STP marketing – definition

STP marketing is a strategy that includes three key elements of marketing: segmentation, targeting and positioning. Thanks to this, it allows you to more effectively reach the most attractive customer groups and distinguish your offer from the competition.

Activities within STP marketing are divided into three subsequent stages:

• segmentation - the process of dividing the market into smaller fragments. Individual segments are characterized by specific features that allow for more effective selection of appropriate marketing tools and formulation of the content of specific messages. Such criteria enabling market division in STP marketing include: demographics, financial capabilities, similar physical characteristics, shared values, preferred lifestyle, shopping habits, as well as jointly declared needs and desires.
• targeting - includes selecting a specific part of the market and concentrating marketing activities on one or several selected segments. Assessment of segment attractiveness is an extremely important stage of the entire STP marketing process, because it will determine where or where we will allocate our resources. As part of targeting, we can choose mass, niche or diversified marketing, covering several selected segments.
• positioning - indicates the specific place of a given brand on the market compared to competing companies. Positioning covers both the capabilities of a given company, its specific values, the benefits it provides to its customers and the uniqueness of its offer. Appropriate positioning within STP marketing helps not only stand out in the market, but even gain a competitive advantage.

STP marketing – interesting facts

For STP marketing in the area of segmentation to bring real benefits to the company, it must be remembered that the separated segments are available and possible to analyze and measure. Moreover, each segment should be differentiated and stand out from the rest. It is also worth remembering not to divide the market into too many similar groups, because it will be more difficult for us to determine the real attractiveness of each segment compared to others. An effective tool used at the market segmentation stage is the creation of personas, i.e. carefully described and visualized ideas about the ideal customer.

Another tool that works perfectly at the targeting stage of STP marketing are the so-called perception maps that analyze customer associations of our brand in relation to other competitive brands. Thanks to this, we can spot possible gaps in the market or gaps in competitors' offers, which we can use to our advantage. Interestingly, currently the most precise targeting option within STP marketing is micromarketing, i.e. directing marketing activities to a small group of people or even to a single customer.

STP marketing – information worth knowing

All the world's largest giants have been using the STP marketing strategy for years. It allows not only to effectively defeat the competition, but also to better manage all the means and resources. The result of activities carried out within STP marketing is a specific offer that, on the one hand, perfectly meets the needs of the target group and clearly stands out from the competition.

STP marketing allows you to effectively manage customer relationships. Thanks to personalized communication, it increases the involvement of a specific group of recipients and builds loyalty to a specific brand. Moreover, by listening to the real needs of customers and enabling them to provide feedback, the brand gains the opportunity to improve the quality of the products offered or services provided.

STP marketing – summary

The goal of STP marketing is to build a specific brand image in the mind of a selected recipient. Thanks to appropriate segmentation, targeting and positioning, the brand's activities more precisely target the group of customers that the brand considers the most attractive.

Related entries:

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