Positioning is the definition of the unique value proposition of a product, and increasingly these value propositions are benefits based, rarely are they features or price-based today with the exception of Wal-Mart, whose unique value proposition is selling purely on price. Q: Many popular forecasting techniques draw from past experience and historical data. Discuss some of the more important problems that may occur in using these methods.

First, using forecasting techniques that draw from historical data has the implicit assumption that the patterns of the past will repeat themselves in the future. From nonparametric forecasting techniques where nominal or interval level data is used to parametric statistical routines that rely on ratio-level data, the same fact remains that past data is often no predictor of future trends. Second, historical data is often collected for a specific analytical purpose, and it is often used out of the original context for which it was originally created. Third, there really isn't any way to validate if the historical data has a robust enough methodology to be interval-level or ratio-level data that is suitable for more advanced parametric statistical techniques. Fourth, at best using these techniques that are based on past data provide a glimpse of only the current situation and do not extrapolate...

In summary, there are many problems using forecasting methods based on historical data and the results typically must be corroborated across multiple data sources.
Q: Why are there marketing strategy advantages in using demographic characteristics to break out product-markets into segments?

There are many advantages to using demographic characteristics to define customer segments, the most major one being the ability to precisely target potential target audiences within segments through the use of precise demographic profiles. In addition, demographics can be used to create national segmentation strategies fairly quickly using U.S. Census Data, stratified by zip codes or Standard Metropolitan Statistical Abstracts (SMSA) as well. The use of demographic data can also be used to create marketing budgets quickly due to many media companies including television networks, newspapers, websites, and telemarketers all segment their services by demographics of targeted markets, segments and audiences. As the most pervasively used approach to segmenting markets, demographics are foundational to the development of segmentation strategies due to their commonality across market planning, market development and selling services providers.