18) Marketing strategy planners should recognize that:

A. Target markets should not be large and spread out.
B. Large firms like General Electric, Target, and Procter & Gamble are too large to aim at clearly defined markets.
C. Target marketing is not limited to small market segments.
D. Mass marketing is often very effective and desirable.

To determine the correct answer, let's analyze each option.

A. Target markets should not be large and spread out.
This statement is incorrect. Target markets can be large and spread out depending on the product or service being marketed.

B. Large firms like General Electric, Target, and Procter & Gamble are too large to aim at clearly defined markets.
This statement is also incorrect. Even large companies can benefit from targeting clearly defined markets. In fact, it is often more effective for large firms to have specific target markets to focus their efforts on.

C. Target marketing is not limited to small market segments.
This statement is correct. Target marketing can be done for both small and large market segments. The size of the segment does not determine whether target marketing is applicable or not.

D. Mass marketing is often very effective and desirable.
This statement is incorrect. Mass marketing, which involves targeting a wide and diverse audience, is not always the most effective strategy. It can be costly and inefficient because it does not take into account the specific needs, preferences, and behaviors of individual market segments.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer is C. Target marketing is not limited to small market segments.