college night, offering a discounted dinner or pre-fixe to students on Tuesdays, a quieter night, to get more people through the door and build up its base. The restaurant may continue other advertisements to appeal to families for weekend dining.
2. 2. A networking app expands programming: A networking app’s momentum is plateauing; its methods for attracting working professionals are adequate but not growing. The app decides to reach a new market of singles, building a subsection of the app to turn it into a broader networking program segmented by those seeking professional or romantic connections. This expands the app’s programming and gives it a new audience to target and bring into the fold.
3. 3. A boutique store finds new audiences: A boutique clothing store is looking to bring in new buyers. They partner with a larger apparel corporation to sell favorite products on the more established company’s website. The boutique store’s offerings now have a larger platform which the company can position differently than they may have on their own e-commerce channels. The two channels of advertising reach multiple market segments.

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