In marketing, what is the business term for a group of customers sharing similar needs?

In marketing, a market segment is a group of customers sharing similar needs or characteristics.

Market segmentation divides a broad market into smaller groups so an organization can tailor products, messages, distribution, or pricing. Businesses may segment by geography, demographics, behavior, benefits sought, or other relevant characteristics.

Segmentation is different from targeting. Segmentation identifies possible groups; targeting is the decision about which group or groups the business will serve. Positioning then describes how the offering is intended to be understood relative to alternatives.

A segment should be identifiable, reachable, sufficiently substantial, and meaningfully different for marketing purposes. Simply dividing customers by an arbitrary trait does not guarantee a useful segment. The same person may belong to several segments depending on the product and the buying situation.