In the marketing world, there are countless examples of what can go wrong. Companies often forget their target market or try to appeal to everyone and the results too often lack long-term success.
STP marketing is a way to focus your marketing on specific segments of your market. The main idea behind STP marketing is to specialize in certain segments based on their specific needs and wants.
What is STP marketing?
STP marketing is a marketing strategy that involves dividing your audience into specific segments. By appealing to the unique needs and wants of each group, you increase your chance of converting them to actual customers.
Why use STP marketing?
Marketing to everyone at once is difficult because you’re trying to sell a product that everyone needs. Your product might not appeal to certain segments and even worse, it may cause customers in other segments to feel alienated.
STP marketing is centered around the idea of creating personas for each segment. You can create unique messages and offers for each persona that are targeted at their specific needs. Each segment gets a unique message, but all of your targeting is focused on specific groups.
A common example of STP marketing is the idea of creating ads for different genders or age ranges. This can be seen in many stores with special sale promotions based on gender. For example, you might see “ladies night” with reduced or free drinks at a bar. This is an attempt to reach out to women, but not alienate the male customers.
Another great example of STP marketing is creating different ads for different lifestyles. For example, you might see two ads for cars; one designed with families in mind and another aimed at young adults. The ad you see will depend on your lifestyle and what you’re looking for in a vehicle.
The STP process
STP marketing is a 3 steps process that includes:
Segmentation.
This step involves dividing your audience into groups based on certain criteria. You might decide to split them based on demographics or even different personality types. You can use this information to better understand your customers and what they want from your product.
In the family car example, you segment based on a person’s lifestyle. Someone who is single might have a different threshold for the price than a family looking to buy a vehicle.
Targeting.
After you’ve created specific groups, the next step is to create unique content for each group. This includes both ads and other campaign messaging so you can appeal to their specific wants and needs.
If done right, the targeted messages will resonate with each group and make it more likely you’ll convert a customer.
Remember different demographics will have different interests. A younger male might be interested in seeing ads for cars with better gas mileage while a family might be more concerned with safety ratings. The targeting step is all about appealing to those specific needs.
Positioning.
The final step is to position your product as the solution to the problems faced by each segment. This means providing a great service or product that will appeal to their specific needs.
For example, if you’re targeting young adults with a new product, your company might be positioned as trendy and hip. If you’re targeting families with a new car, you might position your product as safe and affordable.
How does STP help in marketing?
STP gives your marketing a more focused approach. When you’re trying to attract everyone, it’s difficult to keep your message consistent. By dividing the market into specific segments, you can offer more targeted messages that are designed to convert them into customers.
If you want people to buy your product or service, STP marketing is an excellent tactic that will help you achieve that goal.
STP marketing is a powerful strategy that allows you to target specific audiences with tailored messages. With STP, your message remains consistent across all segments without being exclusive or alienating to other groups. STP helps bring clarity to your marketing so you can focus on converting customers instead of wasting resources.
What are the Examples of STP marketing?
STP marketing is an approach that allows you to focus your marketing on specific groups. Each group gets customized messages based on their specific needs and wants without alienating other segments.
You might be wondering what STP marketing looks like in real life. Here are some great examples of how companies use STP to market themselves:
Cola wars
Both Pepsi and Coca-Cola are famously remembered for using the STP marketing model, especially in the 80s during the cola wars. They utilized STP in an effort to get a piece of the market share of the beverages market.
Pepsi for example used this strategy to try to wrestle the market share from Coca-Cola. They segmented the market into three key segments:
- Those loyal to the Coca-Cola brand
- Consumers loyal to Pepsi
- Those with divided loyalty
Pepsi chose to target the third segment as it was the most lucrative with a high ROI. Targeting consumers loyal to Coke would have been a waste of time and money as this group was not interested in changing to another brand. By focusing on consumers with divided loyalty, Pepsi could win them over and get a piece of the beverage market.
However, this changed when Coca-Cola introduced the “new coke” in 1985. The majority of Coke consumers were loyal to the original Coke and didn’t like the new formula. This meant that Pepsi had an opportunity to capture this group as they were looking for a new beverage. Pepsi took advantage of the moment and promoted itself as a brand that stood by its consumer base.
By utilizing STP Pepsi was able to increase their sales to 14% that year.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s uses segmentation as a marketing strategy as well. They know that each demographic has different needs and appeals to those segments with tailored products and messaging. They use social class as a segmentation criterion that defines who they are targeting.
They target the lower, working-class with affordable meals. The family segment is targeted by providing meals that can be shared with the whole family.
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is another great example of how STP can be used in marketing. They are not only known for their sleek products but also for the brand loyalty they have been able to build.
Apple has a very specific segment in mind when designing its products and marketing strategies for them: the creative class. This segment is composed of people who are passionate about what they do and value creativity in their work.
Their products appeal to this group for various reasons.
It is simple and sleek which allows creative people to focus on their work
The brand itself has built up an artistic and creative image that appeals to this group
By focusing on this demographic, Apple Inc. has achieved very high sales that continue to grow each year.
Emirates Airways
Emirates Airways is another example of how STP marketing can be used for a company. They are known for their luxurious flights that offer great deals. Emirates Airways is able to charge premium prices for the seats because of the customer perception they have managed to build themselves.
With STP, Emirates Airways gets to partner with high-end brands for their flights. Their target market is composed of people who are well-off and enjoy luxury.
With this strategy, Emirates Airways has been able to become one of the most profitable airline companies in the world.
Nike
Nike is another great example that uses the STP model to its advantage. They are known for making sportswear that appeals to a specific demographic: young and fit people.
Nike is able to do this because they know who their target market is and what appeals to those demographics.
Those who do sports and are young want comfortable clothing that will last long
People who do sports also care about their appearance which means they will always want to look fashionable
By staying true to this target market, Nike has been able to achieve very high sales and continue growing each year.
Tesla
Tesla is a good example of an STP company that uses the “technology” segmentation criteria. This means they market themselves as high-end electric cars to people who are environmentally conscious.
By doing this, Tesla is able to charge premium prices for their products as they are using a segmentation criterion that is popular with their target consumers.
This strategy has allowed them to achieve very high sales numbers.
Wrap Up:
These are some of the examples of how STP can be used in marketing. By knowing what segment their target market falls under, marketers are able to create successful marketing strategies to reach and appeal to that demographic.
Marketing segmentation is an important concept in the field of marketing that helps marketers understand who they are targeting and what appeals to them. Positioning is also crucial for marketers to understand as it allows them to determine how their product is perceived in the market.