Segmentation targeting positioning
Skill atrisorb/marketing-mastery-plugin/skills/segmentation-targeting-positioning
Build a complete STP strategy — segment a market with the right bases, evaluate and select target segments, then craft a differentiated positioning with a positioning statement and perceptual map. Use whenever the user needs segmentation, targeting, a target audience/persona definition, positioning or repositioning, perceptual/positioning maps, or asks "who should we sell to", "how do we stand out", "which segment", or "reposition the brand". Works for B2B (firmographic/needs-based) and B2C. Push to use this before designing any marketing mix, since the mix is meaningless without a target and a position.From its SKILL.md
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SKILL.md
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Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP)
STP is the bridge from market analysis to the marketing mix. You cannot design product, price, place, or promotion until you know who you serve and what position you want to own in their mind. This skill runs the full sequence: segment → target → position, ending in a positioning statement and a perceptual map that the whole mix must then serve coherently.
Trigger
User asks for segmentation, target market selection, personas/ICP, positioning, repositioning, differentiation, or perceptual/positioning maps — or is about to design a marketing mix, launch, or campaign without a defined target and position.
Inputs
- Market / category and the offering
- B2B or B2C — determines the segmentation bases
- What's known about customers — needs, behaviors, firmographics, current buyers
- Business goal — grow share, enter a niche, defend, launch
- Competitors and how customers currently perceive them (for positioning)
- Constraints — resources, brand permission, channel reach
Process
1. Qualify the market first
Before segmenting, size the funnel of demand so segments are chosen against real potential, not the whole population:
- Potential market — all who could ever buy if offer/marketing were maximized
- Available (qualified) market — those with interest, income, and access (and any required qualifications)
- Served (target) market — the part of the qualified market you choose to pursue
- Penetrated market — those already buying (your current customers)
The strategic question — grow by conquering non-users, taking share from rivals, or deepening current customers — falls out of this framing. Name it.
2. Choose segmentation bases
Segment into groups that are internally homogeneous and externally heterogeneous in ways that matter for the offer. Pick bases that predict differing needs or responses, not just describe people.
B2C bases:
- Geographic — region, climate, urban/rural, market maturity
- Demographic — age, income, gender, life stage, education
- Psychographic — values, lifestyle, attitudes, personality
- Behavioral — usage rate, occasion, benefits sought, loyalty, buying stage (often the most powerful)
B2B / industrial bases (nested, macro → micro):
- Firmographic — industry (SIC/NACE), company size, geography, technology level, OEM vs. end-user
- Operating — usage volume, capabilities required, purchasing policy
- Purchasing approach — centralized/decentralized, buying criteria, existing relationships, buy-class
- Situational — urgency, order size, application
- Personal characteristics of buyers — risk attitude, loyalty, decision style
Method note: two broad approaches exist — statistical (factor/cluster/conjoint analysis) when you have data, and heuristic/successive-elimination (Porter) when you don't: list candidate bases, pair the significant ones two-at-a-time into a product/market matrix, drop the meaningless cells, and keep the segments that remain. Prefer needs-based segmentation when possible; it is more actionable than pure descriptors. The energy-efficiency case is the archetype: segmenting residential users by attitude and behavior (e.g., "green advocates," "cost-focused savers," "disengaged wasters") beat demographic segmentation because it predicted response to messaging.
3. Test segment quality
Keep a segment only if it passes all five tests — otherwise it is a statistical artifact, not a market:
| Test | Question |
|---|---|
| Measurable | Can you size it and its purchasing power? |
| Accessible | Can you reach it via channels/communication at reasonable cost? |
| Substantial | Is it big/profitable enough to justify a tailored program (covers the incremental cost)? |
| Differentiable | Does it respond differently from other segments? (If not, don't split.) |
| Actionable | Can you actually design and execute a distinct program for it? |
| Durable | Will it persist long enough to earn back the investment? |
4. Evaluate and select targets
Score segments on attractiveness (size, growth, profitability, competitive intensity, fit with strengths — reuse Five Forces per segment) against ability to serve (capabilities, channel access, differentiation potential). Then choose a targeting pattern:
| Pattern | Description | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Undifferentiated (mass) | One offer for the whole market | Commodity, huge scale (rare today) |
| Differentiated | Distinct offers for several segments | Resource-rich firms, mature markets |
| Concentrated (niche) | One segment, deeply served | Focused firms, startups, premium |
| Micromarketing / one-to-one | Tailored to individual accounts | B2B key accounts, high-value custom |
| Product / market / selective specialization | Own a product across segments, a segment across products, or cherry-pick cells | Portfolio choices |
State which segments are in, which are out, and why.
5. Position within the target
Positioning is the place the offer occupies in the customer's mind relative to competitors — decided before anything is built. Construct it deliberately:
- Identify determinant attributes — the 2 axes customers actually use to judge and choose in this category (areas of need, not features you like). These become the perceptual-map axes.
- Map current perceptions — plot competitors (and yourself) on those axes to reveal crowded zones and open space.
- Choose a position — a spot that is relevant to the target, credible for you, differentiated from rivals, and durable.
- Define the frame of reference — which category you're competing in (reframing the category can be more powerful than fighting inside it).
Write a positioning statement:
For [target segment] who [need/occasion], [brand] is the [frame of reference/category] that [key benefit/point of difference], because [reason to believe / proof].
Example:
For mid-market SaaS marketing teams drowning in disconnected tools, Acme is the campaign platform that unifies planning and execution in one workspace, because it runs on a single data model that eliminates tool fragmentation.
6. Check positioning quality
A strong position is: aimed at a defined segment; anchored to a mental category the segment already holds; relevant; focused (1-2 differentiators, not many); simple and unambiguous; offering a superior/exclusive perceived benefit; durable; and coherent across every mix element. Reject positions that are generic, feature-led, or that fight the category's existing mental model without reason.
Repositioning (when triggered)
Reposition only for a deep, lasting shift in customers or a truly strategic competitor move — not a tactical blip. Preserve continuity cues (name, codes, heritage) so the brand stays recognizable; abrupt breaks erase hard-won memory. Map the current position, the desired position, and the migration path.
Output
Market Qualification
The potential → available → served → penetrated funnel and the growth strategy implied.
Segmentation
The bases chosen (with rationale), the resulting segments profiled, and the five-test screen.
Targeting
Attractiveness × ability-to-serve assessment, the chosen pattern, and the in/out decision.
Positioning
- Perceptual map (describe axes + placements; render as a simple 2×2 if useful)
- Positioning statement (filled template)
- Quality check against the criteria
- Points of difference vs. points of parity
Handoff
What the marketing mix must now deliver to earn this position.
Follow-up
Ask: "Would you like me to:
- Design the marketing mix (4P/7P) to deliver this positioning?
- Build the value proposition for the chosen target in detail?
- Draft the messaging and campaign for the target segment?
- Produce a repositioning migration plan?"