(a) The types of market segments currently existing for the Hummer in the consumer market are generally men with household incomes varying between 200 and 300 thousand dollars per year. Most of these men already own two or three cars. More doctors will purchase Hummers than lawyers. This market segment consists mostly of entrepreneurs as opposed to corporate conformists.(b) The types of market segments in the business-to-business market are mostly associated with the government / military / US Army fleets. AM General, producer of the Hummer, has also signed a number of licensing agreements for the use of the Hummer name-with Converse to market rugged footwear and with Timex to produce a “Hummer” watch.2. There are many pros and cons associated with the above market segments. For the consumer market, the demand is created by a very narrowly defined group of consumers. A specific target market is positive thing for producers of a good such as a Hummer, however it is very limiting to the overall demand of the product. In other words, the vast majority of the US population has an annual household income of much less than 200 thousand dollars and is not lead by extremely successful entrepreneurs or doctors. AM General knows which type of consumer to target, but the number of consumers in the market is relatively small. Good news for the business-to-business market! If AM General can continue to satisfy the demands of the US military, then they are pretty much guaranteed a continuously existing market. The market may shrink and expand from time to time, however the US government will continue to demand military vehicles as long as world peace ceases to exist. With the falloff in demand from the government segment, AM General should target the consumer market more heavily. With e-commerce booming and many entrepreneurs creating new innovative dot-com companies, there are men out there with money to spend! Because Hummers are more...
