Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

SheaMoisture understands the importance of market segmentation. From the start, the company began with selling shea butter, African Black Soap, and homemade skin and hair preparations, meaning they produced more than one kind of beauty product. Since they began selling in Harlem, New York, their products were offered to a couple of different market segments based on diverse customer needs. SheaMoisture sells beauty products, but they're all different, and meant to satisfy different needs. An example of this is them having different hair product lines, all made with different ingredients, to help revitalize and maintain different hair textures whether it be straight, curly, kinky, or corse. They also sell bar soaps that help treat different skin types and most recently introduced a men's shaving line. Marketing segmentation plays a key role in the marketing strategy of all successful organizations and is a powerful marketing tool. SheaMoisture does a great job at including groups of people with different product needs and preferences. 

As mentioned in earlier blog posts,the CEO of SheaMoisture, Richelieu Dennis recognized the need to cater to women and men with skin and hair needs that most generic beauty companies tend to neglect. He once said in an interview, "today the buying power and influence of the emerging multicultural and ‘ethnic’ consumer is undeniable. We take a problem/solution approach to hair and skin care; ethnicity doesn’t play into our product development, but hair and skin care needs do. Ethnic consumers are starting to see themselves and their needs represented in all channels." This means that a lot of the products are ethnic segmented, because they're catering to the needs of diverse American people rather than being anglo-centric, as most companies were in the past. 
Dennis also understands how important inclusion is when marketing products. He once said, "SheaMoisture not only brings a loyal group of followers, but also it understands and identifies with the transcending consumer influences at play".

No matter what you look like, SheaMoisture wants to provide you with natural beauty products that may satisfy your individual needs. They market themselves as "a better way to beauty" to all that use their products.