STP Strategy: from Segmentation and Targeting to Positioning

Nowadays learning something new is a matter of hours, maybe just minutes. All you need to know is the name of relevant soft solutions and how to use them. You learn new things almost every day. But as a marketer the more you get experienced the more you understand the importance of marketing fundamentals. The deeper you go, the higher you value simplicity. And you witness, again and again, that everything comes back to understanding customer, product, and market.

One of those must-learn fundamental concepts in marketing is S-T-P which stands for segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

STP is a process

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are three interrelated concepts, often called S-T-P. The rationale behind looking at S-T-P as a process is the fact that in order to achieve competitive advantage the companies (1) first break down the whole market into several segments, (2) then evaluate each segment’s attractiveness to target one or more, and (3) finally, identify an optimal position of their products and services in the minds of targeted audience.