Assume you are the marketing consultant for your university, which wants to focus its marketing efforts on recruiting new students. You have a choice of segmenting the undergraduate student market on either a demographic or benefit basis. What is the difference between the two? Which would you recommend, and why?

Answers will vary by the type of institution. Potential students could be segmented demographically by age, gender, or income. Knowing what past students valued by demographic characteristics would allow the university to create targeted messages for each demographic group. Benefit segmentation would divide students on the basis of what they expect or want from an education: jobs, prestige, social interaction, entry into graduate school, etc. While this would be useful in developing a marketing campaign, it might be difficult to identify potential students who seek the various benefits. If possible, a combination of the two bases could be used to develop a strong marketing campaign.