STP marketing
STP marketing or market segmentation is one of the marketing strategies . STP stands for segmentation (segmentation), targeting (selection of target segments) and positioning (positioning) and means the exact selection of target segments and target groups . The STP approach is one of the analytical foundations of strategic marketing and is used for differentiated market processing in the planning phase of the marketing management process. With its help, the marketing activities of companies can be targeted to profitable customer segments based on data.
strategy
There are many different types of consumers with even more differentiated needs. In order to avoid blurring when developing a targeted marketing strategy, Philip Kotler recommends using the STP strategy to subdivide the entire market and only focus on the best segments.
As part of this selection, the market segmentation, the focus is on the customer and the development of so-called customer values (customer benefits) as well as profitable customer relationships. The marketing strategy focuses on two key questions. On the one hand, which customers are "served" ( segmenting and targeting ) and, on the other hand, how one can create customer values for the selected customers (differentiation and positioning ). Then the customer benefit can then be precisely transmitted to the previously defined target group with a target group-specific campaign strategy. The benefit of such STP strategies manifests itself in an improvement in marketing performance, an increase in customer satisfaction, differentiation from competitors and an increase in profitability .
Segmentation criteria
Market segmentation can take place on the basis of different data and can be divided into categories, which can also be used in combination for market division:
- Demographic segmentation: analysis of statistical data
- Psychographic segmentation: character analysis
- Benefit-based segmentation: quality and price focus
Sensibly applicable selection criteria should meet the following requirements:
- Behavioral relevance
- Accessibility of the members of the segments
- Selectivity
- Measurability of the segmentation criteria
- Temporal stability
- economics
In practice, this means: the segments must be able to be addressed in a differentiated manner, there must not be too great an overlap in the segmentation and it must be ensured who is in which segment. At the same time, it must always be ensured that the market segmentation has a certain temporal existence and that the segments can be served in such a way that economic benefits can be drawn from them.
Segmentation methods
The methods described by Wendel for optimal segmentation according to the previously selected criteria:
Visualization
Creation of a scatter diagram with central variables to identify individual customer groups based on recognizable patterns. However, there are some disadvantages when using this method. Visualization is only two-dimensional, very subjective and can only answer yes or no to the question of segment affiliation. Depending on which patterns are recognizable, segment boundaries are sometimes only displayed very blurred.
Cluster analysis
In the cluster analysis , the distances between the observed individuals are calculated and a distance matrix is created. Then the closest individuals / segments are combined into larger clusters - an iterative process that always seeks the shortest possible distances. The number of segments is then determined based on the incremental reduction in the heterogeneity between clusters.
Finite Mixture Analysis
This analysis looks at the distribution of the variables. In an iterative process, a mixture of normal distributions is sought that best represents the actual distribution. The special thing about the finite mixture analysis is that each of the normal distributions from the “distribution mixture” represents a segment. The probability of segment affiliation can also be determined in this way.
Advantages of optimized market positioning
Correct positioning is a decisive success parameter. Only if a brand meets an emotional and factual need very precisely is there a real chance of sweeping success. Competitive advantages can only be based on a solid knowledge of the customers and their causal purchase decisions. At the same time, precise knowledge of a segmented market helps to occupy and dominate a niche, which, according to the theory of divergence marketing, is increasingly promising, as a market leader to attack across the board.
See also
literature
- Michel Wendel: Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations. Kluwer Academic Publishers, December 31, 1999.
- Jochen Becker: Marketing concept. Basics of strategic and operational marketing management. 9th updated and supplemented edition. Vahlen, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-8006-3694-5 .
- Hermann Freter: Market and customer segmentation. Customer-oriented market acquisition and processing. 2nd completely revised and expanded edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-018319-3 .
- Bernd Hempelmann, Markus Lürwer: The Customer Lifetime Value approach to determining customer value. In: WiSu. Business studies. 32, No. 3, 2003, ISSN 0340-3084 , pp. 336-341.
- Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler, John Saunders, Veronica Wong: Basics of Marketing. Fifth edition, Pearson Studies, 2010 (2011), ISBN 978-3-86894-014-5
- Philip Kotler, Friedhelm Bliemel , Kevin Lane Keller: Marketing Management: Strategies for Value-Creating Action. Twelfth Edition Pearson Studies, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8273-7229-1 .
- Philip Kotler: Kotler's Marketing Guide: The Most Important Ideas and Concepts. Campus Verlag, February 2004, ISBN 3-593-37302-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kotler / Bliemel: Marketing Management , Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-7910-0882-X , p. 421ff.
- ↑ segmentation criteria. In: Uni-Blätter.net
- ↑ Michel Wendel: Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999.
- ↑ Economics STP Marketing Strategy Process. ; Article dated December 2, 2013.
- ^ Ralf U. Mayer: Product Positioning , Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-922292-08-9
- ↑ Heinz Günther: Dominating markets: principles of branding from Airwaves to Zalando