case study market positioning

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A Better Way to Map Brand Strategy

• Niraj Dawar
• Charan K. Bagga

Companies have long used perceptual mapping to understand how consumers feel about their brands relative to competitors’, to find gaps in the marketplace, and to develop brand positions. But the business value of these maps is limited because they fail to link a brand’s market position to business performance metrics such as pricing and sales. Other marketing tools measure brands on yardsticks such as market share, growth rate, and profitability but fail to take consumer perceptions into consideration.

In this article, Ivey Business School’s Niraj Dawar and Charan K. Bagga present a new type of map that links a brand’s position to competitors according to its perceived “centrality” (how representative it is of the company) and “distinctiveness” (how much it stands out from other brands) with its business performance along a given metric.

Using the tool, marketers can determine a brand’s current and desired position, predict its marketplace performance, and devise and track marketing strategy and execution.

In-depth examples of the car and beer markets demonstrate the value of this tool to managers of brands in any category.

HBR Reprint R1506G

Figure out where you are on the distinctiveness-centrality spectrum.

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Companies have long used perceptual maps to understand how consumers feel about their brands relative to competitors’ and to develop brand positions. But their business value is limited because they fail to link a brand’s position to market performance metrics. Other marketing tools measure brands on yardsticks such as market share, growth rate, and profitability but fail to take consumer perceptions into consideration.

The Solution

The C-D map links perception and performance in a new way. It shows brands’ relative position in the marketplace according to perceived “centrality” (how representative a brand is of its category) and “distinctiveness” (how well it stands out from other brands). It also captures financial performance along a given metric, such as sales volume or price.

The Implications

Using the tool, marketers can determine a brand’s current and desired position, predict its marketplace performance, and devise and track marketing strategy and execution.

In-depth examples of the car and beer markets demonstrate the value of this tool for managers of brands in any category.

Marketers have always had to juggle two seemingly contradictory goals: making their brands distinctive and making them central in their category. Central brands, such as Coca-Cola in soft drinks and McDonald’s in fast food, are those that are most representative of their type. They’re the first ones to come to mind, and they serve as reference points for comparison. These brands shape category dynamics, including consumer preferences, pricing, and the pace and direction of innovation. Distinctive brands, such as Tesla in cars and Dos Equis in beer, stand out from the crowd and avoid direct competition with widely popular central brands.

• ND Niraj Dawar is a professor of marketing at the Ivey Business School, Canada. He is the author of TILT: Shifting your Strategy from Products to Customers (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013).
• Charan K. Bagga is a visiting assistant professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business.  

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How to Identify Market Positioning and Competition

In the dynamic business landscape, understanding market positioning is crucial. It involves identifying how your product or service is perceived relative to competitors. Effective market positioning requires analyzing competitive dynamics, differentiating your offerings, and aligning them with customer needs.

Table of Contents

This process often includes mapping out competitors, understanding their strategies, and recognizing gaps in the market. By leveraging these insights, companies can create unique value propositions, enhancing their market position. Case studies of successful firms further illuminate the path to solid market positioning, showcasing strategies that have reshaped competitive landscapes.

Understanding Market Positioning

Market positioning is a strategic approach. It defines how the target audience perceives a product or service. This perception is in comparison to its competitors. It’s an integral part of a business’s overall strategy, as it dictates how a brand differentiates itself in the market. The essence of a market positioning strategy is to establish a unique, clear, and favorable position in the minds of consumers, thereby influencing their perception and choice.

The Significance of Market Positioning in Business Strategy

Market positioning strategy is not just about standing out; it’s about creating an identity that resonates with the target audience . A well-defined positioning can lead to increased customer loyalty, higher brand equity, and a competitive edge in the market.

It helps businesses align their product development, marketing, and sales strategies with the needs and preferences of their target market. Ultimately, a robust market positioning strategy aids in decision-making, resource allocation, and long-term business planning.

Impact of Market Positioning on Consumer Perception and Choice

Market positioning directly influences how consumers perceive a product or service. This perception is crucial as it shapes their buying decisions. A strong positioning strategy ensures consumers view a brand as the best solution for their needs or desires.

Positioning shapes consumer expectations and preferences, whether perceived as a luxury brand, a cost-effective solution, or the most innovative option in the market. Businesses can sway consumer choice by effectively communicating unique selling points and value propositions.

Understanding Positioning Maps

Positioning maps, or perceptual maps, are essential visual tools in market analysis, enabling businesses to graphically represent consumer perceptions of their brand and their market positioning strategy about competitors. These maps often employ two key dimensions – price and quality – to construct a comparative landscape.

This method allows companies to visualize where their products stand in consumers’ minds compared to rival offerings. Furthermore, positioning maps can reveal how market segments perceive a range of products, providing valuable insights into consumer preferences and behaviors.

By analyzing these perceptions, businesses can strategically adjust their market positioning strategy, refine marketing messages, and identify areas for product improvement or innovation. This visual representation is intuitive and instrumental in guiding strategic decisions and identifying opportunities for differentiation in a competitive marketplace.

Utilizing Positioning Maps in Market Analysis

Positioning maps are valuable for several reasons:

Competitor Analysis: They help identify direct and indirect competitors and understand how closely they compete with your product.

Gap Identification: Positioning maps can reveal market gaps or underserved niches, presenting opportunities for new or adjusted positioning strategies.

Strategy Development: By understanding where a product stands in the market, businesses can strategize how to move to a more favorable position.

Market Trends: Tracking changes in positioning over time can provide insights into shifting consumer preferences and emerging trends.

A market positioning strategy is a cornerstone of a successful business plan. It’s not just about being different; it’s about being relevant and resonant with the target audience. By understanding and implementing effective positioning strategies, businesses can shape consumer perception and choice, leading to sustainable competitive advantage. Positioning maps are invaluable tools in this process, offering visual insights into market dynamics and guiding strategic decisions.

Analyzing Competitive Dynamics in Various Industries in Market Positioning

In business, competition is as diverse as the industries it inhabits. Understanding the competitive dynamics within different sectors is crucial for developing an effective product market positioning strategy. Each industry has unique rules, players, and market forces that shape how companies compete and position their products.

Diverse Competitive Scenarios Across Industries

The nature of competition significantly varies across industries. In technology, for instance, innovation and rapid product development are vital competitive factors. In contrast, customer experience and pricing might be more critical in retail.

High-tech industries often witness fierce competition based on innovation and intellectual property. In contrast, service industries might compete more on customer service and brand reputation.

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors exhibit competition based on distribution networks and shelf space. These varying dynamics necessitate tailored market positioning strategies for businesses in each industry.

Roles in the Competitive Arena: Leaders, Challengers, Followers, Nichers

Market Leaders: These are dominant players in an industry, often setting the pace in pricing, innovation, and market share. Their product market positioning is typically characterized by strong brand recognition and significant customer loyalty.

Challengers: These companies aggressively gain market share, often through innovative product offerings or disruptive marketing strategies. They challenge the status quo, aiming to redefine product market positioning norms.

Followers: These businesses adopt a more conservative approach, emulating successful strategies of leaders and challengers. Their product market positioning often focuses on providing reliable, familiar products at competitive prices.

Nichers: They cater to specific segments of the market, often overlooked by more prominent players. Nichers excel in understanding and meeting the unique needs of their target audience, creating a specialized product market positioning.

Industry-Specific Factors Influencing Market Positioning

Each industry is governed by factors that critically influence product market positioning. Compliance and trust are key positioning factors in heavily regulated industries like pharmaceuticals or finance. In contrast, trends and brand image play a significant role in the fashion industry.

The automotive industry, for example, balances innovation, safety, and environmental concerns. Understanding industry-specific factors is crucial. It helps develop a market positioning strategy. This strategy must resonate with the target audience and stand out.

The Importance of Contextual Understanding

Analyzing competitive dynamics in various industries is a complex but essential aspect of developing a successful product market positioning strategy. Businesses must understand their direct competitors and the broader industry context, including the roles of different competitors and the unique factors influencing each industry.

By doing so, companies can craft market positioning strategies that are not only competitive but also profoundly resonant with the unique dynamics of their industry, leading to sustainable growth and market presence.

Strategies for Effective Market Differentiation in Market Positioning

Market differentiation is a crucial strategy for businesses. It helps them distinguish their products or services from competitors. It’s the process of identifying and communicating the unique qualities of a brand to a specific target market. The significance of market differentiation lies in its ability to create a competitive advantage, enhance brand loyalty, and justify premium pricing. A well-crafted market positioning statement, which briefly outlines the unique value proposition of a product, is central to effective differentiation.

Differentiation Strategies: Variety and Innovation

Product Features and Innovation: Differentiating through product features involves offering something unique that competitors do not have. This could be an innovative design, advanced technology, or additional functionalities that enhance user experience. For technology companies, continual innovation is often the key to maintaining a competitive edge.

Branding: A strong brand identity can significantly differentiate a product in a crowded marketplace. Effective branding is more than logos and taglines. It covers the entire customer experience. This includes product design, marketing communications, and customer service. A brand that resonates emotionally with its audience can command loyalty even in highly competitive markets.

Customer Service Excellence: Outstanding customer service has the potential to set you apart effectively. This is especially true in industries with similar product offerings. Businesses that focus on customer satisfaction, responsiveness, and personalized service can create a loyal customer base that values the quality of service over price or product features.

Niche Market Focus: Targeting a niche market lets businesses customize their products to suit a specific group’s needs and preferences. This approach can prove highly beneficial, especially for small enterprises or newcomers aiming to establish themselves in a competitive market.

Choosing the Right Differentiation Strategy

Understand Your Market and Customers: Perform comprehensive market research to gain insights into customer requirements, preferences, and areas of concern. A strategy that aligns with customer expectations is more likely to succeed.

Assess Your Strengths: Identify what your business does best and leverage these strengths in your differentiation strategy. Whether it’s innovation, customer service, or a strong brand, focusing on core competencies can create a sustainable competitive advantage.

Consider Market Positioning Statement: Your market positioning statement should guide your differentiation strategy. It must clearly articulate how your product differs and why that difference matters to your target audience.

Balance Between Uniqueness and Relevance: While being unique is essential, ensure that your differentiation is relevant to your customers. It should add value and address your target market’s needs or desires.

Monitor Competitor Strategies: Monitor your competitors’ actions closely. Gaining insight into their strategies can assist you in refining your differentiation approach and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.

Crafting a Unique Market Identity

Effective market differentiation is about creating a unique brand identity that resonates with customers. Businesses can develop a compelling market positioning statement by focusing on innovative product features, strong branding, exceptional customer service, or niche market targeting.

Choosing the right differentiation strategy and crafting a compelling market positioning statement requires a deep understanding of the market and your business strengths, ensuring your unique selling propositions are distinctive, highly relevant, and valued by your target audience.

Identifying Your Competitors and Market Positioning

Identifying direct and indirect competitors is crucial for defining a compelling market position in business strategy and can be visualized in a market positioning chart. Direct competitors are businesses with similar products or services. They target the same customer base. Indirect competitors, while not offering the same product, satisfy the same customer needs differently.

Market Research: Initiating comprehensive market research is the initial step in pinpointing these competitors. This involves analyzing industry reports, customer surveys, and market trends to understand who is currently addressing the needs of your target market.

Online Tools and Social Media: Utilizing online tools like search engines, social media platforms, and industry forums can reveal direct and indirect competitors. Observing online conversations and reviews can also provide insights into who your potential customers consider as alternatives to your offerings.

Understanding Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses

Understanding your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses is pivotal for crafting a solid market positioning strategy.

Strengths: Identifying competitors’ strengths can help you understand what appeals to your shared target market. It might be their branding, product features, pricing strategy, or customer service.

Weaknesses: Recognizing where competitors fall short provides opportunities for differentiation. It could be gaps in their product line, subpar customer service, or a need for more innovation.

Tools and Resources for Competitor Analysis

Practical competitor analysis relies on using the right tools and resources. A market positioning chart is a tool that visually plots where competitors stand about each other and your business based on factors like price, quality, and market share.

SWOT Analysis: Performing a SWOT analysis (evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for every competitor offers a structured method to gauge their market position.

Customer Feedback: Gathering feedback from customers can provide direct insights into how they perceive your competitors. Tools like surveys, focus groups, or online reviews are helpful.

Digital Analytics Tools: Utilizing digital analytics tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can help understand competitors’ online presence, SEO strategies, and digital marketing effectiveness.

Financial Analysis: Reviewing publicly available financial reports (for listed companies) can give an idea about a competitor’s market health, investment in R&D, and overall stability.

Industry Reports: Subscription-based services like IBISWorld, Hoovers, or Gartner provide detailed industry reports that can highlight key players and emerging competitors.

A Strategic Approach to Competitor Analysis

Identifying and understanding competitors is a critical component of market positioning. Businesses can comprehensively view the competitive landscape by employing various tools and methods. A market positioning chart to visually represent this landscape can be particularly effective.

This insight guides product positioning and can be represented in a market positioning chart. It also highlights areas for improvement and differentiation opportunities. In a competitive market, a well-informed strategy that considers competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, as depicted in the market positioning chart, can be a crucial driver for success.

Case Studies: Successful Market Positioning

Examining real-world examples, such as a market positioning statement example, of successful market positioning provides invaluable insights into how a well-crafted market positioning statement and strategic planning can lead to significant business success. These case studies showcase effective strategies and highlight key lessons and best practices.

Case Study 1: Apple Inc.

Market Positioning Statement Example: Apple creates Macs, world-class personal computers, and software like OS X, iLife, and iWork. They also lead in digital music with iPods and the iTunes online store.

Strategy and Outcome: Apple’s market positioning revolves around innovation, premium quality, and a unique customer experience. The focus on design and functionality has set them apart in the technology industry. The outcome has been a loyal customer base, a strong brand identity, and a leadership position in several product categories.

Lessons and Best Practices: Apple’s success underlines the importance of innovation, brand differentiation, and creating a cohesive customer experience. Their approach demonstrates how a clear and aspirational market positioning statement can guide brand strategy and operations.

Case Study 2: Starbucks

Market Positioning Statement Example: To motivate and enrich the human spirit, one individual, one cup of coffee, and one community at a time.

Strategy and Outcome: Starbucks positioned itself as a coffee seller and an experience provider, creating a “third place” between home and work. This positioning, focusing on the quality of coffee and the ambiance of their stores, allowed Starbucks to command premium prices. The result has been global expansion, brand loyalty, and a dominant market presence.

Lessons and Best Practices: Starbucks’ case shows the effectiveness of experiential differentiation and the importance of consistent customer experience. Their positioning strategy emphasizes the importance of emotional connection and community feeling in branding.

Case Study 3: Tesla, Inc.

Market Positioning Statement Example: “Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”

Strategy and Outcome: Tesla’s market positioning focuses on innovation in electric vehicles and sustainable energy. This positioning has distinguished them in the automotive industry as a leader in electric vehicle technology. Their success is marked by high brand value, growing market share, and influence on industry standards.

Lessons and Best Practices: Tesla highlights the importance of aligning product innovation with broader societal values and trends . Their approach demonstrates the power of mission-driven market positioning and its impact on brand perception and industry influence.

Extracting Lessons from Market Positioning Successes

These Apple, Starbucks, and Tesla case studies offer valuable insights into successful market positioning. Key lessons include:

• The importance of a clear and compelling market positioning statement.
• The role of innovation and brand experience in differentiation.
• The need to align market positioning with consumer values and trends.

These best practices demonstrate that effective market positioning, exemplified by a market positioning statement example, is about much more than just standing out – it’s about resonating deeply with consumers and creating a unique space in the market landscape.

The Role of Branding in Market Positioning

In the competitive landscape of modern business, branding is not just a marketing tool; it’s a fundamental component of market positioning. How a company brands itself significantly influences its position in the market . Effective branding goes beyond marketing position titles like ‘Brand Manager’ or ‘Chief Marketing Officer’; it permeates every aspect of a business, shaping consumer perception and preference.

Influence of Branding on Market Positioning

Branding dictates the narrative around a product or service, impacting how it is perceived in the market. A robust brand, exemplified by market or marketing position titles, can justify higher prices and cultivate customer loyalty.

In contrast, a weak brand might need help to gain traction regardless of the intrinsic quality of the product or service. Branding isn’t just about logos and taglines; it’s about creating a comprehensive identity that resonates with the target audience, setting a business apart from its competitors.

Brand Identity and Consumer Perception

The relationship between brand identity and consumer perception is symbiotic. Brand identity is the desired perception a company aims to create, meticulously crafted through visual design, messaging, and the customer experience.

On the other hand, consumer perception is how customers see the brand . When these two align, it results in a strong market position, exemplified by marketing position titles. For instance, a brand identity focused on sustainability can attract consumers who value environmental responsibility, thus positioning the company as a leader in eco-friendly practices.

Insights for Developing a Strong Brand Positioning Strategy

Understand Your Audience: Effective brand positioning starts with deeply understanding your target audience. Knowing their preferences, values, and pain points allows for a brand identity that resonates with them.

Define Your Unique Value Proposition: Your brand should clearly articulate what makes it unique. This unique value proposition should be the cornerstone of all branding efforts, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints.

Consistency is Key: Maintaining uniform branding across all platforms reinforces the brand’s identity, fostering recognition and trust. Whether it’s visual elements, tone of voice, or customer experience, consistency helps cement the brand in the minds of consumers.

Emotional Connection: Brands that connect emotionally with their audience, as illustrated by marketing position titles, often enjoy more vital market positioning. This connection can be built through storytelling, shared values, or community building.

Adapt and Evolve: As markets and consumer preferences change, so should branding. Keeping the brand relevant and aligned with current trends is crucial for maintaining a solid market position.

Measure and Adjust: Regularly assessing how your brand is perceived in the market is essential. Use customer feedback, market research, and performance metrics to refine your brand positioning strategy continually.

The Strategic Power of Branding in Market Positioning

Branding is a powerful tool in defining and reinforcing a company’s market position. It’s a complex interplay between how a company presents itself and how consumers perceive it.

Businesses can establish a robust and resilient market position by developing a coherent brand identity, consistently delivering on it, and adapting to market changes. A well-executed brand positioning strategy goes beyond superficial marketing position titles; it becomes the heartbeat of the company’s interaction with its market.

Leveraging Market Research for Marketing Positioning

Market research is an indispensable tool in the realm of marketing positioning. It lays the groundwork for grasping current market dynamics, consumer behaviors, and the competitive landscape. Businesses gather and analyze relevant data. This helps them make well-informed choices. They can adeptly position their products or services within the market.

Market research not only aids in identifying the target audience but also in understanding their needs, preferences, and perceptions, which are crucial for developing a successful marketing positioning strategy.

Diverse Methods of Market Research

Surveys represent one of the most frequently used market research instruments. They can be administered online, over the phone, or face-to-face. Surveys are valuable for collecting quantitative data from a large audience, providing insights into consumer attitudes, usage habits, and satisfaction levels.

Focus Groups: Focus groups involve moderated discussions with a small group of target consumers. This qualitative research method is beneficial for gaining deeper insights into consumer attitudes, feelings, and reactions to a product or concept. It allows for a more nuanced understanding of customer motivations and preferences.

Observational Research: This method involves observing consumers in a natural setting. It can reveal actual consumer behavior patterns that might not be disclosed in surveys or focus groups due to self-reporting biases.

Competitive Analysis: Competitive analysis is a fundamental aspect of market research. It involves assessing competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, market position, and strategies. This information is vital for identifying market gaps and differentiation opportunities.

Social Media and Web Analytics: Analyzing data from social media platforms and websites can provide real-time insights into consumer opinions and trends. This method is increasingly important in the digital age, offering a vast data pool on consumer behavior.

Utilizing Research Data for Marketing Positioning Decisions

Identifying Market Segments: Market research segments the market. It uses criteria like demographics, psychographics, and behavior. This segmentation is critical for targeting the right audience with your marketing positioning efforts.

Crafting a Positioning Statement: The insights gained from market research can guide the development of a clear and compelling marketing positioning statement. This statement should articulate the unique value proposition of the product or service and how it meets the target segment’s needs.

Testing Positioning Concepts: Testing different positioning concepts through A/B testing or pilot campaigns is beneficial before finalizing a marketing positioning strategy. Market research can provide feedback on these concepts, helping to refine the final positioning.

Adapting to Market Changes: Continuous market research is essential for staying abreast of market trends and changing consumer preferences. This ongoing research enables businesses to adapt and evolve their marketing positioning to remain relevant and competitive.

Market Research as a Pillar of Marketing Positioning

Market research is pivotal in shaping and implementing an effective marketing positioning strategy. Businesses use different research methods and analyze data effectively. This enables them to develop a positioning strategy. It attracts their target audience and distinguishes them from competitors.

As revealed through market research, understanding and responding to consumer needs, preferences, and perceptions are critical to successful marketing positioning in today’s dynamic market environment.

Adapting Market Positioning in a Changing Market

In an ever-evolving marketplace, the ability of businesses to adapt their market positioning is not just advantageous; it is essential for survival and growth. Market positioning examples from history are replete with companies that either thrived by adapting or failed due to their rigidity.

Changes in technology, consumer preferences, and competitive landscapes are just a few factors that necessitate a continuous reassessment and adaptation of market positioning strategies.

Strategies for Responding to Market Changes

Embracing Technological Advancements: Technology can significantly alter how businesses operate and engage with customers, as seen in various market positioning examples. Companies must integrate new technologies to enhance product offerings, streamline operations, or improve customer experiences. For instance, e-commerce has prompted many retail businesses to shift their market positioning from traditional brick-and-mortar to online platforms.

Staying Attuned to Consumer Preferences: Consumer preferences can shift rapidly, influenced by societal changes, economic factors, or new trends. Through continuous market research and feedback mechanisms, businesses must stay attuned to these changes. Adapting product lines, marketing messages, and service models in response to these shifts is crucial for maintaining relevance and competitiveness.

Innovating Product Offerings: Innovation is vital to staying relevant in a dynamic market. Businesses should focus on R&D to continually evolve their products or services, ensuring they meet their customers’ current and future needs. A commitment to innovation can redefine a company’s market positioning and set it apart from competitors.

Tips for Staying Ahead in a Dynamic Market Environment

Cultivate Flexibility: As demonstrated by market positioning examples, flexibility in strategy and operations enables businesses to respond quickly to market changes. This agility is crucial for adapting market positioning in response to external factors.

Monitor Competitors : Monitoring competitors gives valuable insights. It helps identify market trends and potential opportunities. Understanding competitors’ strategies can help identify gaps in the market and areas for differentiation.

Invest in Customer Relationships: Building solid customer relationships can provide a buffer in times of change. Dedicated customers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand during change. This provides a stable base for trying new market positioning strategies.

Leverage Data Analytics: As exemplified by market positioning examples, data analytics tools can provide immediate insights into market trends and consumer behavior. This data is invaluable for making informed decisions about market positioning adaptations.

Foster a Culture of Innovation: Fostering an innovative culture in the organization can result in new ideas. These ideas offer fresh perspectives on market positioning. Employee engagement in brainstorming and problem-solving can yield innovative approaches to adapting to market changes.

The Dynamic Art of Market Positioning

The continuous evolution of market positioning, exemplified by market positioning examples, is a critical aspect of business strategy in a changing market. By embracing technological advancements, staying attuned to consumer preferences, innovating product offerings, and leveraging strategic insights, businesses can adapt to and anticipate market shifts.

The examples of successful market positioning demonstrate that those who proactively respond to changes and innovate consistently are the ones who stay ahead in the competitive race.

What is market positioning, and why is it important?

Market positioning refers to how a business positions its brand , product, or service in the market relative to competitors. It’s important because it helps differentiate a business from its competitors and influences how customers perceive and interact with the brand.

How does market positioning affect consumer choices?

Market positioning significantly impacts consumer perception, influencing their purchasing decisions. A strong positioning strategy can lead to brand loyalty, as consumers often choose brands that align with their needs and values.

What are positioning maps, and how are they used?

Positioning maps, also known as perceptual maps, are visual tools used to plot consumer perceptions of different brands or products, typically based on two dimensions price and quality. They help businesses understand their relative position in the market and identify opportunities for differentiation.

How do I identify my direct and indirect competitors?

Direct competitors offer similar products or services, while indirect competitors meet the same customer needs differently. Identifying them involves market research, competitor analysis, and staying attuned to industry trends.

Why is understanding competitors’ strengths and weaknesses important?

Knowing your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses helps you identify opportunities for differentiation and areas where you can capitalize on their shortcomings.

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STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) Marketing Strategy: A Detailed Guide

Hyper-personalise marketing communications and boost audience engagement with the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) model. Know all about STP in this guide.

Salesforce India

Share article, introduction.

There’s a common saying in the business world, “If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll end up becoming nothing to anyone.” Far too often, businesses fall into the trap of positioning their product(s) as something that ‘everyone’ benefits from. Their rationale is this: if they cast their net wide enough, they’re bound to catch enough customers soon. This approach is flawed in two ways-

• The company’s resources – budget and employees – get spread too thinly in chasing far-flung customer segments.
• It leads to brand dilution, where the company’s ‘real’ target customers stop seeing value in the brand.

Think about it: you build a product or many products to solve a specific problem. Not all 7.9 billion people in the world would have that problem. Even if your product is something as essential as a toothbrush, it has to stand out from the existing toothbrushes in the market in some way to bring in sales.

Say, from the media and your conversations with friends you notice that an increasingly large number of people are moving towards sustainable living. You strike up this idea of creating toothbrushes out of bamboo shoots.

At the very outset, you plan to target all the toothbrush users by positioning your product as an environmental-friendly alternative to plastic brushes. This strategy is going to create a negligible impact, almost like a drop in the ocean.

This is because 85% of your audience doesn’t care for sustainable living. While you could still go after them by creating awareness, you need to first educate them on the adverse effects of using plastic on the environment. Tell them how your product addresses the issue, and finally, how it benefits the customer individually.

This is a long-drawn process that can strain your time and budget while giving minimal returns. You’d fare better targeting the other 15% – people who are already looking for sustainable alternatives. They’re already aware of ‘why’ they need your product, so you can go ahead and directly pitch it to them.

By skipping the motions, you save on resources and use them where they are needed the most. Also, since your target’s needs are aligned with your product offering, the customer acquisition cost is low.

The above scenario is an apt use case for the segmentation, targeting, and positioning model of marketing. Now that we have some context, let’s dive deeper into what the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) model is.

What Is STP marketing?

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) is a marketing model that redefines whom you market your products to, and how. It makes your marketing communications more focused, relevant, and personalised for your customers.

In short, STP is a marketing approach where you segment your audience, target the best-fit audience segments for your product, and position your product to capture your target segment effectively.

The STEP Formula

The easiest way to remember the STP model is through the STEP formula, which is

Segmentation + Targeting = Positioning

A closer look at this formula tells us that the product positioning for each target segment is different. This forms the essence of the STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) marketing model.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these parts of segmentation, targeting and positioning.

Segmentation

When you start creating a GTM strategy for your product, you have an idea of who your audience is. You can target the entire group that fits the broad definition of your audience, but chances are a generic message may fail to resonate with a huge chunk of that group.

Segmenting the audience into smaller groups based on specific attributes gives you better clarity on who benefits the most out of your product and how. With this clarity, you can make your messages more focused and relevant to target groups.

While you can segment your audience using any criteria that best suits your business, the below criteria are commonly used:

How do you get started with segmentation?

To perform audience segmentation, you first need to know about your audience. Solutions such as Salesforce CDP (Customer Data Platform) allow you to unify data from across touchpoints – like sales, service, marketing – and use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to mine richer audience insights from it. You can enrich this with first-party data from other platforms like social media, websites, customer forums, etc. This helps marketers build a single, comprehensive view of all audiences using a central, user-friendly interface. With an accurate population count and AI-enabled features, you can create highly targeted and customised audience segments.

Segmentation gets you better results even when you’re nurturing your existing subscribers. Using tools like Salesforce’s Email Studio , you can segment your current subscribers’ list based on their profiles and send targeted email campaigns, improving your open and click rates. Segmenting your existing customer base also helps you make an informed guess about your larger audience. By extrapolating current customer data, you can identify potential audience segments and build your marketing strategy around them.

Segmentation with an example

Suppose your product is plant-based milk. Your general audience is people who want to move away from dairy-based products. You can segment this audience into two categories:

Segment A: people who are looking at dairy-free alternatives for lifestyle purposes, typically high-income groups.

Segment B: lactose-intolerant people looking for other options.

The message you use for these two segments is obviously going to be different from each other. Using tools like Data Studio, you can further segment the above two segments into groups that already use a competitor product and those that don’t. You can then hone your messaging according to it.

The next step in the STP model is targeting. This is the stage where you decide which segments you created during the segmentation phase are worth pursuing. You should ideally consider the below criteria to choose your targetable segments:

Size: Your audience segments must have enough potential customers to be worth marketing to. If your segments are too small, you may not get enough conversions to justify your marketing efforts.

Difference: There should be a measurable difference between any two segments. The lack of it leads to unnecessary duplication of efforts.

Reachability: The segments should be accessible to your sales and marketing teams and not be marred by technical or legal complications.

Profitability: The segment should have a low-to-medium customer acquisition cost (CAC) while bringing in high returns, i.e., the audience must be willing to spend money on your product.

Benefits: Different benefits attract different segments. In our plant-based milk example, Segment A would go for cruelty-free while Segment B for dairy-free.

Knowing which audience segments to target comes from having all-around visibility of those segments in one place. This makes comparing segments and weighing the pros and cons of targeting some segments over others easier.

In our example of plant-based milk, you’ve determined through research that veganism is all the rage, and roughly 60% of the people are searching for dairy-free alternatives. You also discover that approximately 80% of the people in your chosen demographic are lactose intolerant. Though the audience size is more significant in the second segment, you’re likely to get more returns when you go after the first segment as it consists of high-income groups who are ready to pay a premium for quality lifestyle-changing products.

Salesforce CDP helps unify such audience and customer data from multiple sources to get more comprehensive insights. With more data and insights, segmenting and targeting your audiences becomes much more precise and granular. Then, you can translate all of this data into action by using a tool like Journey Builder to create highly personalised and relevant journeys throughout customer lifecycles.

Positioning

The final stage of the STP model, positioning, is where you use the insights gained from segmentation and targeting to decide how you’re going to communicate your product to chosen audience segments.

While segmentation and targeting are about customers, positioning is about your product from the customer’s perspective. You can consider positioning as the bridge that connects your product with the audience. This is the stage where you perform competitor analysis, figure out your value proposition, and communicate that to your customers.

Based on what your brand stands for, you can position your product in several ways. If you’re in the luxury market, you can appeal to the ‘desire for prestige’ among customers by positioning yourself as a status symbol. Or, if you fall in the budget category, you could differentiate yourself by offering more benefits to your target at a lower cost than your competitors.

The best way to approach positioning is by drawing a Product Positioning Map that has two key market attributes as its axes and plotting your competitors and you in it. This will give you a clear picture of how you stack up against your competition and where you should place your product to maximise profits.

How to make STP marketing actually work

Now that you’ve narrowed down your market, sharpened your segments, and have an attack plan, all that’s left to do is craft and deliver your message. This is where a core concept – personalisation – comes in. Looking back, the entire segmentation, targeting, and postioning model is geared towards making marketing personalised for customers, so your message and the channels through which you communicate it should reflect that.

Luckily, some solutions help you meet customers where they are and drive personalised, 1-to-1 engagement with them.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers a product suite that enables marketers to hyper-personalise every interaction across channels. Here’s how:

• Salesforce CDP allows you to unify all your customer data and build finer audience segmentation for better targeting
• With Email Studio , you can segment your subscribers using drag-and-drop, and deliver 1-1 marketing messages
• Social Studio lets you listen to customer conversations about your brand on social channels and engage and support customers on their preferred channels
• Using Advertising Studio , you can launch paid digital advertising to create 1-1 customer experiences
• Interaction Studio allows you to manage all your marketing interactions in real time so you can offer a personalised experience across touchpoints
• Journey Builder enables you to create personalised experiences at every touchpoint and stage of the customer lifecycle
• You can drive higher RoI by using Datorama ‘s analytics and reporting features
• With Pardot , you can build greater sales and marketing alignment to perform personalised, automated marketing at scale
• Manage all your mobile messaging efforts using Mobile Studio
• Delight and engage your best customers with Loyalty Management
• Combine the power of Salesforce and Google by integrating Google Analytics 360 into Marketing Cloud

Benefits of STP marketing

Improved engagement : Because you’re targeting precise audience segments with personalised messages, your audience finds you relevant and is more likely to engage and convert.

Reduced marketing costs : Since you’re going after only those segments with a high potential return on investment, you’re no longer wasting your budget on channels and segments that don’t work.

More robust product : Because you know precisely whom you’re pitching your product to, you can make improvements based on feedback from that audience segment, fostering focused product innovation.

STP case studies

Apple has nailed the STP model. It positions itself as a lifestyle, targeting those audience segments with a keen design aesthetic, who want to stand out from the crowd, and are well-off. Apple follows a “closed” software ecosystem with an emphasis on security. In doing so, it creates an aura of exclusivity that makes people feel privileged to own Apple products. Apple’s STP model works so well that the brand name has become synonymous with expensive, high-performance, luxury gadgets.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s name evokes images of a family with kids enjoying a ‘happy meal’ of burgers, fries, and Coke. McDonald’s target audience is low to middle-income segments, and it positions itself as an accessible, budget-friendly brand, consciously staying away from the luxury fine-dining market. You can find a McDonald’s on almost every street, which is a sign of its accessibility.

Apart from segmenting its audience by their income, McDonald’s also does geographic segmentation quite well. It customises its menu for each country based on cultural preferences, making it more appealing to its target audience segments.

Godrej Group

Godrej Group is a very popular and trusted Indian company that is serving customers across product categories – from household goods to real estate. Every Indian household is aware of Godrej’s products like furniture and locks. But to engage and make aware customers of other product categories as well, Godrej has adopted social listening as a tactic to identify what their target audiences are talking and reading about. They are using audiences’ content consumption patterns to shape their content marketing strategies in a manner that deliver maximum engagement and awareness.

Coca-Cola is one brand that has the entire world as its market. But it also has cut-throat competition in the form of another brand, Pepsi. To gain a competitive edge over Pepsi, it introduced new variants such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero to target niche, health-conscious audience segments. It also brought in more flavoured variants to target the younger, experiential population.

Beyond segmentation and targeting, Coca-Cola positions itself as a drink that brings families and friends together. This is evident from its advertisements, which typically feature get-togethers, festivals, and celebrations in which Coke plays an integral role.

How to create an STP model for your business: Implementation strategy

We’ve covered the basics of the STP marketing model with benefits and examples. Now, it’s time to get down to the brass tacks; that is, see how you can implement a segmentation, targeting, and positioning model for your business step-by-step.

Step 1: Define your market

The world may be your market, but breaking it down into manageable segments is how you conquer it. To know the market segment in which you can hit the bullseye, you start by defining your Total Available Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). Let’s look at what each of these is:

Total Available Market (TAM) : TAM is the total market demand for a product or service. In other words, it’s the biggest available market for the brand. TAM is the maximum revenue that a business can generate if it achieves 100% of its market share.

Serviceable Available Market (SAM) : SAM is a subset of TAM, that is, a portion of the total available market that fits your product or service. You can define SAM by geographical or product specialisation constraints.

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) : SOM is a subset of SAM, that is, the segment of the serviceable available market that you can realistically reach after considering factors like product differentiation, budget, and competition.

In the case of Coca Cola, its TAM is the entire beverage market, while its SAM would be soft drinks. Its SOM is the market that Pepsi does not capture. For Diet Coke, the SOM would be health-conscious, sugar-free drinkers.

Step 2: Create audience segments

Now that you know your market definition, you can segment the audience within that definition.

You can segment the audience based on geography, demography, behaviour, or psychography, but ideally, a mix of all four can help you achieve clearly differentiated segments. The more segmentation layers or variables you add, the more delineated your segments would be.

For example, suppose you’re selling a luxury makeup product. In that case, you can target high-income working women (demographics) in India (geography), who follow makeup handles on social media (behaviour) and are willing to spend money on premium makeup products (psychography).

This kind of repeated layering and segmentation creates focused audience groups that you can target with hyper-personalised messages. Research by McKinsey found that companies that excel at personalisation generate 40% more revenue from those activities than average players.

Step 3: Identify the more attractive segments

Have all the segments data in one place and evaluate the attractiveness of each segment. You can use metrics like return on investment, segment size, and growth potential in your evaluation. Again, solutions like Salesforce Data Studio and CDP help gather data and get comprehensive visibility into different audience segments, improving segmentation.

Step 4: Evaluate your competition

With your audience segmentation sorted, it’s now time to look at your product and determine how it stacks up against your competition. Prepare a table that lists down all of your product capabilities and your competition’s, do a SWOT analysis, identify gaps, and figure out the most viable entry point into your desired customer segment.

Step 5: Fix your positioning

The groundwork on segmentation and targeting is now out of your way, so you can focus on positioning your product to grab the lion’s share of the market. You can follow any one or a mix of the following positioning strategies:

• Competitor-based positioning : where you show in what aspects better than your competitor.
• Consumer-based positioning : how well your product aligns with consumer needs.
• Price-based positioning : how you’re competitively priced and give customers more value for their money
• Benefit-based positioning : how your customers benefit from buying your product, either individually or over your competition.
• Attribute-based positioning : what your unique selling point or value proposition is, above and beyond benefits and price.
• Prestige-based positioning : how customers get a status boost from buying your product.

Step 6: Determine your marketing mix

The final step of the segmentation, targeting, and positioning model is to choose your ‘marketing mix’ that helps reinforce your positioning. The marketing mix consists of four Ps – Product, Price, Placement, and Promotions.

Product represents factors like quality, benefits, features, design, services, support, availability, and edge over the competition.

Price reflects what customers are willing to pay for the product. It covers list price, discounts, payment methods, etc. Pricing your product much lower than your competitor might fetch you immediate benefits but will be detrimental to revenue in the long run.

Placement covers “where” your product is available. It includes ecommerce, physical stores, inventory, logistics, trade channels, etc.

Promotion takes into account “how” your product reaches your customer. It covers marketing campaigns, advertising, public relations, sales promotions, word of mouth, influencer marketing, and so on.

STP model is a scientific, tried-and-tested marketing approach that helps businesses identify segments where they can indeed provide value, personalise their marketing communications, and reap sizeable profits.

If you want to get started on your segmentation, targeting, and positioning journey, you could give solutions like the Salesforce Marketing Cloud a try. The products inside Marketing Cloud provide you deep insights about your audience, help you identify the most viable segments, and hyper-personalise communications across channels, leading to 1-1 customer connect.

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28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Published: March 08, 2023

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's not easy to create case studies that your audience can’t wait to read.

In this post, we’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you.

What is a case study?

A case study is a detailed story of something your company did. It includes a beginning — often discussing a conflict, an explanation of what happened next, and a resolution that explains how the company solved or improved on something.

A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but marketing case studies with solutions typically contain quotes from the customer. This means that they’re not just ads where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial. A great case study is also filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project's results.

There are myriad ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy . From featuring them on your website to including them in a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer. Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started.

Fill out the form below to access the free case study templates.

Free Case Study Templates

Showcase your company's success using these three free case study templates.

• Data-Driven Case Study Template
• Product-Specific Case Study Template
• General Case Study Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies . But without case study examples to draw inspiration from, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that convince visitors to submit a form.

Marketing Case Study Examples

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. This list includes famous case studies in marketing, technology, and business.

These studies can show you how to frame your company offers in a way that is both meaningful and useful to your audience. So, take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

These marketing case studies with solutions show the value proposition of each product. They also show how each company benefited in both the short and long term using quantitative data. In other words, you don’t get just nice statements, like "This company helped us a lot." You see actual change within the firm through numbers and figures.

You can put your learnings into action with HubSpot's Free Case Study Templates . Available as custom designs and text-based documents, you can upload these templates to your CMS or send them to prospects as you see fit.

1. " How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with the Help of HubSpot ," by HubSpot

What's interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot cornerstone, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why the CEO of Handled founded the company and why he thought Handled could benefit from adopting a CRM. The case study also opens up with one key data point about Handled’s success using HubSpot, namely that it grew to 121 locations.

Notice that this case study uses mixed media. Yes, there is a short video, but it's elaborated upon in the other text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don't be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project's success.

Key Learnings from the HubSpot Case Study Example

• Give the case study a personal touch by focusing on the CEO rather than the company itself.
• Use multimedia to engage website visitors as they read the case study.

2. " The Whole Package ," by IDEO

Here's a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, they’re greeted with a big, bold photo and the title of the case study — which just so happens to summarize how IDEO helped its client. It summarizes the case study in three snippets: The challenge, the impact, and the outcome.

Immediately, IDEO communicates its impact — the company partnered with H&M to remove plastic from its packaging — but it doesn't stop there. As the user scrolls down, the challenge, impact, and progress are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and intriguing visuals.

Key Learnings from the IDEO Case Study Example

• Split up the takeaways of your case studies into bite-sized sections.
• Always use visuals and images to enrich the case study experience, especially if it’s a comprehensive case study.

3. " Rozum Robotics intensifies its PR game with Awario ," by Awario

In this case study, Awario greets the user with a summary straight away — so if you’re feeling up to reading the entire case study, you can scan the snapshot and understand how the company serves its customers. The case study then includes jump links to several sections, such as "Company Profile," "Rozum Robotics' Pains," "Challenge," "Solution," and "Results and Improvements."

The sparse copy and prominent headings show that you don’t need a lot of elaborate information to show the value of your products and services. Like the other case study examples on this list, it includes visuals and quotes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s efforts. The case study ends with a bulleted list that shows the results.

Key Learnings from the Awario Robotics Case Study Example

• Create a table of contents to make your case study easier to navigate.
• Include a bulleted list of the results you achieved for your client.

4. " Chevrolet DTU ," by Carol H. Williams

If you’ve worked with a company that’s well-known, use only the name in the title — like Carol H. Williams, one of the nation’s top advertising agencies, does here. The "DTU," stands for "Discover the Unexpected." It generates interest because you want to find out what the initials mean.

They keep your interest in this case study by using a mixture of headings, images, and videos to describe the challenges, objectives, and solutions of the project. The case study closes with a summary of the key achievements that Chevrolet’s DTU Journalism Fellows reached during the project.

Key Learnings from the Carol H. Williams Case Study Example

• If you’ve worked with a big brand before, consider only using the name in the title — just enough to pique interest.
• Use a mixture of headings and subheadings to guide users through the case study.

5. " How Fractl Earned Links from 931 Unique Domains for Porch.com in a Single Year ," by Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design in their Porch.com case study to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you'll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself.

Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications have mentioned Porch.com during Fractl’s campaign, they incorporated the media outlets’ icons for further visual diversity.

Key Learnings from the Fractl Case Study Example

• Let pictures speak for you by incorporating graphs, logos, and icons all throughout the case study.
• Start the case study by right away stating the key results, like Fractl does, instead of putting the results all the way at the bottom.

6. " The Met ," by Fantasy

What's the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it with a series of simple showcases— which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They keep the page simple and clean, inviting you to review their redesign of the Met’s website feature-by-feature.

Each section is simple, showing a single piece of the new website's interface so that users aren’t overwhelmed with information and can focus on what matters most.

If you're more interested in text, you can read the objective for each feature. Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you're greeted with a simple "Contact Us" CTA.

Key Learnings from the Fantasy Case Study Example

• You don’t have to write a ton of text to create a great case study. Focus on the solution you delivered itself.
• Include a CTA at the bottom inviting visitors to contact you.

7. " Rovio: How Rovio Grew Into a Gaming Superpower ," by App Annie

If your client had a lot of positive things to say about you, take a note from App Annie’s Rovio case study and open up with a quote from your client. The case study also closes with a quote, so that the case study doesn’t seem like a promotion written by your marketing team but a story that’s taken straight from your client’s mouth. It includes a photo of a Rovio employee, too.

Another thing this example does well? It immediately includes a link to the product that Rovio used (namely, App Annie Intelligence) at the top of the case study. The case study closes with a call-to-action button prompting users to book a demo.

Key Learnings from the App Annie Case Study Example

• Feature quotes from your client at the beginning and end of the case study.
• Include a mention of the product right at the beginning and prompt users to learn more about the product.

8. " Embracing first-party data: 3 success stories from HubSpot ," by Think with Google

Google takes a different approach to text-focused case studies by choosing three different companies to highlight.

The case study is clean and easily scannable. It has sections for each company, with quotes and headers that clarify the way these three distinct stories connect. The simple format also uses colors and text that align with the Google brand.

Another differentiator is the focus on data. This case study is less than a thousand words, but it's packed with useful data points. Data-driven insights quickly and clearly show how the value of leveraging first-party data while prioritizing consumer privacy.

Key Learnings from the Think with Google Case Study Example

• A case study doesn’t need to be long or complex to be powerful.
• Clear data points are a quick and effective way to prove value.

9. " In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study ," by Switch

Switch is an international marketing agency based in Malta that knocks it out of the park with this case study. Its biggest challenge is effectively communicating what it did for its client without ever revealing the client’s name. It also effectively keeps non-marketers in the loop by including a glossary of terms on page 4.

The PDF case study reads like a compelling research article, including titles like "In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study," "Scenario," and "Approach," so that readers get a high-level overview of what the client needed and why they approached Switch. It also includes a different page for each strategy. For instance, if you’d only be interested in hiring Switch for optimizing your Facebook ads, you can skip to page 10 to see how they did it.

The PDF is fourteen pages long but features big fonts and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes.

Key Learnings from the Switch Case Study Example

• If you want to go into specialized information, include a glossary of terms so that non-specialists can easily understand.
• Close with a CTA page in your case study PDF and include contact information for prospective clients.

10. " Gila River ," by OH Partners

Let pictures speak for you, like OH Partners did in this case study. While you’ll quickly come across a heading and some text when you land on this case study page, you’ll get the bulk of the case study through examples of actual work OH Partners did for its client. You will see OH Partners’ work in a billboard, magazine, and video. This communicates to website visitors that if they work with OH Partners, their business will be visible everywhere.

And like the other case studies here, it closes with a summary of what the firm achieved for its client in an eye-catching way.

Key Learnings from the OH Partners Case Study Example

• Let the visuals speak by including examples of the actual work you did for your client — which is especially useful for branding and marketing agencies.
• Always close out with your achievements and how they impacted your client.

11. " Facing a Hater ," by Digitas

Digitas' case study page for Sprite’s #ILOVEYOUHATER campaign keeps it brief while communicating the key facts of Digitas’ work for the popular soda brand. The page opens with an impactful image of a hundred people facing a single man. It turns out, that man is the biggest "bully" in Argentina, and the people facing him are those whom he’s bullied before.

Scrolling down, it's obvious that Digitas kept Sprite at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point. They leveraged the Twitter API to pull data from Tweets that people had actually tweeted to find the identity of the biggest "hater" in the country. That turned out to be @AguanteElCofler, a Twitter user who has since been suspended.

Key Learnings from the Digitas Case Study Example

• If a video was part of your work for your client, be sure to include the most impactful screenshot as the heading.
• Don’t be afraid to provide details on how you helped your client achieve their goals, including the tools you leveraged.

12. " Better Experiences for All ," by HermanMiller

HermanMiller sells sleek, utilitarian furniture with no frills and extreme functionality, and that ethos extends to its case study page for a hospital in Dubai.

What first attracted me to this case study was the beautiful video at the top and the clean user experience. User experience matters a lot in a case study. It determines whether users will keep reading or leave. Another notable aspect of this case study is that the video includes closed-captioning for greater accessibility, and users have the option of expanding the CC and searching through the text.

HermanMiller’s case study also offers an impressive amount of information packed in just a few short paragraphs for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy. It closes out with a quote from their client and, most importantly, the list of furniture products that the hospital purchased from the brand.

Key Learnings from the HermanMiller Case Study Example

• Close out with a list of products that users can buy after reading the case study.
• Include accessibility features such as closed captioning and night mode to make your case study more user-friendly.

13. " Capital One on AWS ," by Amazon

Do you work continuously with your clients? Consider structuring your case study page like Amazon did in this stellar case study example. Instead of just featuring one article about Capital One and how it benefited from using AWS, Amazon features a series of articles that you can then access if you’re interested in reading more. It goes all the way back to 2016, all with different stories that feature Capital One’s achievements using AWS.

This may look unattainable for a small firm, but you don’t have to go to extreme measures and do it for every single one of your clients. You could choose the one you most wish to focus on and establish a contact both on your side and your client’s for coming up with the content. Check in every year and write a new piece. These don’t have to be long, either — five hundred to eight hundred words will do.

Key Learnings from the Amazon AWS Case Study Example

• Write a new article each year featuring one of your clients, then include links to those articles in one big case study page.
• Consider including external articles as well that emphasize your client’s success in their industry.

14. " HackReactor teaches the world to code #withAsana ," by Asana

While Asana's case study design looks text-heavy, there's a good reason. It reads like a creative story, told entirely from the customer's perspective.

For instance, Asana knows you won't trust its word alone on why this product is useful. So, they let Tony Phillips, HackReactor CEO, tell you instead: "We take in a lot of information. Our brains are awful at storage but very good at thinking; you really start to want some third party to store your information so you can do something with it."

Asana features frequent quotes from Phillips to break up the wall of text and humanize the case study. It reads like an in-depth interview and captivates the reader through creative storytelling. Even more, Asana includes in-depth detail about how HackReactor uses Asana. This includes how they build templates and workflows:

"There's a huge differentiator between Asana and other tools, and that’s the very easy API access. Even if Asana isn’t the perfect fit for a workflow, someone like me— a relatively mediocre software engineer—can add functionality via the API to build a custom solution that helps a team get more done."

Key Learnings from the Asana Example

• Include quotes from your client throughout the case study.
• Provide extensive detail on how your client worked with you or used your product.

15. " Rips Sewed, Brand Love Reaped ," by Amp Agency

Amp Agency's Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerrilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast road trip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. I liked Amp Agency's storytelling approach best. It captures viewers' attention from start to finish simply because it's an intriguing and unique approach to marketing.

Key Learnings from the Amp Agency Example

• Open up with a summary that communicates who your client is and why they reached out to you.
• Like in the other case study examples, you’ll want to close out with a quantitative list of your achievements.

16. " NetApp ," by Evisort

Evisort opens up its NetApp case study with an at-a-glance overview of the client. It’s imperative to always focus on the client in your case study — not on your amazing product and equally amazing team. By opening up with a snapshot of the client’s company, Evisort places the focus on the client.

This case study example checks all the boxes for a great case study that’s informative, thorough, and compelling. It includes quotes from the client and details about the challenges NetApp faced during the COVID pandemic. It closes out with a quote from the client and with a link to download the case study in PDF format, which is incredibly important if you want your case study to be accessible in a wider variety of formats.

Key Learnings from the Evisort Example

• Place the focus immediately on your client by including a snapshot of their company.
• Mention challenging eras, such as a pandemic or recession, to show how your company can help your client succeed even during difficult times.

17. " Copernicus Land Monitoring – CLC+ Core ," by Cloudflight

Including highly specialized information in your case study is an effective way to show prospects that you’re not just trying to get their business. You’re deep within their industry, too, and willing to learn everything you need to learn to create a solution that works specifically for them.

Cloudflight does a splendid job at that in its Copernicus Land Monitoring case study. While the information may be difficult to read at first glance, it will capture the interest of prospects who are in the environmental industry. It thus shows Cloudflight’s value as a partner much more effectively than a general case study would.

The page is comprehensive and ends with a compelling call-to-action — "Looking for a solution that automates, and enhances your Big Data system? Are you struggling with large datasets and accessibility? We would be happy to advise and support you!" The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

Key Learnings from the Cloudflight Case Study Example

• Don’t be afraid to get technical in your explanation of what you did for your client.
• Include a snapshot of the sales representative prospects should contact, especially if you have different sales reps for different industries, like Cloudflight does.

18. " Valvoline Increases Coupon Send Rate by 76% with Textel’s MMS Picture Texting ," by Textel

If you’re targeting large enterprises with a long purchasing cycle, you’ll want to include a wealth of information in an easily transferable format. That’s what Textel does here in its PDF case study for Valvoline. It greets the user with an eye-catching headline that shows the value of using Textel. Valvoline saw a significant return on investment from using the platform.

Another smart decision in this case study is highlighting the client’s quote by putting it in green font and doing the same thing for the client’s results because it helps the reader quickly connect the two pieces of information. If you’re in a hurry, you can also take a look at the "At a Glance" column to get the key facts of the case study, starting with information about Valvoline.

Key Learnings from the Textel Case Study Example

• Include your client’s ROI right in the title of the case study.
• Add an "At a Glance" column to your case study PDF to make it easy to get insights without needing to read all the text.

19. " Hunt Club and Happeo — a tech-enabled love story ," by Happeo

In this blog-post-like case study, Happeo opens with a quote from the client, then dives into a compelling heading: "Technology at the forefront of Hunt Club's strategy." Say you’re investigating Happeo as a solution and consider your firm to be technology-driven. This approach would spark your curiosity about why the client chose to work with Happeo. It also effectively communicates the software’s value proposition without sounding like it’s coming from an in-house marketing team.

Every paragraph is a quote written from the customer’s perspective. Later down the page, the case study also dives into "the features that changed the game for Hunt Club," giving Happeo a chance to highlight some of the platform’s most salient features.

Key Learnings from the Happeo Case Study Example

• Consider writing the entirety of the case study from the perspective of the customer.
• Include a list of the features that convinced your client to go with you.

20. " Red Sox Season Campaign ," by CTP Boston

What's great about CTP's case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text. A video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you'll see more embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge.

At the bottom, it says "Find out how we can do something similar for your brand." The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically pleasing. It invites viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP's campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team.

Key Learnings from the CTP Case Study Example

• Include a video in the heading of the case study.
• Close with a call-to-action that makes leads want to turn into prospects.

21. " Acoustic ," by Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine's case study for Acoustic is straightforward and minimal, with just a few short paragraphs, including "Reimagining the B2B website experience," "Speaking to marketers 1:1," and "Inventing Together." After the core of the case study, we then see a quote from Acoustic’s CMO and the results Genuine achieved for the company.

The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on both the visual aspects and the copy. The page displays Genuine's brand personality while offering the viewer all the necessary information they need.

• You don’t need to write a lot to create a great case study. Keep it simple.
• Always include quantifiable data to illustrate the results you achieved for your client.

22. " Using Apptio Targetprocess Automated Rules in Wargaming ," by Apptio

Apptio’s case study for Wargaming summarizes three key pieces of information right at the beginning: The goals, the obstacles, and the results.

Readers then have the opportunity to continue reading — or they can walk away right then with the information they need. This case study also excels in keeping the human interest factor by formatting the information like an interview.

The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged. Despite its length, Apptio's case study is appealing enough to keep the viewer's attention. Every Apptio case study ends with a "recommendation for other companies" section, where the client can give advice for other companies that are looking for a similar solution but aren’t sure how to get started.

Key Learnings from the Apptio Case Study Example

• Put your client in an advisory role by giving them the opportunity to give recommendations to other companies that are reading the case study.
• Include the takeaways from the case study right at the beginning so prospects quickly get what they need.

23. " Airbnb + Zendesk: building a powerful solution together ," by Zendesk

Zendesk's Airbnb case study reads like a blog post, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: "Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend."

The piece focuses on telling a good story and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk's helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb's service in such great detail.

Key Learnings from the Zendesk Case Study Example

• Include images of your client’s offerings — not necessarily of the service or product you provided. Notice how Zendesk doesn’t include screenshots of its product.
• Include a call-to-action right at the beginning of the case study. Zendesk gives you two options: to find a solution or start a trial.

24. " Biobot Customer Success Story: Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida ," by Biobot

Like some of the other top examples in this list, Biobot opens its case study with a quote from its client, which captures the value proposition of working with Biobot. It mentions the COVID pandemic and goes into detail about the challenges the client faced during this time.

This case study is structured more like a news article than a traditional case study. This format can work in more formal industries where decision-makers need to see in-depth information about the case. Be sure to test different methods and measure engagement .

Key Learnings from the Biobot Case Study Example

• Mention environmental, public health, or economic emergencies and how you helped your client get past such difficult times.
• Feel free to write the case study like a normal blog post, but be sure to test different methods to find the one that best works for you.

25. " Discovering Cost Savings With Efficient Decision Making ," by Gartner

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need a few paragraphs and bullet points. Gartner does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The case study closes with a shaded box that summarizes the impact that Gartner had on its client. It includes a quote and a call-to-action to "Learn More."

Key Learnings from the Gartner Case Study Example

• Feel free to keep the case study short.
• Include a call-to-action at the bottom that takes the reader to a page that most relates to them.

26. " Bringing an Operator to the Game ," by Redapt

This case study example by Redapt is another great demonstration of the power of summarizing your case study’s takeaways right at the start of the study. Redapt includes three easy-to-scan columns: "The problem," "the solution," and "the outcome." But its most notable feature is a section titled "Moment of clarity," which shows why this particular project was difficult or challenging.

The section is shaded in green, making it impossible to miss. Redapt does the same thing for each case study. In the same way, you should highlight the "turning point" for both you and your client when you were working toward a solution.

Key Learnings from the Redapt Case Study Example

• Highlight the turning point for both you and your client during the solution-seeking process.
• Use the same structure (including the same headings) for your case studies to make them easy to scan and read.

27. " Virtual Call Center Sees 300% Boost In Contact Rate ," by Convoso

Convoso’s PDF case study for Digital Market Media immediately mentions the results that the client achieved and takes advantage of white space. On the second page, the case study presents more influential results. It’s colorful and engaging and closes with a spread that prompts readers to request a demo.

Key Learnings from the Convoso Case Study Example

• List the results of your work right at the beginning of the case study.
• Use color to differentiate your case study from others. Convoso’s example is one of the most colorful ones on this list.

28. " Ensuring quality of service during a pandemic ," by Ericsson

Ericsson’s case study page for Orange Spain is an excellent example of using diverse written and visual media — such as videos, graphs, and quotes — to showcase the success a client experienced. Throughout the case study, Ericsson provides links to product and service pages users might find relevant as they’re reading the study.

For instance, under the heading "Preloaded with the power of automation," Ericsson mentions its Ericsson Operations Engine product, then links to that product page. It closes the case study with a link to another product page.

Key Learnings from the Ericsson Case Study Example

• Link to product pages throughout the case study so that readers can learn more about the solution you offer.
• Use multimedia to engage users as they read the case study.

Start creating your case study.

Now that you've got a great list of examples of case studies, think about a topic you'd like to write about that highlights your company or work you did with a customer.

A customer’s success story is the most persuasive marketing material you could ever create. With a strong portfolio of case studies, you can ensure prospects know why they should give you their business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Segmentation, Targeting, and Product Positioning

Leading provider of teaching materials for management education

The materials in the module show students how to segment markets, how to select the most attractive target markets, and how to craft a compelling product position.

5 Topics in This Module

Introduction.

Together, the two readings Segmentation and Targeting and  Brand Positioning provide students with a foundation in the key elements of a marketing strategy. The first reading covers different ways to segment a market and how to target the specific customer groups that best match the firm’s offering. The second reading shows how firms develop a product’s unique position to appeal to the customers it has targeted. 

Market Segmentation

This topic focuses on the basics of market segmentation and both cases require students to use data to identify market segments. The main case,  The Fashion Channel: Market Segmentation , explores a cable TV network that methodically determines how to segment its potential audience. Students are asked to complete a quantitative assignment: calculating the bottom-line impact of various segmentation schemes. In the alternative case, TiVo Segmentation Analytics , students are given the information needed to generate segmentation data that the business can use in its marketing strategy. “Rediscovering Market Segmentation” is a popular  Harvard Business Review  article that distinguishes between demographic segmentation, non-demographic segmentation, and what the authors call a “smart segmentation strategy.” While the first two may be effective in identifying which markets a company should enter and which goods it should make, only the third type of segmentation strengthens brand identity.  

Target Market Selection

The cases in this topic build on students’ understanding of market segmentation to explore target market selection.  Chase Sapphire: Creating a Millennial Cult Brand  shows how Chase carefully designed an offering targeting Millennial consumers, a hitherto elusive segment. Students analyze the profitability of different customer segments to identify the target segments that would most benefit from the product and add value to the firm. In the alternative case,  AnswerDash , the founders of a startup have to revise their marketing strategy when their product fails to take off despite its groundbreaking technology. The case demonstrates how understanding economic value for the customer is critical in targeting the right markets.

Positioning Challenges

Positioning is the attempt to identify a unique value proposition for a product. In the main case,  Crescent Pure , students are asked to choose among three possible product positioning options for an organic drink by analyzing segmentation data and evaluating perceptual maps. The alternative choice is a short simulation,  The Positioning Game . Students identify customer segments and use perceptual maps to find a product’s ideal positioning in a market. The supplementary article, “A Better Way to Map Brand Strategy,” shows managers how to link a product’s positioning with its market performance and gain insights on how best to position a product. 

Comprehensive Materials

The materials in this topic provide a comprehensive view of segmentation, targeting, and positioning. They illustrate how decisions about segmentation, targeting, and positioning are interrelated and build on each other. Instructors can use these materials as capstone exercises. In the simulation,  Managing Customers and Segments , students develop and execute a B2B marketing strategy for a motion sensor company, deciding which segments to target and refining the product position. The case study,  Planters Nuts , requires students to use market research to make segmentation, targeting, and positioning decisions that will successful reinvigorate the brand. 

About this module

A successful marketing strategy is based on identifying market segments, targeting the right markets and creating a unique product position. The module focuses on each of these key elements in turn and also provides comprehensive materials that show students how they work together.  Students explore the approaches and tools marketers use to identify market segments, make decisions about which segments to target, and decide how to position a product.

Learning Objectives

Understand how segmentation, targeting, and positioning are essential elements in a marketing strategy

Learn different ways to segment a market

Learn how to quantify the profitability of various segments and select attractive target markets

Explore how to create a compelling product position 

Related Modules

Designing and Managing Channels

This module explains the importance of channel strategies and how firms make decisions about distribution channels. Students explore firms’ initial channel strategies, why those strategies can change, and current issues of multichannel and omnichannel strategies.

Brand Storytelling

This module explores how brand meaning is created, what makes a good brand story, and how managers can best position brands to create maximum value.

Negotiating Consumer-Brand Relationships

This module explores the roles brands play as relational partners, and looks at how consumer-brand relationships form and evolve over time.

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Positioning Case Study: How We Created a Premium Content Marketing Service

Several months ago, we published an article titled “Positioning Is the Part of Product Market Fit You’re Likely Ignoring” . It was motivated by our feeling that our work was heavily dependent on clients getting their positioning right.

We define positioning as the “market fit” part of “product-market fit”:

If your positioning isn’t dialed in, it causes a bunch of problems, but for marketing specifically, there are two big ones:

• Your conversion rate stays frustratingly low no matter what you do on the traffic generation side.
• You can’t set your prices as high as you’d like.

Companies with these issues end up not closing as many deals as they like (problem 1) and/or feel like the leads they do get can’t afford them (problem 2).

And here is the kicker: Most management teams end up pointing their finger at marketing tactics when they encounter this problem.

You’ll hear things like:

“X channel [facebook ads, linkedin ads, content, insert other acquisition channel] just doesn’t work for us”

…or…

“The traffic from content is just not converting into customers, we need to go [upmarket, different niche, optimize our conversions, etc.]”

But they’re barking up the wrong tree.

If your brand positioning is off, it won’t matter what inbound channel [paid, content, etc.] you use to get in front of your customer. The problem will be that the traffic you generate from the channel won’t convert or won’t pay what you want because you’re not positioned properly to demand those things.

Our Four Criteria for Getting Brand Positioning Right

In our positioning post , we also argue that simply stating your brand positioning as a brief phrase of who you’re targeting (“We make a CRM for small businesses”) isn’t enough. That’s not really positioning, it’s just a very broad initial target market statement.

We define 4 criteria you need to think about and demonstrate in your copy, your sales pitch, and your engagement to customers, to really have positioning done well:

• Who are you targeting?
• What pain points does your product solve?
• How are you unique?
• Can you prove the above is true?

If you miss on any of these criteria, there is a good chance you will suffer from some of the positioning based problems above (customers not closing, can’t charge enough).

Using Our Agency as a Positioning Case Study

Since publishing that article, we realized that our own agency can be a good example of positioning, especially if you look at it in terms of the two problems above: conversion rate and pricing.

• Conversion rate:  Since starting our agency, we’ve generated on average a little over one new lead a week. Obviously a “good conversion rate” is very subjective, depending on traffic, industry, service, price point, size, growth goals and more. But for our size agency, that’s enough, and considering we have displayed our $10,000 price point in bold on our work with us page  (very rare for agencies to do this at these prices), we think that’s pretty good. Our close rate is currently 14.3% on those leads, which we also are happy with because we offer a boutique service and don’t work with many clients at once.
• Pricing:  One of the top questions I get from other agency owners is how we’re able to charge $10,000/month for our services. In particular with delivering “only” 3 articles per month to clients. The answer is positioning — in this case, we make it clear our lead and traffic results are what you should focus on, not publishing quantity.

In this article, I’ll go into detail on how we positioned our service and why, using the 4 criteria above as an anchor. We’ll cover who our target customer is, how we identified their pain points, and the differentiation that we have versus other content marketing agencies.

The goal of this post is to help other services businesses differentiate themselves from their competition and position themselves as a premium service instead of being lumped in with all of the other service providers out there.

Although we’re case studying ourselves — a service business — the underlying principles (be extremely judicious about identifying a gap in the market, positioning yourself as the solution for these pain points, knowing who you’re targeting with obsessive focus) apply equally well to product companies as well.

How We Identified a Gap in the Market

A lot of our positioning is based on Criteria 2: Pain Points. Even the first criteria, who we are targeting, stems largely from those pain points. We’ll start by telling the story of how the agency came to be, because that’s based on us experiencing pain points ourselves.

Before Grow and Convert: Identifying the Content Gap for ThinkApps

Before starting this agency , I ran marketing for a startup in San Francisco called ThinkApps . I joined the company as the first marketing hire and fourth employee. At that early stage, a marketer wears a lot of hats. My job was to test out various acquisition channels that would help us generate new leads for the service we offered (building apps).

The job started with redoing our positioning, messaging, and website. Then, we focused on paid ads and realized that our CAC (customer acquisition cost) was fairly high through paid channels. We tested doing educational events in San Francisco to drive awareness but most of the people who showed up didn’t have any money for services.

So, we turned to content.

I started by doing research on content in the app building space and realized there was an opportunity there — no one was writing helpful content on how to build mobile and web apps from start to finish.

Trying to Find a Content Agency That Was Willing to Be Held Accountable to Leads

Content was the next logical channel to test. The only problem was I had no time to do it all myself — I was also managing our paid channels, talking to inbound leads, and talking with customers.  I’d done content marketing in-house before and knew how time intensive it would be to build out a team, so I decided to bring on a content marketing agency to work with. I started doing research online for agencies and setup calls with about 10 different companies.

What I wanted was an agency that could produce educational content that would be interesting/useful to our audience, drive traffic to it, and measure the results — essentially own the entire channel and be held accountable to results. I couldn’t find this type of content marketing agency, that is, one that’s held accountable to leads and traffic.

Gaps in Content, Promotion, and Lead Generation

The pitch for most of these agencies was that they’d produce ‘X’ articles per month and “promote the articles,” which essentially meant that they’d draft social media updates for you to share on your own social channels. To my amazement, these agencies were charging anywhere from $6k–10k+ per month.

When I asked how they created  the content, they would say that had a team of writers that could write on any topic. I looked at some of the sample pieces of content, and while the topics looked alright, the writing was mostly mirage content .

Intro level content is fine if your customers are truly beginners on a topic. Typically this is appropriate for B2C companies. For example, if you sell yoga apparel and equipment, a huge majority of your customers will be beginners in yoga, so simple posts that any lay person freelance writer can Google their way to writing about yoga routines will be fine.

But for most B2B companies, your customers are experts in their niche. For example, if you sell security software to head of IT, they have been in IT for decades and know a lot  about security software. How is a lay person (a freelance writer with surface level knowledge of IT) going to Google their way to posts that will impress and attract IT directors? They can’t. This is why you see company after company product “10 trends of 2019 in [niche]” posts all day. They don’t work. And I knew if I went this route I’d have to spend a ton of time editing, which I didn’t want to do.

When I asked how they measure results , they’d give me the same standard line (that most content marketers, including individuals also give) “well, over time, you’ll grow traffic from the content we’re writing and some subset of that traffic will turn into leads/customers.” That was a cop out, it meant they held themselves accountable to output  (x pieces, y word count) — not results. I wanted leads, not articles.

So after a month of talking to different agencies and not finding one of them that offered the service that I wanted, I opted to build out our content marketing operation in-house. We built a team of freelance writers and brought on an editor. I handled our content strategy, promotion, and conversion efforts.

In a little over 6 months, we grew the blog to over 35,000 monthly unique visitors  and the blog became the #1 acquisition source for the company.

To recap, here were the gaps in the market:

• No leads-driven content solutions: There weren’t any content marketing agencies that measured the same metrics that marketing departments are held accountable to (leads or signups generated).
• No good promotion strategies:  None of these agencies had a promotion strategy beyond sharing content on that specific company’s social media accounts, and none could produce content at the level needed for this channel to be effective.
• Poor advanced content writing abilities:  Finally, most writing services just deployed freelance writers to Google a topic and write up some intro-level piece on that topic. That works fine if your company sells to customers with a beginner-level understanding, but for most B2B and B2C companies, you need more advanced content to effectively communicate with your audience.

Filling the Gaps: How We Formulated Our Service Offering, Pricing, and Positioning

Devesh and I started this site as a way to teach the learnings that both of us had from our experiences in content marketing. I was sharing my learnings from hiring writers, content strategy, promotion, and conversion from ThinkApps and Vistage. Devesh was sharing his experience doing conversion optimization and measurement for people like Backlinko, Bryan Harris at Video Fruit, and a number of different SaaS and service companies.

When we started Grow and Convert, we both agreed we didn’t want to start an agency from the site. But after about 4 failed attempts trying to build a product company , we eventually couldn’t ignore the numerous requests from our audience to “just do content marketing for us”. So we opted to give a crack at a service business.

How We Came Up with Our Service Offering

Armed with the lessons about what most content marketing agencies were missing, we decided that we wanted to build the service that filled the gap we identified above.

Here are the things that we thought were important for our service to offer:

• A service that focused on results (driving leads and qualified traffic) and not just deliverables (like ‘X’ number of articles per month). [Gap 1 above]
• A service that produced content that was useful/helpful to the target customer (not just high-level Mirage Content  or Google research papers written by freelancers with no knowledge on the topic, and therefore risked lacking Customer Content Fit ). [Gap 3 above]
• A service that actually drove traffic to the pieces that we created — originally done solely through community content promotion  (not just content shared through a companies social media channels). [Gap 2 above]
• A service that was transparent — as a client, you could see traffic and conversions at all times. There was always a way to reach us and ask questions. (Most of the other agencies kept you in the dark about results and were hard to get ahold of outside of a monthly or biweekly call.)

We drafted the original sales page in Google Docs outlining our service offering. Our goal was to have a lot of these principles shine through on the page. Here it is:

There were still a lot of unknowns in terms of how we were going to execute on all of this. At this stage, we didn’t have any writers, we had only vague ideas about how we were going to attribute leads to content, we didn’t have any systems or processes, and the only person that knew how to do promotion was me.

But at this stage, the only thing that was important to us was to validate our hypothesis: Companies wanted a content marketing service that was held accountable to traffic and leads, produced high quality content, and took care of all of the work for them, not just a writing service, and they were willing to pay a premium for it.

How We Came Up with Our Pricing

Speaking of premium, the next challenge for us was to figure out how much to charge.

The question we had to ask ourselves was:

“If we could live up to all of the promises we made in our pitch, what would we value this service at?”

I know it’s basic, but many people forget this: Price is a function of the perceived value of your service.

Having knowledge of what it costs to run a content marketing operation in-house, we started adding up all of the people/roles needed to make a successful operation.

What are the costs associated with an in-house content marketing operation:

• Mid/senior level content marketing manager ($80k–120k+): Someone who led the customer research efforts, content strategy, SEO strategy, coordinated all content marketing efforts, helped with promotion strategy and conversion strategy.
• (Optional) Full-time editor ($50k–120k): Note that this isn’t necessarily needed early on; you could also hire someone on a contract basis to do editing.
• Freelance writers ($250–1k/article): Costs associated to the content you need to produce.
• (Optional) Analytics consultant ($50–100/hr): To help measure attribution of your content marketing efforts.
• (Optional) Promotion person/promotion budget for paid if it’s not in the content marketing manager’s skill set ($1k–3k/month): To help drive traffic to the articles produced.
• (Optional)  SEO strategist consultant: Full time: same range as content marketing manager; part time: $3k–5k/month.
• (Optional) Developer time. Inevitably, every content operation needs dev time and many readers know it can be a struggle for the marketing department to get this time from the main developers (who are busy with “core” work). So to circumvent this, they need budget for freelance developers of their own.

If we added up all the costs of the team to make a content marketing operation successful — on the low end, you’re looking at around $100k per year just for the content marketing manager and writers (cost of pieces), and even that is not including benefits, healthcare, etc. Then, on the high end, with many of the bullets mentioned above, you’re looking at around $300k–500k per year.

At first, when we listed out all these responsibilities, I had a flashback to how hard it was to build this in my previous companies and flat out said no. I told Devesh it’s just too much work and people don’t understand that and their expectations won’t be realistic. Devesh said “Ok, but at some price, it’s worth it. What’s that price?”

I blurted out “$10,000 a month”.

We figured that’s high, but not unreasonably  high. There are agencies roughly in the same space charging that much. But not many companies can get that kind of content budget approved. In addition, we had zero client history, so were essentially unproven.

We discussed and settled at $6,000 per month. That’s a rate many companies are used to paying different agencies, and we figured if we can make this work, we can grow to $7,000 per month, then $8,000 per month, and beyond.

Plus, this translated to $72,000 per year, which we felt was a steal compared to the “do it in house” costs above. So we knew we could explain that value proposition in a sales call pretty well.

On top of that, we knew (from talking to many G&C readers at that point) that most marketing heads or founders aren’t happy with the results they’re getting from the content marketing they’re doing in house. They either aren’t happy with the content they’re producing, they don’t know if they’re actually getting leads/customers from content, they don’t have a way to drive traffic to articles, and many times don’t have a strategy in place to acquire new business from the channel.

So if we were to (1) price competitively against the other options companies have, and (2) provide better results than they’d get through these alternative options, it should be a no-brainer to work with us.

But we needed to validate this hypothesis.

When we launched that Google Doc landing page above and emailed our list about our service offering, we landed our first two clients in a matter of weeks — we were in business!

How This All Translates Into Our Positioning

Let’s recap here:

• At this point, we figured out the gap that other agencies weren’t offering (content marketing agencies that were held accountable to results).
• We figured out what was wrong with most in-house operations (it’s expensive to execute on and most companies aren’t happy with the results they’re producing).
• We figured out a service offering based on what was needed in the market (an agency that was responsible for producing a great content strategy that actually drives results and provides full transparency throughout the process).
• We determined the pricing that we thought people were willing to pay based on alternative options to them in the market.
• All of this was validated with real customers who agreed that all of the above hypotheses were correct.

Our Agency Positioning Based on the 4 Criteria

I’ll walk through our 4 positioning criteria to illustrate how we choose the clients that we work with, what pain points we solve in the market, how we’re unique, and how we can prove all of this to be true.

Criteria 1: What market are we targeting? (i.e., who are our best clients)

In our original positioning article, we introduce the wide vs. narrow problem for this criteria: do you narrow down to a specific segment or keep it wide and have other things (like specific pain point solutions) be your differentiator?

Our answer for this agency is actually kind of subtle.

We are wide  in vertical (we’ve had very B2B clients like marketing and development agencies, clients like Cognitive FX, a concussion treatment center that treats individuals, and everything in between), but we are narrow  in specific characteristics that stem from Criteria 2: pain points.

That’s why we spent the bulk of this article telling the story of identifying the gap in the market. Our narrow-ness in who we’re targeting is all around criteria that indicate that they resonate with the pain points we solve (i.e. the gaps we identified).

Our current working hypothesis of our best customers is as follows:

• They need to have a substantial amount of customers (this is subjective, but shows us that the business/model is somewhat already proven. It’s a criteria many agencies use and is sort of a basic “ticket of entry” criteria.)
• They need to have an existing sales or marketing channel that works (We want to make sure the company has already proven that they know how to sell into accounts [service] or can drive signups [SaaS]. This ensures the leads we generate can be closed.)
• They have typically tried content marketing already and understand the difficulties/expectations and are looking for help from a 3rd party (i.e., they understand the pain points above).
• Have medium to high readability (people are interested in reading about the topic and/or do research prior to buying).

Criteria 2: What pain points does our service solve?

We discussed this at length in the sections above, but to recap:

• Most content solutions don’t hold themselves accountable to leads.
• Most cannot write on advanced topics that require specialized knowledge.
• Most don’t have a thorough promotion process.

Which takes us to our uniqueness…

Criteria 3: How are we unique?

As the gap identification section above outlined, the fact that we solve the above pain points as a single service provider is what sets us apart. Specifically:

• We’re accountable for leads generated.  We’re held accountable to the results delivered (ie. leads and traffic).  Most other agencies focus on deliverables or just traffic growth and aren’t willing to be held accountable to real business metrics. Our service aligns to the outcomes that our customers want — they want to create great content that also drives ROI.
• We’re able to cover advanced topics. We limit ourselves to 3 posts per month so that we can keep them extremely high quality and focused. Our system has produced highly specialized pieces that lay people could not write by themselves, like neuroplasticity treatment for concussions , how Cars.com transitioned their backend framework to node.js , how to use a content delivery network to execute on the burgeoning “Edge SEO” concept , various posts on how hard money lending in real estate works, and more. It’s really hard to find writers or agencies that can do all of these. I can’t emphasize this enough: If your customer is advanced in any topic like this, having writers produce beginner level content in your space is not going to impress your customers .
• community content promotion
• paid facebook promotion (that comes out of our budget)
• targeted link building for SEO

Again, it’s virtually impossible to find a single employee or agency that does all of this in addition to writing advanced-level content.

We simply don’t know of another agency that does all of this, nor of a single person you could hire that would do all of this and only cost your company $10,000 per month.

Criteria 4: How could we prove that our positioning was true?

The proof is easy when your company is based on content.

Since starting Grow and Convert, we now have a bunch of case studies, some of which are published here, and some of which are emailed to prospects after talking with them.

At the time of starting the agency, this wasn’t as strong. But it wasn’t zero. We had success stories from past work we did. If you’re starting a new business, you won’t be strong here… that’s normal. You’ll need to find ways to get your first few customers so you can build up the proof. At that point though, you need to figure out how you’re going to convey that proof (either through content marketing or some other strategy).

Here are some examples of what we did early on to show proof:

• We shared case studies of our promotion techniques .
• We shared case studies of our conversion tactics .
• We did a live challenge of us growing this site  from scratch — to prove that we knew what we were doing in content marketing.
• We gave talks  and did podcast interviews  about content marketing strategies and case studies.

What Other Companies Should Take Away From This Post

If you’re getting in front of customers but it’s not easy to sell them your product or service, you likely suffer from a positioning issue.

We know how hard positioning is to get right because we’ve been through 4 pivots ourselves to get to all of the insights about what works for us.

If it’s not easy to sell your product or service, as in, you get leads but no one is purchasing, you likely suffer from one of these issues:

• Your product or service doesn’t solve a real problem for your customer.
• You’re selling to the wrong customer.
• There is nothing truly unique about your product or service.
• You’re not explaining what your product or service does in a clear and concise manner.
• It’s not easy for someone to prove that the solution you created would work for them.

You can find out which issue you’re facing by talking to prospects that were interested and didn’t convert, asking customers that churned, and asking people in your target segment why they’re not interested in your product or service and why they didn’t purchase.

The answers are always humbling and you’ll get closer to figuring out what will work better for your business.

To figure out how to strengthen your positioning against competitors, you should continually ask yourself:

• What problem can my product or service solve better than anyone else?
• What do my customers want my product or service to do that no one else is doing?
• What do my customers think would be better than everything else out there?
• What pain points do my customers want me to solve that I’m not solving currently?
• Does my promise to my customers (i.e., what you say your product or service does) live up to the product or service that I’m offering?
• How can I get better in the eyes of my customers?

Questions? Comments? Feel free to ask them in the comments below. 

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The Complete Guide to STP Marketing: Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Published: Sep 30, 2020

Updated: 28/09/2022

What is STP marketing and what role does it play in boosting conversions and revenue? We look at the Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning framework illustrated by real-life examples.

Segmentation targeting positioning marketing is a core concept in modern-day marketing. Without it, marketing campaigns would be generic, have little to no personalization, and overall would not be able to convert at a level most businesses would deem effective.

Let’s delve into the intricacies of the STP Model and see how implementing this framework into your eCommerce business can yield amazing results.

Table of Contents: 1. What is STP marketing 2. The STEP formula 3. Benefits of STP marketing 4. STP marketing example: The Cola Wars 5. How to build an STP marketing strategy

What is STP marketing?

STP marketing  is an acronym for  Segmentation ,  Targeting , and  Positioning  – a three-step model that examines your products or services as well as the way you communicate their benefits to specific customer segments.

In a nutshell, the STP marketing model means you  segment your market , target select customer segments with marketing campaigns tailored to their preferences, and adjust your positioning according to their desires and expectations.

STP marketing is effective because it focuses on breaking your customer base into smaller groups, allowing you to develop very specific marketing strategies to  reach and engage each target audience . 

In fact,  59% of customers say  that  personalization influences their shopping decision  and another 44% said that a personalized shopping experience would influence them to become repeat customers of a brand.

STP marketing represents a shift from product-focused marketing to  customer-focused marketing . This shift gives businesses a chance to gain a better understanding of  who  their ideal customers are and  how  to reach them. In short, the more personalized and targeted your marketing efforts, the more successful you will be.

The STEP Formula

If you are looking for a simple way to remember and summarize the STP marketing concept, the acronym STEP is extremely useful:

Segmentation + Targeting Equals Positioning

This formula clearly illustrates that each segment requires tailored positioning and marketing mix to ensure its success. Let’s take a closer look at each of the three steps in the STP marketing model.

Segmentation

The first step of the STP marketing model is the segmentation stage. The main goal here is to  create various customer segments based on specific criteria  and traits that you choose. The four main types of  audience segmentation  include:

• Geographic segmentation : Diving your audience based on country, region, state, province, etc.
• Demographic segmentation : Dividing your audience based on age, gender, education level, occupation, gender, etc.
• Behavioral segmentation : Dividing your audience based on how they interact with your business: What they buy, how often they buy, what they browse, etc.
• Psychographic segmentation : Dividing your audience based on “who” your potential customer is: Lifestyle, hobbies, activities, opinions, etc.

Step two of the STP marketing model is targeting. Your main goal here is to look at the segments you have created before and  determine which of those segments are most likely to generate desired conversions  (depending on your marketing campaign, those can range from product sales to  micro conversions  like email signups).

Your ideal segment is one that is actively growing, has high profitability, and has a low cost of acquisition:

• Size : Consider how large your segment is as well as its future growth potential.
• Profitability : Consider which of your segments are willing to spend the most money on your product or service. Determine the lifetime value of customers in each segment and compare.
• Reachability : Consider how easy or difficult it will be for you to reach each segment with your marketing efforts. Consider customer acquisition costs (CACs) for each segment. Higher CAC means lower profitability. 

There are limitless factors to consider when selecting an audience to target – we’ll get into a few more later on – so be sure that everything you consider fits with your target customer and their needs.

Positioning

The final step in this framework is positioning, which allows you to  set your product or services apart from the competition  in the minds of your target audience. There are a lot of businesses that do something similar to you, so you need to find what it is that makes you stand out. 

All the different factors that you considered in the first two steps should have made it easy for you to identify your niche. There are three positioning factors that can help you gain a competitive edge:

• Symbolic positioning : Enhance the self-image, belongingness, or even ego of your customers. The luxury car industry is a great example of this – they serve the same purpose as any other car but they also boost their customer’s self-esteem and image.
• Functional positioning : Solve your customer’s problem and provide them with genuine benefits.
• Experiential positioning : Focus on the emotional connection that your customers have with your product, service, or brand.  

The most successful product positioning is a combination of all three factors. One way to visualize this is by creating a perceptual map for your industry . Focus on what is important for your customers and see where you and your competitors land on the map.

Benefits of STP marketing

If you aren’t already convinced that STP marketing is going to revolutionize your business, we’re breaking down the key benefits that STP marketing has over a traditional marketing approach.

Because STP focuses on creating a precise target audience and positioning your products/services in a way that is most likely to appeal to that audience, your  marketing becomes hyper-personalized . With  personalization :

• Your brand messaging becomes more personal and empathetic because you have your customer personas and know exactly whom you’re talking to;
• Your marketing mix becomes more crystalized and yields higher return on investment because you’re no longer wasting budget on channels that your audience simply ignores;
• Your market research and product innovation become more effective because you know exactly whom to ask for advice and feedback in the development phase.

Yieldify’s recent research shows that eCommerce leaders are adopting personalization at an unprecedented rate – 74% of eCommerce sites now claim to have now adopted some level of personalization strategy . Their reasons?

Fifty-eight percent found that personalization helps increase customer retention, 55% cited conversion and 45% found that personalization actually helped minimize the cost of new customer acquisition . 

Finally, STP marketing levels the playing field. The framework allows small businesses and startups to find success in their niche markets when they normally wouldn’t have the reach to compete with the larger whole-market businesses in their industry.

STP marketing examples: The Cola Wars

STP marketing has been around for a long time – and it has been effective for just as long. We’re going to take a look at a real-world example of STP marketing so you can see how it has worked historically in increasing conversions and revenue.

Back in the 1980s, when Pepsi-Cola was trying to claim some of the market share from Coca-Cola, Pepsi used segmentation to target certain key audiences. They focused on an attitude and loyalty segmentation approach and divided the market into three consumer segments:

• Consumers with a positive attitude to the Coke brand who were 100% loyal to Coke.
• Consumers with a positive attitude to the Pepsi brand who were 100% loyal to Coke.
• Consumers with a positive attitude to both brands, with loyalty to both, who switched their purchases between both brands.

Pepsi had always focused their marketing efforts on the third segment , as it was the most attractive and had the highest return on investment. Focusing on customers loyal to Coke was considered a waste of time and money, as they were unlikely to change their purchasing habits.

However, that all changed with the launch of New Coke in 1985…

The new iteration of Americas’ favorite beverage missed the spot with a lot of loyal consumers, so Pepsi swopped in. In fact, as Mental Floss points out , “Coke’s headquarters received upwards of 1,500 calls a day, up from the usual 400, with virtually all of them complaining about the change.”

Sensing the change in consumer sentiment, Pepsi began targeting loyal Coke drinkers. The rival brand also refocused its positioning – Pepsi started drumming up the fact that Coca-Cola, supposedly, changed its classic Coke with New Coke to resemble more the taste of Pepsi. Their marketing campaigns were brutal (well, in today’s terms at least):

That same year, Pepsi announced  a 14% spike in overall product sales . Pepsi was able to use STP marketing strategies to increase their market share and convert Cola-loyal customers to Pepsi-lovers.

How to create an STP marketing strategy: The full STP model

We covered the three stages of the STP marketing model, looked at the benefits and examples of this approach. While this provides you with an excellent overview of the concept, we want to get into the detail of creating an STP marketing strategy that serves your business.

Below you will find 7 steps to creating a solid marketing strategy using the full STP model.

1. Define the market

The global market is far too big and far too vast for anyone – even the biggest corporation with the most resources – to address. That’s why it’s important to break it down into smaller chunks and clearly define the part you are going after.

Typically, to evaluate your business opportunity, you will need to define your TAM, SAM, and SOM: Total Available Market , Serviceable Available Market , and Serviceable Obtainable Market .

Think of it as an iceberg. The very top peeking from under the water is your SOM – that’s the portion of the market that you can effectively reach.

SAM is is the portion of the total available market that fits your product or service offering. Whereas TAM is the total available market , in other words, “the overall revenue opportunity that is available to a product or service if 100% market share was achieved.”

For example, back when Airbnb was starting to pitch investors, they used the TAM, SAM, SOM model to explain their business potential. Their total available market (TAM) then was valued at $1.9 billion dollars and included any type of accommodation that travelers were booking worldwide.

Because their service offering was targeted more at the budget travelers who were using online booking engines to find their stay. In this case, the SAM was valued at $532 million dollars. Lastly, their SOM came in at $10.6 million dollars and signified the revenue obtainable for Airbnb.

Similarly with a consumer product, we can look at Diet Coke and say that its TAM would include the total beverage market. Its SAM would narrow it down to soft drinks, and SOM would zero in on the carbonated sugar-free drinkers out there.

There are several routes you can choose when defining a market. You can do so by:

• Industry classification (agriculture, retail, transportation, etc.
• Product category ( apparel , health and beauty , food and beverage, etc.)
• Country (United States, United Kingdom, etc.)

2. Create audience segments

Now that you’ve adequately defined your target market, it’s time to segment it using geographical, demographic, behavioral, and psychographic variables. 

Each segmentation variable helps you tap into a different aspect of your audience and when you use them in unison you can create niche segments that really make an impact on your overall marketing effort.

For example, if you split your serviceable obtainable market into men vs women (demographic variables) you are still left with a pretty broad audience segment. However, if you start layering other segmentation variables on top, you can create a precise audience that you can make the biggest impact on.

Perhaps you go after women (demographics) in the United States (geographics) who prefer to spend money on luxury products (psychographics) who follow you on social media or have visited your website in the past (behavior).

As you can see, this layering method creates a hyper-focused audience segment that allows you to create an extremely personalized experience. And as we mentioned before, personalization has a huge impact on the success of your marketing efforts.

3. Construct segment profiles

When you’ve landed on your viable market segments, it’s time to develop segment profiles. Segment profiles are very similar to your ideal customer personas but they act as subsets of your main persona – they are detailed descriptions of the people in each segment . 

Describe their needs, behaviors, demographics, brand preferences, shopping traits, marital status, and any other characteristics. Each profile should be as detailed as possible to give you and your business a good understanding of the potential customers within each segment. This will allow you to compare segments for strategy purposes.

4. Evaluate the commercial attractiveness of each segment

Cross-referencing your findings with available market data and consumer research will help you assess which of your constructed segments can bring in the biggest return on your investment. Consider factors like segment size, growth rates, price sensitivity, and brand loyalty. 

With this information, you will be able to evaluate the overall attractiveness of each segment in terms of dollar value.

5. Select target audience/s

Now that you have detailed information on all of your segments, you need to spend some time deciding which ones are the most viable to use as your target audiences. You’ll need to take into account your overall business strategy, the attractiveness of the segment, and the competition that exists in that segment.

The best way to determine the most viable segment is by performing cluster analysis . Quite a complex and technical topic on its own ( check out this guide to get more insights), clustering in the context of eCommerce segmentation means using mathematical models to identify groups of customers that are more similar to one another than those in other groups.

Your ideal audience segment is one that is both large and still growing, and you are able to reach with your marketing efforts. You’ll also want a segment that aligns with your business strategy – it makes no sense to focus your efforts on a segment of men in Australia if you are phasing out your menswear and don’t offer free shipping to Australia. 

6. Develop a positioning strategy

Next, you need to develop a positioning strategy that will give you the best edge to compete in the selected target audience. Determine how to effectively position your product, taking into account other competitors – focus on how your positioning can win the largest amount of the market share.

There are several positioning strategy paths you can follow:

• Category-based positioning – This calls for determining how are your products or services better than the existing solutions on the market.
• Consumer-based positioning – This calls for aligning your product/service offering with the target audience’s behavioral parameters.
• Competitor-based positioning – This is a pretty straightforward approach that calls to prove you are better than competitor X.
• Benefit-based positioning – This calls for proving the benefits that customers will get from purchasing your product or service.
• Price-based positioning – This calls for distinguishing based on the value for the money people get when purchasing your product/service.
• Attribute-based positioning – Competitors, price, and benefits aside, this calls for zeroing in on a unique selling proposition that makes your product or service stands out from the rest.
• Prestige-based positioning – This calls for proving that your products supply a certain boost in status to those who purchase.
• Product Positioning Map – The product positioning map is a technique where the business uses visual display to show their products against competitors. This allows for an easy way of navigating and understanding which products are being represented in comparison with others, ultimately helping them make decisions about what should be prioritized or modified based on company needs.

Chose what positioning model makes the most sense based on your previous research, and which would allow you to reach your specific segment.

7. Choose your marketing mix

The last and final step in this long and winding process is to actually implement your strategy. For that, you will need to determine a marketing mix that will support your positioning and help you reach the target audience(s) that you’ve chosen.

A marketing mix consists of the so-called 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion . The 4Ps are one of the essential marketing models.

Lets breakdown what the 4Ps include:

• Product takes into consideration factors like variety, quality, design, branding, features, packaging, services, availability, and convenience.
• Price takes into consideration factors like pricing strategy, list price, penetration price, premium, discounting, payment methods, credit terms, and payment period. Are your target audience segments price sensitive?
• Place takes into consideration factors like channels, coverage, location, inventory, logistics, and trade channels.
• Promotion takes into consideration factors like digital marketing, public relations, social media, sponsorship, influencer marketing , content marketing , product placement, sales promotion and marketing communications. How will you communicate your value proposition to your target audience segments?

A carefully-curated marketing mix will ensure business success. However, if you do leave gaps in it, all the precious work you did at the previous stages might go to waste.

Here’s an example to illustrate a poor mix: Let’s say you want to sell a luxury skincare product to women in their 40s.

Your goal is to position it as a high-end addition to their skincare routine that targets concerns related to mature and aging skin. So you invest in print marketing and get your product featured in a couple of popular women’s magazines that skew towards the 30+ audience. You also make sure to price the product accordingly so it indicates the luxury category.

However, your packaging is cheap and poorly designed, while the product itself is sold in drugstores.

This inconsistency, which isn’t aligned with the overall positioning strategy, will prevent you from reaching your target audience in the first place; those who get reached will experience dissatisfaction resulting in negative word-of-mouth , which will eventually make your sales slumber.

Conclusion 

Using the (segmentation targeting and positioning) STP model, businesses can identify their most valuable customer segments and create products and marketing communications that target those customers. This helps you create engaging, personalized marketing campaigns that convert visitors to customers at a high rate. 

If you want to use clever segmentation and behavioral targeting methods in your eCommerce marketing strategy, get in touch with Yieldify and we’ll be happy to help!

STP marketing FAQ

STP marketing (Segmentation Targeting, and Positioning) is a three-step marketing framework. With the STP process, you segment your market, target your customers, and position your offering to each segment.

The most classic example of STP marketing is the Cola Wars of the 1980s. Both Pepsi and Coca-Cola used STP marketing to increase their market shares after the introduction of New Coke.

The three main steps within STP are: Segmenting your market (segmentation), identifying your target market (Targeting) and deciding on how you will position your brand (positioning)

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Positioning in Marketing: A Case Study on Coca-Cola, Pepsi, 7Up

Great positioning allows brands to seize and dominate a market, extracting huge profits in the process. And it’s all about how you position your product or service so it stands apart from the competition, in a category of its own.

Think of what Apple did with the iPod or the iPhone. The former wasn’t just another music player… it was an iPod. And the latter isn’t just a mobile phone… it’s an iPhone. And in the process of creating and launching these two products, Apple became the world’s most valuable company.

Positioning is all about people’s perception of the product or service rather than the product/service itself. If your positioning strategy is not there, then you’re unlikely to dominate a market and extract maximum profits over the long run.

Consumer perception is central to how they make buying decisions. Buying decisions are not based on the objective merits of the product or service, but rather on the perceived ones. If a product is perceived to be superior, buyers will willingly pay more for it. 

In this short case study, we’ll cover what positioning is, and go through an example to illustrate the process. A large part of the contents of this blog post is based upon two great marketing books. Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout goes into the depths of the subject from the marketing perspective. From the innovation perspective, Blue Ocean Strategy by Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne is a must-read.

It’s Hard To Stand Out In an Overcommunicated World 

The average consumer sees something like 3,000 to 5,000 advertising messages per day. That is a LOT of messages, and our brain is simply not equipped to deal with such an overload of information. Too many companies, too many products, too many brands, too many options. 

So how do we deal with all this information? Simple, we filter it out and put it into categories. Once the information is categorized, the mind can ignore it. If, on the other hand, the mind encounters something that does NOT fit an existing category well, then it catches its attention.

Our minds learned to sort what is important from what is irrelevant. Some marketing campaigns succeed by finding a hook into consumers’ minds and then using that to redirect their desire towards a certain product.

What is positioning?

Positioning means that people already have products in certain categories in their minds. Each category has its own ladder, with products and brands ranked in order.

Every category has a dominant position, and that’s whoever enters the mind first and occupies the first position. And a second dominant position, whoever enters the market second and occupies the second position. Everything else always gets compared to this standard, and they are always more minor.

Do you say cola? I say Coca-Cola! Of course, I do. Do you say social media? I say Facebook. You’ve got the drill. 

By now, you might have already guessed that positioning ultimately comes down to competition, your market, and how you can differentiate yourself.

Start by understanding competitors

You can have the best product ever. It might solve people’s deepest needs. But unless you make people aware of it, nothing happens.

Efficient marketers position their products in front of people and make them resonate with them. The truth is that the only way into the consumer’s mind is through a hook to what is already there. And whoever owns the first position, they are always there!

Because of this, it’s flawed to go head­-to-­head against the leader. You’ll spend a ton of money, but people will always compare you to the standard which already exists in their minds. Think about it… You invent a new cola drink and tell people that it’s the best cola drink. And what will they think? Why isn’t it older than Coca-Cola then? Why isn’t it bigger than Coca-Cola?

And there’s no way to beat that because you didn’t get there first! So it’s a waste of resources. Successful brands go another way around.

Here is how:

1. Be the first in your prospects’ minds – the number one in that category. Not possible?

2. Be the second one and directly opposite to the first. And if even this is not possible, then

3. Create a new category and dominate this one.

Now let’s dig deeper and see how it works, with a practical example from marketing history.

Case study: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, 7Up

Competitive advantages come from product differentiation. However, advertising your product as better than the standard is a waste of time and money. So you’ve got to be the standard.

Strategy No. 1: Be the leader. 

That means being the first in a category to get into a prospect’s mind. Then, follow the strategies to stay there. Remember, you say cola, I say Coca-Cola. Why is that? Because Coca-Cola is the leader of the cola market.

How? Coke positioned Coca-Cola as the first to take over the market. 

It has the perks of coming first; it is the standard of the industry. Everything else is compared to it. 

A huge mistake many entrepreneurs make is trying to go head-to-head with the leader. Surprise – it’s a battle lost from the beginning. Remember Virgin Cola? Neither do I.

Is being the first on the market, like Coca-Cola, the only option? It’s not. Was Facebook the first social media platform? It was not. Did it become the standard of the industry? It surely did. What Facebook did was to be the first in mind for a majority of consumers.

Indeed, by getting mass adoption for their product, a brand gets the number one position. Once it happens, the market becomes tough to take over. The leader is allowed to make way too many mistakes before giving competitors the slightest chance.

Strategy No. 2: Be the second and directly oppose the leader. Polarize your market.

Think of Pepsi becoming successful as Coca-Cola’s opponent. You say cola; I say Coca-Cola. You say “what else?”, I say Pepsi.

How? Remember, people always compare brands with the number one. Pepsi knew that fighting head-to-head against Coca-Cola was useless, so it took advantage of it. They repositioned Coca-Cola: YES, it’s the standard, BUT it’s old. Pepsi is the new thing; it’s for young, adventurous people. Remember the Pepsi generation?

So Pepsi fractured the cola market in two: Coca-Cola people and not Coca-Cola people (who drink Pepsi).

Today we know about Pepsi precisely because they choose to co-exist with Coca-Cola rather than fight them. Pepsi made the competition irrelevant and here is how you can do the same.

Mac adopted the same strategy in their advertising. They presented Windows as the old version and Mac as the innovation. Now, what if the first two positions are taken? Right, break the category even further.

Strategy No. 3: Create a new category and dominate this one. 

If you say no Cola… I say 7Up.

How? If you’re not the first, nor the second, reposition the entire category. The point is to create a category that you can dominate. Start from the competition and their default position and then reveal the need for a new category. 7Up could never have taken over the Cola market, so they created their own market. The market of non-Cola drinkers. 

So what do we have? Coca-Cola and Pepsi share the cola category, which is part of the soft drinks category. But there are also non-cola soft drinks, which are 7Up. Usually, dominating a market is all about finding the right market to dominate.

Key takeaways on positioning

Your positioning strategy will have a tremendous impact on the success of your marketing and advertising. So here is what you should remember if you’re after building brands worth millions:

1. Positioning is not about the product; it’s about prospects’ minds. 

2. Before you position anything, understand where you stand in consumers’ minds versus the competition. 

3. Start from what consumers already know from the competition. Build from there through analogy.

4. If you’re not first, fighting head-to-head with the competition is flawed; repositioning is the key.

5. Start by illuminating a problem the competition has. Solve it by inserting a new category that you can dominate.

6. Excessive profits come from creating new markets where you’re the one to run the show.

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Airbnb’s Fresh Identity: A Brand Positioning and Strategy Case Study Centered on the Concept of Belonging.

Air has completely revolutionized the travel industry with its incredible range of unique accommodations and unforgettable experiences. In this article, we’re going to delve deep into Airbnb’s brand positioning and strategy, uncovering how it has created a genuine sense of belonging among its users.

Through a captivating case study, we’ll explore the evolution of Airbnb’s marketing and brand identity, and discover how it successfully captures its target market.

If you’re eager to learn how a brand can reinvent itself and build a strong connection with its customers, I can assure you, this article is a must-read. Brace yourself for an inspirational journey!

Airbnb and its Brand Strategy

Hey there! Let me tell you about Airbnb—a platform that connects travelers to a wide range of accommodations, from cozy rooms to spacious houses. What sets Airbnb apart from traditional hotels? Well, through their marketing campaigns, they showcase shared values and the allure of living like a local.

Now, let’s talk about the heart of Airbnb’s brand—their captivating symbol, the “bélo”. It represents discovery and belonging, truly capturing the essence of their platform. Cool, right?

But here’s what really sets Airbnb apart—they’re all about enhancing the experience for both travelers and hosts. Whether you’re looking for that perfect property, embracing their new logo design, or enjoying their advanced mobile features, they’ve got you covered.

Sure, Airbnb acknowledges the challenges posed by negative perceptions, but their goal is to generate positive hospitality experiences. So, if you’re seeking a direct and user-friendly alternative to traditional tourism, why not connect with us and embark on an extraordinary journey? Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Airbnb’s Brand Positioning

Airbnb sets itself apart by offering unique accommodations and immersive experiences that allow travelers to authentically connect with local cultures. Unlike traditional hotels, Airbnb provides personalized and affordable options to explore and feel like you belong in different destinations.

With the introduction of the new “bélo” emblem in their advertising campaigns, their brand visibility has skyrocketed, despite some critics and skeptics. But you know what? Airbnb stays committed to creating a positive and inclusive tourist experience, no matter what.

The Target Market of Airbnb

Whether you’re an adventure enthusiast or a business professional, Airbnb’s platform has got you covered with its diverse range of listings.

The Airbnb brand is all about authenticity, symbolized by the iconic “Bélo.” It offers a one-of-a-kind travel experience that fosters a sense of belonging, something traditional accommodations simply can’t replicate. Instead of leaving a bad taste like stale cookies, Airbnb invites you to discover, explore, and be a part of something bigger. 

Airbnb’s Brand Identity and the Unveiling of a New Identity

Check out Airbnb’s exciting new brand identity! They’ve introduced a captivating logo called “Bélo” – an authentic symbol that invites you to discover, to belong, and to resonate with their fresh approach.

It’s a new emblem that beautifully contrasts with the traditional – not in a negative way, but in a way that truly speaks to us. Get ready to embrace the future with Airbnb!

Airbnb Marketing: Leveraging Digital and Social Media

Airbnb has truly established a remarkable online presence across various digital channels and social media platforms. Their content marketing strategy effectively communicates compelling stories and experiences that resonate perfectly with their brand identity.

Just take a look at their captivating “Discover” campaigns! These campaigns artfully highlight one-of-a-kind accommodations and thrilling adventures, enticing users to embark on new and exciting journeys. And let’s not forget the power of social media in fostering engagement, building a vibrant community around the brand.

With their strong digital presence and captivating content, Airbnb is revolutionizing the way we explore and experience the world.

Airbnb Experiences: Taking Travel to the Next Level

Let me tell you about another important aspect of Airbnb’s offering – Airbnb Experiences. These are not just your ordinary activities; they are hosted by locals who give you an opportunity to truly immerse yourself in the local culture.

Picture yourself attending cooking classes or going on guided tours – these experiences, my friend, add tremendous value to your accommodation.

It’s what sets Airbnb apart from being just a rental service. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this incredible way to make your trip unforgettable.

The Value of User-Generated Content in Airbnb’s Strategy

User-generated content, like reviews and recommendations, plays an absolutely vital role in establishing trust and authenticity for Airbnb.

We actively encourage our users to share their experiences through reviews, helping fellow travelers make informed choices. Not only that, but it also fosters a sense of community that is at the core of what Airbnb is all about.

So, join our community and let’s create amazing moments together!

Controversies and Challenges Faced by Airbnb

Just like any other brand, Airbnb has had its fair share of controversies. From navigating regulations to addressing concerns about local housing markets, these challenges are crucial for Airbnb to uphold its brand image.

However, the company has actively taken steps to collaborate with local governments and address community concerns. By doing so, Airbnb is committed to overcoming these hurdles and continuing to provide exceptional experiences for travelers worldwide.

Analyzing Airbnb’s Competitors in the Travel Industry

In the competitive market of vacation rentals, Airbnb stands out among players like Booking.com and Vrbo. What sets Airbnb apart is its unwavering focus on creating unforgettable experiences and building a thriving community.

By continuously analyzing and understanding the competition, Airbnb can drive innovation and maintain its leading position. So, if you’re ready to embrace the best of both worlds—unbeatable experiences and a strong community—look no further than Airbnb.

The Future of Airbnb: What’s Next?

As Airbnb keeps growing, it’s always on the lookout for new opportunities to innovate and expand. From what the founders have shared, it’s clear that the company is actively exploring long-term strategies to diversify its offerings and build upon the sense of belonging that lies at the core of its brand.

Exciting times ahead for Airbnb and its community!

Airbnb’s Brand Strategy and Target Market

When it comes to marketing, Airbnb truly stands out as a brand. With an unwavering focus on their target market, they have successfully built their brand around offering customers one-of-a-kind experiences.

Trust me, they know what they’re doing and they do it exceptionally well.

Airbnb’s Future Plans

Guess what? Exciting news! Airbnb is expanding its services to include vacation rental home management. They’re going all out to provide a comprehensive solution for managing every aspect of your stay, targeting a larger group of potential customers.

But that’s not all! Airbnb is going the extra mile by exploring cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning. By doing so, they can understand your preferences better and offer personalized experiences just for you. And wait for it – they’re also working on making the booking process easier and faster than ever before!

As Airbnb continues to grow, they’re committed to delivering exceptional service and innovative solutions. They’re always pushing boundaries and exploring new technologies, so you can have a memorable experience every time you stay with them.

Trust me, with their unwavering dedication to excellence, Airbnb is and will remain one of the leading players in the vacation rental industry. Get ready for an extraordinary adventure!

Airbnb: Elevating the Essence of Belonging

When it comes to strategic brand development, Airbnb is undeniably a frontrunner. With a captivating visual identity, Airbnb creates a unique charm that fosters a sense of belonging among its diverse customer base. And let’s not forget, while facing fierce competition, Airbnb never loses sight of its core values, solidifying its brand positioning.

Sure, every trailblazing brand encounters controversy from time to time, but that’s just a true test of resilience for Airbnb. Yet, through unwavering perseverance and an unwavering pursuit of excellence, this company continuously outshines its competitors and maintains an impeccable reputation. Keep shining, Airbnb!

Brand Strategy Essentials

Airbnb’s brand strategy is powered by its core values: be a host, belong anywhere, and celebrate the journey. These concise phrases forge a deep emotional connection with customers, tapping into their spirit of adventure, love for exploration, and passion for community.

Craft a comprehensive brand strategy that propels marketing efforts, shapes brand identity, and ultimately positions the brand for success.

By gaining valuable insights into your target market, understanding customer needs, and crafting a strong visual identity, you’ll be well-equipped to stand out in a competitive landscape. And when it comes to handling controversies, rest assured that you’ll navigate them with finesse and grace, ensuring the integrity of your brand remains intact. 

Airbnb and Its Strategic Approach to Branding and Marketing

Airbnb, a renowned player in the hospitality sector, has truly crafted a compelling brand strategy that completely resonates with its target market. By carefully understanding its customers’ needs and preferences, Airbnb has successfully established its brand and left a lasting impression on the market.

With a paramount focus on marketing, Airbnb doesn’t just showcase its offerings. It goes above and beyond to create a unique and unforgettable experience for its customers. This approach sets Airbnb apart and allows it to thrive and dominate in the highly competitive market, leaving traditional players in the industry far behind.

By optimizing its brand strategy and effectively connecting with its target market, Airbnb has managed to create an impactful brand and build a strong, loyal customer base. With continued innovation and customer-centric approach, Airbnb is well-positioned for even greater success in the future.

Airbnb’s Brand Strategy and Marketing Approach

When it comes to the world of hospitality services, Airbnb has firmly established itself as a prominent player. With a meticulously crafted brand strategy, they have successfully captured the attention and loyalty of their target market. 

At the heart of Airbnb’s success lies their unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to both hosts and guests. Their brand identity truly reflects this ethos, ensuring that every interaction with the platform exudes unparalleled quality and authenticity.

By leveraging highly effective marketing techniques, Airbnb has been able to reach millions of customers worldwide. Their strategic campaigns not only showcase the unparalleled diversity of accommodations available but also emphasize the transformative power of travel.

It has truly become a vibrant community, connecting individuals from different backgrounds and cultures, all driven by the shared desire to explore and experience the world.

Airbnb’s Impact on the Travel Industry

By offering travelers an alternative to conventional hotels and vacation rentals, they have pioneered a whole new market segment that was previously untapped.

Plus, their unwavering commitment to creating unforgettable experiences for customers has inspired more people to embark on exciting trips and discover places they may not have otherwise considered. Trust me, you don’t wanna miss out on this!

Airbnb vs Vrbo vs Booking.com – Competitors Overview

Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com are fierce competitors in the online travel market. Let’s take a closer look at what sets them apart.

Airbnb goes beyond booking hotels, offering unique accommodations and experiences for travelers. Their range of options includes private homes, apartments, and villas, providing a personalized touch.

Vrbo, on the other hand, specializes in traditional vacation rentals like condos and beach houses. If you’re after a more conventional rental experience, Vrbo has got you covered with their extensive selection.

As for Booking.com, they focus on hotels and other short-term rentals like hostels and bed & breakfasts. Their broad range of offerings makes them a reliable choice for different preferences.

Each of these platforms has its own advantages. Airbnb is ideal for those seeking a more personalized stay, while Vrbo and Booking.com offer a wide array of traditional options. Plus, all three are budget-friendly, catering to various financial needs.

But wait, there’s more! Technological advancements are transforming the way we travel. With apps like TripIt and virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, planning and organizing trips has never been easier. Expedia is also embracing artificial intelligence tools to enhance the travel planning experience.

Thanks to these innovations, travel has become more convenient than ever before. Real-time information at your fingertips, easy bookings, and the ability to compare prices across multiple sources empower travelers to make informed decisions.

So, when it comes to choosing the best option, it ultimately depends on your individual needs. Airbnb for a personal touch, Vrbo for a wide range of vacation rentals, or Booking.com for an extensive selection of hotels and short-term rentals. They all deliver exceptional value, cementing their standing as strong contenders in the online travel market. Happy travels!

Airbnb’s brand is all about providing unique lodging options and creating immersive experiences for travelers to connect with local cultures. The iconic “Bélo” visual symbol represents inclusivity, a key ingredient for their success. And let’s not forget the power of digital marketing and user-generated content, which have been crucial in shaping the Airbnb brand.

But that’s not all—Airbnb takes it a step further by offering locally hosted experiences through Airbnb Experiences, elevating the quality of their accommodations. To keep thriving, Airbnb needs to handle controversies with skill and stay ahead of the competition.

Looking ahead, constant innovation and diversification will be the game-changers for Airbnb. They’re committed to fostering a sense of community and belonging that defines the Airbnb experience. And with their track record, you can trust that they’ll deliver nothing short of excellence.

Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Case Study

STP framework consists of three components: segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Each of these elements plays a significant role in building organizations’ strategic value. Market segmentation is defined as a process of apportionment of a mass market into specific and recognizable segments, each of them having common features and demonstrating identical reactions to marketing actions (Baines & Fill 2014). With the help of this process, companies can choose particular target segments and establish marketing plans focused on satisfying the specific requirements of potential consumers. Determining the segments is regarded as an opportunity (Baines & Fill 2014).

Two major groups of variables are employed in segmentation: descriptive considerations (demographic, geographic, and psycho-graphic) and behavioral characteristics (customers’ responses to brands and benefits) (Kotler & Keller 2012). Descriptive features enable researchers to analyze customers’ responses to products. Behavioral considerations help to identify whether various features are related to each particular consumer-reaction segment (Kotler & Keller 2012).

Market segmentation is based on a principle that every consumer has different needs and purchasing behavior. With the help of this component of STP framework, companies can identify what segments should be targeted. Market targeting is defined as a set of consumers with similar characteristic features that an organization wants to serve (Zimmerman & Blythe 2013). Segments can be targeted in two ways: by evaluating the appeal of each sector and by scrutinizing the ability of a company to serve particular segments (Dibb & Simkin 2013).

Targeting may be undifferentiated, differentiated, and concentrated. When a company uses undifferentiated targeting, it concentrates on similarities present in all segments but at the same time makes an effort to satisfy the whole market with a single marketing mix. This type of targeting most frequently occurs in the initial phases of a product lifecycle when consumers are bound to accept the product because they have no alternative (Zimmerman & Blythe 2013).

Undifferentiated marketing ends when competition appears. Differentiated marketing is employed when a company creates particular marketing mixes to serve every segment. The cost of this type of targeting is higher than that of undifferentiated marketing. The third kind of targeting – concentrated – is suitable for companies with limited resources (Zimmerman & Blythe 2013). When using this type of targeting, an organization can afford to focus on as little as one or several segments with the aim of building dominance in that sector.

The third component of STP framework is positioning. Positioning takes place when the processes of segmentation and targeting have been completed. Market positioning is defined as establishing a set of features and advantages that will help to single out the brand in consumers’ perception (Andaleeb 2017). The main members of any company’s audience are consumers and employees (Bruggerman et al. 2012). Therefore, positioning helps to suggest the products in a way that is most attractive for the audience.

Segmentation is the element of STP framework that bears the highest strategic value for organizations since it serves as a basis for targeting and positioning. An example of a company that successfully utilizes demographic segmentation is Victoria’s Secret (Kotler & Keller 2012). The brand focuses on female consumers, and its primary aim was to satisfy the US women with the lingerie shopping experience similar to the European one. The evidence of the organization’s use of key concepts presented in this week’s learning resources is in constant growth of its annual sales and popularity all over the world.

Reference List

Andaleeb, SS 2017, ‘Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning’, in SS Andaleeb & K Hasan (eds), Strategic marketing management in Asia: case studies and lessons across industries , Emerald, Bingley, UK, pp. 179-208.

Baines, P & Fill, C 2014, Marketing , 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Bruggerman, J, Grunow, D, Leenders, MAAM, Vermeulen, I & Kuilman, JG 2012, ‘Market positioning: the shifting effects of niche overlap’ , Industrial and Corporate Change , vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1451-1477.

Dibb, S & Simkin, L 2013, Market segmentation success: making it happen! Routledge, New York, NY.

Kotler, P & Keller, K 2012, Marketing management , 14th edn, Pearson, New York, NY.

Zimmerman, A & Blythe, J 2013, Business to business marketing management: a global perspective , 2nd edn, Routledge, New York, NY.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 31). Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/

"Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning." IvyPanda , 31 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/market-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning'. 31 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/.

1. IvyPanda . "Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/.

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A Successful Brand Repositioning Strategy – Case Study

The challenge

The brand repositioning process, examples of questions included in the study.

The following is a use case based on the actual facts of one of our clients, which will help you get an idea of the usefulness of our smart insights platform. Find out  how to conduct a successful brand repositioning  and how to define a solid marketing strategy for a new target market.

We place the utmost importance on our client’s privacy and confidentiality, therefore we won’t be disclosing their identity.

A dairy product producer sees their sales plummet due to the underlying financial situation,  the   massification of their product category, and the little differentiation within it . To face the problem, the company goes for a selective and exclusive strategy based on supporting its ‘healthy’ brands and deprioritizing the rest, halting all investments going into them.

The brand’s target audience in the countries it operates in has always been the mothers of children under 10 years old and its communication has always been focused on the benefits of its products for their health, but after seeing their numbers steadily drop the brand rethinks its communication strategy.

It will need to  find out if its target consumers have changed  and, if so, what their interests are to approach them effectively.

The brand launches a study to their current target asking them about their  purchase intent and consumption habits  to find out why their products’ sales have dropped.

The problem comes down to the fact that when mothers go to the supermarket they focus on buying products for the whole family and their priority is to fill the fridge with products offering the best value. If children don’t ask for the brand’s products, their mothers won’t buy them.

On the other hand, if their children ask them for a specific brand, they will. The influence that children have over their parents is known as  Pester Power.

In light of the results, the brand decides to center its communication strategy on children and, therefore, must  find a way to catch their attention  and stay away from the messages it used in the past (focused on health and sports).

To determine  the best way to penetrate this new target , the brand launches a second study asking mothers what their children’s lives are like and how they spend their free time. Results show that children’s days are all alike: go to school, do extracurricular activities, do homework, have dinner, sleep, and repeat, making routine their worst enemy.

Based on this information, the brand comes up with a new concept to reach its new market segment and link it to the pain point found in the study. Routine has a prominent place in consumers’ lives, so the brand decides to make it the core of its communication strategy and help them break it.

With its new target (children) in mind and an  interesting value proposition in hand  (breaking their routine), the brand decides to launch a third study to discover its consumers’ favorite brands and use that information to pinpoint the ideal product to launch and which ones are more in-sync with the brand image.

After studying the results, a brainstorming session is conducted during which a series of collaborations between brands are suggested to create a new product. To check if the co-branding ideas that come up have any potential, a study is carried out via which consumers are asked  which brand combinations they find most attractive  and wouldn’t hesitate to purchase.

Based on the most noteworthy suggestions, the brand outlines and designs 2 pilot products with which it conducts a new study to determine the interest and purchase intent for them.

• Who eats it at home
• When deciding to buy a product, what does your child consider the most important aspect of it is?
• Which are his/her favorite brands? Choose two of the following brands.
• Do you think your child would like these 2 brands to launch a product together?
• From 0 to 10, how willing would you be to purchase the product resulting from the collaboration?

The brand gets  essential insights thanks to the 5 conducted studies  and the direct consequences are:

• Online and offline campaign launch to present the new image, far from the family values the brand has in other countries and focused on its new target: children.
• Creation of a fictional character and online content to help break the routine.
• A rewards program for purchasing the brand’s products, giving children a chance to acquire the new fictional character’s merchandise: a mask, an inflatable mattress, etc.
• A new packaging design, with a round and modern shape, leaving no traces of the old brand identity.
• 8 successful advertising spots thanks to the 3 million euros the company is convinced to invest, even after previously cutting ad spend.
• 2 flagship products as a result of the co-branding initiative with the best-suited brands and a two-year innovation pipeline with three more future references.

All of these actions don’t go unnoticed and impact the brand in the form of:

• A boost to the TOP3 of children’s favorite brands.
• +4 percentage points in global market penetration
• Of this increase, 58% is thanks to new consumers of the brand
• + 7 pp in target penetration
• 150% growth in social media (fan base and engagement)
• 3% sales volume increase
• 10% more brand value
• +4 pp of market share
• Revenue from the campaign amounting to 5M€

Finally, to stay in the loop regarding new and upcoming trends that may be of interest to such a dynamic and changing target as children are, and  make good use of them to detect potential opportunities , the client decides to launch studies on an ongoing basis (weekly during the first 6 months after the target change).

In conclusion, this case study highlights the effectiveness of a well-crafted brand repositioning strategy that takes into account the evolving needs of the target market.  By using real-time insights, marketing professionals can identify pain points and tailor their communication approach accordingly , resulting in increased market penetration, brand value, and revenue. This case study is a testament to the power of smart insights in creating a successful marketing campaign and sustaining long-term growth. As the market landscape continues to evolve, ongoing studies and adaptability will be key to staying ahead of the curve and identifying new opportunities for products or services innovation.

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Positioning: A Case Study

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• John Skupny  

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This chapter is a case study about positioning, but it uses the example of creating a new brand that must be positioned in the market and ultimately in the consumer’s mind. It discusses the use of a strategic audit to organize the elements of a successful brand. The audit includes identifying clearly the mission, objectives, and strategies to be followed. The strategies relate to deciding on product characteristics, sourcing grapes, finding custom production facilities, and determining packaging, distribution, pricing, and promotion tactics. Because this chapter focuses on marketing issues, it does not include other issues of concern, such as financing and internal organization. While considerable attention is devoted to product image, the key lesson is that image must be based on substance. As the experience of this winery indicates, improving a wine’s reality will do wonders for its image.

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Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

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James Lapsley PhD ( Chair ) ( Chair )

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Skupny, J. (2001). Positioning: A Case Study. In: Moulton, K., Lapsley, J. (eds) Successful Wine Marketing. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29965-5_22

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