Written by: Amber Justice

Under Armour is a sports apparel brand that started out small and has grown in sales. The unique fabric brand works to wicker away the sweat of active people. The brand has been widely successful and has grown from a small start-up company to a large business.

Under Armour’s unique fabric would mean they are using the differentiated market segment. They are selling to athletes and those with active lifestyles. Athletes already buy sports equipment and apparel, but Under Amour is promising a specialized product. What’s more, Under Amour is then Marketing to women, using female celebrities to sell their product, which means they are using a demographic base for their segmentation.

Market Segmentation Planning

Four key factors when planning is:

Objective Setting.

What is your goal when setting up your segmentation? What is your overall objective? Under Armour they are wanting to sell clothing that keeps people dry when active, offering a unique product to help keep them dry while on the go. What do you want out of your product?

Identify Customer Segments.

Research your customers. What is it that they are looking to get out of your product? What appeals to them? Research can never be understated. Running studies to see how people react to your product, and giving honest feedback goes a long way.

Develop Segmentation Strategy.

Develop a strategy beforehand. Don’t be afraid to pivot if it isn’t going well. It can be costly in time and money, but in the end, you want to succeed. Sometimes we think a product would be great for a specific demographic and it ends up working out better for another we hadn’t considered.

Execute- Launch Plan- Identify

Execute your plans, and Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Identify your key stakeholders, and identify your key consumers. In the end, you want loyal customers that are going to keep coming back to your brand, and keep it in their lives, and not butterflies that are bouncing in, just to bounce back out. Identify who your loyal consumers are and figure out how to keep marketing to them.

New Markets to Explore

I am a person who loves to shop. My spouse and I love to go on long road trips where we can go to new places, eat new food, and go shopping for new and interesting things. When we go on long road trips, we love to be comfortable, and recently we each purchased a pair of Heydudes.

What are HeyDudes? Only the most comfortable pair of shoes ever. I love that I can throw them on and go to work and look cute, as they come in so many colors and styles, from fur-lined shoes to sneaker looks, to moccasins, and boots they have a style that can fit anyone. One of my issues with shoes is that most are for certain ‘small feet’ sizes and I have a hard time finding shoes in my size, with HeyDudes, I can literally always find my size. Another key point is that I can find them just about anywhere. I go into a store and they have a huge section of them to choose from, Usually, with other brands, they are offered in certain stores, for high prices, and never in my size, so I’d have to order a shoe if I fell in love with it. HeyDudes have been great, and have led to us purchasing a pair for each member of the family. They’re certainly affordable, and easy to find. If I were running this product, I would be marketing it as ‘A pair of shoes for every occasion. Comfortable and stylish, they keep your feet comfortable while you are on the move. I would be marketing towards families (and I’m sure they are now since I just found some for my kids) as that would really make it available, and earn a good slice of the market. Their cool designs appeal to all kinds of demographics as well.

How would I reach this new market? I would be making baby shoes, as well as doing ‘family bundles’. Purchase four to make a bundle at a discounted price. This would be easier online than in a retail store, as all kinds of SNAFU could happen with that, but I think marketing online and to famikleies would really make it more Niche while also grabbing a corner of the market that most don’t go for. Shoes are sold on a one-to-one basis, and that’s great, but I think most families tend to go shoe shopping at one time. I don’t usually buy myself shoes and then wait 6 months to purchase them for another family member, I buy them all at once. That’s why I think an online family bundle would be great.