Marketing Research Assignment: The Coop

Martin Pazmiño

Segmentation Analysis

Acquainted with Japan’s current cancer situation, CancerScan attempted to increase the rate of breast cancer screenings of Japanese woman through the use of market segmentations strategies based on behavioral traits, or attitudes, towards the procedure and the disease to distinguish the different segments within the market.

First, research was conducted between 2009 and 2010 in Tokyo that intended to serve as a segmentation pilot, which surveyed 1,859 women to test if tailored or targeted messages for each specific segment affected positively on the behavior of each towards cancer screening and breast cancer. After the research was finalized, CancerScan determined that the most appropriate method was to segment Japanese women into four groups differentiating each segment according to their level of awareness of breast cancer, their apparent urgency with regards to the issue, and their level of motivation to obtain a breast cancer scan.

The first of the four groups was called “regular screening takers” and exhibited high awareness of breast cancer, more urgency in regards to the risk of the disease and high level of motivation to receive breast screening.

The second segment is called group A and its main characteristics are high awareness, high level of urgency but low motivation to undergo the procedure. It was determined by the survey results that the principal barrier for this group was the lack of knowledge on how to begin the process to get screened.

The third segment named group B demonstrated high awareness towards the disease but low urgency and motivation to receive screening. The main barrier for this group was determined to be the fear that woman had to face the possibility of being told they had cancer after conducting the breast screen.

The last segment is called group C and have low awareness, urgency, and motivation to receive screening. The principal barrier for this group was that they thought breast cancer was not an issue they needed to worry about given their health conditions.

Moreover, CancerScan proceeded to create custom-made mail messages targeting each group’s (A, B, C) main barriers in order to influence a change in behavior as part of their approach. The results of this strategy turned out on the company’s favor and they managed to successfully affect the behavior of Japanese woman towards breast cancer screening. While the screening rate of the control group, who received the non tailored old standard reminder message, was 5.8%, the screening rates for Groups A, B, and C were 25.5%, 17.3% and 13.3% respectively, proving an effective segmentation strategy. Even though the custom made strategy was more expensive to implement, the cost per incremental screening was lower.

What is the mission of CancerScan? How well is CancerScan doing?

CancerScan’s main mission is to increase the cancer screening rates within Japan, particularly focusing on breast cancer, through marketing research strategies.

CancerScan has been a profitable business since year one and has made up to 2.5 million dollars in revenues by 2013, which says a lot about their well being to begin with. CancerScan has partnered up with many municipalities and national institutions and faces no strong competition within its field in Japan. The company’s revenue has been steadily increasing by 10% in the last three years.