Usage rates
One interesting basic for segmentation that is relevant for health care is usage rates. Table 6-2 describes come usage rate for product categories: colas, beer, and canned hash. Within marketing, a phenomenon called the heavy half consumer has been identified, in which a small group of consumers account for a disproportionate amount of a product's sales. Sometimes this is referred to as the 80/120 rule : 80% of a product’s sales are accounted for by 20% of the people who purchase the product. Although a heavy half segment does not mean that the group always must purchase 80% of a product’s sale, this segment does account for a disproportionate percentage of the sales relative to its size in the total market.