Portfolio-based segmentation and consumer behavior : empirical evidence and methodological issues

Abstract: Recent work in the area of retail financial services marketing almost invariably cite the deregulation of national and international financial markets as a major reason as to why financial institutions have a need for better knowledge of their customers' behaviors and needs. Among the most sought-after information are better ways to segment and target the market, that is, how do groups of households behave with regards to their savings and investments, why do they behave in certain ways, how can we reach them and how do they respond to marketing activities? In this thesis we will attempt to shed light on some salient aspects of the first two of these four questions.Three of the papers in this volume are based on the segmentation of the market for retail financial services based on different financial strategies, as expressed in households' portfolio choices. In the first two papers, such behavioral segmentation is carried out on data from samples of Swedish and Dutch households. Issues concerning the stability of segmentation over time are also highlighted. The third paper is also focused on the concept of heterogeneity, but this time as expressed by different agents within the individual household, the question being whether the marketing researcher needs to collect data from both spouses in family households. In the fourth paper behavioral segments are used as domains to examine differences in human intertemporal discounting.