Client and Market: An Analysis of Nissan's B2B and B2C Segments

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Nissan's B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) market segments. It examines Nissan's customer-oriented segmentation and targeting processes, highlighting how the company identifies and creates value for its target markets. The report delves into the characteristics of both B2C and B2B segments, focusing on the factors influencing Nissan's marketing strategies. The B2C segment analysis focuses on affluent, environmentally conscious individuals aged 35-55, while the B2B segment targets corporations prioritizing brand image and environmental responsibility. The report explores Nissan's electric vehicle strategy, including the Nissan Leaf, and how it aligns with these targeted segments. The analysis considers factors like pricing, environmental concerns, and the needs of both individual consumers and corporate clients. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding customer behavior and adapting marketing strategies to effectively reach and engage with each segment.

Running head: CLIENTS AND MARKETS
CLIENTS AND MARKETS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE B2B AND B2C SEGMENTS OF
NISSAN
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CLIENTS AND MARKETS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Segment Evaluation.........................................................................................................................3
B2C Target.......................................................................................................................................6
B2B Target.......................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

2CLIENTS AND MARKETS
Introduction
As stated by Chernev (2018), the success of the different business corporations
substantially depends on the effectiveness with which they are being able to select the target
market or for that matter the customer base they focus upon along with their ability to create
value for the same. Yang et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the customer oriented
segmentation and targeting process is an important one in this regard since it offers the
opportunity to the corporations to adequately identify the segment of the population that they
would target and also to take the help of the required measures or for that matter strategies which
will enable them to create value for the segment of the population selected by them. The
selection of a suitable segment of the population that the corporations would target is important
since the different measures or the strategies used by the corporations for influencing the attitude
or the buying behavior of the clients are designed by taking into consideration the behavior,
needs, requirements, demands and other aspects of the concerned segment (Brotspies and
Weinstein 2019).
More importantly, presently it had been seen that the business corporations rather than
merely targeting the people as their customer base have also started to target the other business
corporations for the sale of the products or the services offered by them (Srinivasan 2019). This
in turn had given rise to two kinds of segmentation and targeting processes used by the
corporations, namely, business to customer segmentation and targeting and business to business
segmentation and targeting (Afonso et al. 2018). However, at the same time it needs to be said
that the corporations are required to ensure the fact that regardless of the kind of segmentation
and targeting process they use focus should be placed on the clients and on the aspect of value

3CLIENTS AND MARKETS
creation for them (Camilleri 2018). This not only helps the corporations to effectively the buying
behavior of their clients which in turn enhances their sales volume but also to substantially
increase their profitability as well.
Segment Evaluation
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, founded in the year 1933, is a Japanese multinational corporation
which specializes in the manufacture as well as the sale of different kinds of automobiles
(Nissan-global.com 2020). Although headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan the concerned
corporation is presently operational in almost all the nations of the world and it sells the
automobiles manufactured by it under the brand names of Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun (Singh
2020). The profitability of the corporation for the year 2017 was more than ¥11.95 trillion which
in turn makes it one of the largest multinational corporations of the entire world. As a matter of
fact, as of 2018 the corporation had manufactured as well as sold more than 320,000 automobile
vehicles and presently the concerned corporation is focusing on the manufacture of electric
vehicles (Nissan-global.com 2020). Furthermore, in the present times it is seen that the
corporation is switching over to the manufacture of electric cars rather than the manufacture of
diesel cars and petrol cars which it used to manufacture in the earlier times (Gerdes 2020). In this
relation, the complete electric car “Nissan Leaf” manufactured by the concerned corporation is
an important since it had been manufactured by the corporation in response to the increasing
demand for electric vehicles (Abcnews.go.com 2020). More importantly, it is seen that the
corporation through the usage of the customer oriented segmentation and targeting process had
been able to identify two target markets for its electric vehicles, namely, the business to customer
segment and the business to business segment.

4CLIENTS AND MARKETS
Brotspies and Weinstein (2019) are of the viewpoint that business to customer (B2C)
segmentation is the process through which the corporations are being able to segment their entire
target market or for that matter their customer base into smaller sections so that they can easily
target them for the sale of the products or the services offered by them. Adding to this, Camilleri
(2018) has noted that the primary focus of the (B2C) segmentation should be on the aspect of
value creation and also for effectively segmenting the target market or the customer base they are
required to take into consideration various factors like behavioral, psychographic and profile data
and others. In the particular context of the corporation Nissan Leaf, it needs to be said that the
individuals selected by the corporation as potential customers for its electric cars are the
individuals who like to drive electric vehicles not only because of its trendy looks but also on the
score of its sophisticated features as well (Zhang and Wang 2019). Furthermore, the corporation
intends to also focus on the kind of individuals who are really concerned about the amount of
damage that they cause to the environment on the score of the emission caused by their cars
since the electric cars offered by Nissan generates comparatively lower amount of emission by
virtue of being an electric vehicle in comparison to the other vehicles (Duan et al. 2019). The
price set for Nissan Leaf is $53,190 and the other electric cars sold by the corporation are also
within the same price range which means that it would not be feasible for middle-class
individuals or the working class individuals to purchase the same (Abcnews.go.com 2020). Thus,
Nissan focuses on the individuals from the affluent families who like to drive electric vehicles
not only because of the trendy or for that matter the sophisticated features of the same but also on
the score of the lower amount of environmental damage caused by the same as well.
According to Lee et al. (2017), business to business (B2B) segmentation is the process
through which a particular corporation segments and thereby targets the different other

5CLIENTS AND MARKETS
corporations as its clients for the sale of the products or the services offered by it. Adding to this,
Nadube and Didia (2018) have noted that along with focusing on the aspect of value creation for
its clients the corporations while undertaking the process of B2B segmentation are also required
to take into account the micro and macro segments, the industry trends and others. In addition to
these, the corporations are also required to ensure the fact that they are being able to effectively
fulfill the needs, demands, requirements and others of their clients so as to reap the benefits from
the effective usage of the customer oriented segmentation and targeting process (Jayakrishnan
and Aruna 2019). In the particular context of the corporation Nissan, it is seen that along with the
B2C segmentation the corporation also does B2B segmentation for the sale of the different
electric vehicles offered by its like electric cars, electric trucks, electric vans and others. For
instance, Nissan focuses on the corporations which are very concerned regarding their brand
image and also the damage that their business practices cause to the environment (Walters and
Bekker 2017). In this relation, it needs to be said that the different electric vehicles offered by
Nissan are ideal for these corporations. Furthermore, Nissan also focuses on the corporations
which frequently require the usage of different trucks, vans and other vehicles for the
procurement of raw materials needed by them and also for the delivery of finished products or
services to the markets or the retailers (Xu, Blankson and Prybutok 2017). Lastly, because of the
advanced technologies which are being used for the manufacture of the electric vehicles offered
by Nissan it is seen that the price of the electric vehicles offered by it is comparatively higher
than the petrol or the diesel vehicles offered by the other corporations (Singh 2020). Thus,
Nissan focuses on the well-to-do corporations, which are very concerned about their brand image
and also try to make a positive contribution towards the improvement of the condition of the
environment as well.

6CLIENTS AND MARKETS
B2C Target
Yang et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the corporations need to specific niche
customer segment for the products or the services that they offer so as to be able to take into
consideration the needs, demands, requirements of the concerned segment and thereby create
value for them. Adding to this, Afonso et al. (2018) have noted that this in turn helps the
corporations to effectively influence the attitude or for that matter the buying behavior of the
customers related to the concerned segment which in turn helps them to enhance their sales
volume and thereby profitability as well. In the particular context of the B2C segment of the
corporation Nissan, it is seen that the concerned corporation specifically focuses on the
customers related to the age bracket of 35-55 years of age from affluent families who like to
drive electric vehicles and also like to make a meaningful contribution towards the environment.
In this relation, it needs to be said that the corporation under discussion here specifically focuses
on the customers related to the affluent families and also belonging to the age bracket of 35-55
years since it is likely that the individuals related to this particular segment would have the
required money for purchasing the expensive cars purchased by it (Zhang and Wang 2019).
Furthermore, the age bracket of 35-55 years is important since it had been seen that the
individuals below the age of 35 years of age generally like to purchase sports cars or trendy cars
which would be fast, give high mileage and other similar features which the younger people need
from their cars (Singh 2020). More importantly, because of the maturity of the individuals over
the age of 35 years it is seen that they show a high level of awareness regarding the environment
and also the various issues posed by climate change (Gerdes 2020). The resultant effect of this is
that the individuals related to the customer segment under discussion here generally like to use
the vehicles which cause a lower amount of emission and thereby cause significantly lower

7CLIENTS AND MARKETS
amount of environmental damage in comparison to the damage caused by the petrol or the diesel
cars (Duan et al. 2019). It is in the light of these aspects that this B2B niche customer segment
had been selected for the electric cars offered by the corporation under discussion here.
B2B Target
The B2B niche segment of the corporation Nissan is as important as the B2B niche
customer segment of the concerned corporation since it had been seen that the corporation in the
recent years had been able to establish a steady line of revenue from the sale its electric vehicles
to its different business clients (Xu, Blankson and Prybutok 2017). In this relation, it needs to be
said that the specific B2B niche segment on which the corporation focuses upon are the high
performing corporations which extensively require different vehicles for procuring raw materials
and also the delivery of its products or services to the markets (Walters and Bekker 2017).
Another important attribute of the segment on which the concerned corporation focuses upon can
be attributed to the fact that they are very conscious about their brand image and have also
shown a high level of desire for fulfilling their environment obligation by reducing the amount of
environmental damage caused by them (Jayakrishnan and Aruna 2019). Firstly, the corporation
focuses on the high performing clients since it is likely that they would be having the required
amount of money for purchasing the premium priced electric vehicles offered by the corporation
under discussion here (Lee et al. 2017). More importantly, these kinds of corporations also
generally like to make a one-time big investments and thereby try to reap the benefits from the
same over a longer period of time which is exactly what the electric vehicles offered by Nissan
are capable of offering to them. Secondly, Nissan focuses on the corporations which require a
large amount of transformation since it had been seen that these kinds of corporations rather than
taking the help of the delivery services offered by the third party vendors generally use their own

8CLIENTS AND MARKETS
vehicles for doing the same (Nadube and Didia 2018). Thirdly, the contemporary customers are
very conscious regarding the brand image of the corporations whose products or services they
are purchasing since the number of product or service related options that they are available to
the modern-day customers had enhanced substantially (Singh 2020). Thus, it is seen that the
majority of the corporations are presently taking the help of different kinds of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) programs like the improvement of the condition of the environment and
others for improving their brand image and thereby influence the buying behavior of their
clients. It is in the light of these aspects that the B2B niche segment under discussion here had
been selected for the electric vehicles offered by Nissan.
Conclusion
To conclude, the corporations are required to have an acute understanding of the attitude
or for that matter the buying behavior of their consumers so as to adequately position the
products or the services offered by them. This is important since it is directly related to the sales
volume of the corporations and thereby with the profitability or the financial returns earned by
them as well. More importantly, having an effective market position and also adequately
fulfilling the different needs, requirements and the demands of the customers had become
important for the contemporary corporations more than ever because of the numerous product or
service related options that they are available to the present-day customers. Thus, it had become
important for the corporations to not only adequately select the right kind of customer segment
but also to attain a unique market position which in turn would help them to influence the buying
behavior of their customers and thereby help them to gain the required success as well.

9CLIENTS AND MARKETS
References
Abcnews.go.com 2020. What Automakers Aren't Telling You About Electric Vehicles. [online]
Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/Business/automakers-telling-electric-vehicles/story?
id=61237093> [Accessed 9 April 2020].
Afonso, C., Gavilan, D., García-Madariaga, J. and Gonçalves, H.M., 2018. Green consumer
segmentation: managerial and environmental implications from the perspective of business
strategies and practices. In Sustainability in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (pp. 137-151).
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Brotspies, H. and Weinstein, A., 2019. Rethinking business segmentation: a conceptual model
and strategic insights. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 27(2), pp.164-176.
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. In Travel marketing,
tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 69-83). Springer, Cham.
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Duan, L., Bo, W., Wen, Q., Ren, S. and Zhang, C., 2019, August. Research on Customer
Segmentation Method for Multi-value-Chain Collaboration. In CCF Conference on Computer
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Gerdes, J., 2020. Life With A Leaf: What I Learned From Four Months With An Electric Car.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
<https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/jun/11/life-leaf-electric-car-
experience-lessons> [Accessed 9 April 2020].

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Jayakrishnan, B. and Aruna, D.R., 2019. A Study on Preferences of Female Customers in the
Purchase Decision of Cars in Chennai. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and
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<https://www.nissan-global.com/> [Accessed 9 April 2020].
Singh, S., 2020. Global Electric Vehicle Market Looks To Power Up In 2018. [online] Forbes.
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Xu, L.U., Blankson, C. and Prybutok, V., 2017. Relative contributions of product quality and
service quality in the automobile industry. Quality Management Journal, 24(1), pp.21-36.

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