Skills / Marketing-strategy

STP Model

Positioning is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.

Philip Kotler's STP Model is the most widely taught marketing strategy framework in the world, built on three sequential, dependent stages: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. It transforms vague market intuition into disciplined strategy by forcing four decisions in sequence — which customer groups exist, which are worth pursuing, which targeting strategy fits your resources, and what single position your brand can credibly own in buyers' minds versus competitors. Unlike generic marketing advice, STP produces four named deliverables: a segmentation matrix, a target segment scorecard, a POD/POP competitive analysis, and a formal positioning statement your whole team can align behind.

By Philip Kotler  ·  Free

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Specimen 01 · Live diagnosisSTP Model

Input

“We make a B2B project management SaaS for software teams. We're trying to figure out how to compete against Asana and Monday.com — we keep losing…”

Diagnosis

Full transcript ↓

Calibrated referenceagent-skills.ai

The gap

Segment the market, pick the buyers worth winning, and stake out a position no competitor can copy

Kotler's STP framework operates as a strict three-stage sequence, each stage feeding the next. Stage 1 — Segmentation — divides the total addressable market into distinct groups using four bases: Geographic (region, climate, city size), Demographic (age, income, occupation, education), Psychographic (lifestyle, values, personality), and Behavioral (usage rate, loyalty status, benefits sought). Each resulting segment is then tested against Kotler's five validity criteria — Measurable, Substantial, Accessible, Differentiable, and Actionable (MSADA) — to eliminate groups that are conceptually appealing but operationally unworkable. Stage 2 — Targeting — scores each valid segment across five attractiveness factors (size, growth rate, profitability, competitive intensity, and company fit), then selects from five targeting strategies: Single-Segment Concentration, Selective Specialization, Product Specialization, Market Specialization, or Full Market Coverage. Stage 3 — Positioning — identifies candidate Points of Difference (POD) and Points of Parity (POP) relative to named competitors, then produces a formal Positioning Statement using Kotler's template: 'To [target segment], [brand] is the [frame of reference] that [point of difference] because [reason to believe].' A perceptual map plots the brand and its competitors on two key attribute axes to visualize the claimed position and identify white space.

The problem

Most marketers and founders skip directly to messaging — writing copy, choosing channels, running ads — without first deciding precisely who they are targeting or why that audience would choose them over alternatives. The result is 'everyone is our customer' positioning that resonates with no one, wasted spend on audiences too broad to move, and sales teams unable to answer the question 'why not just use [competitor]?' Kotler's STP Model imposes the discipline of deciding before you communicate.

The solution

Walk out of the STP process with a documented target segment that scores highest on Kotler's attractiveness criteria, a clear understanding of which competitive advantages are genuinely ownable (POD) versus expected by every buyer in the category (POP), and a one-sentence Positioning Statement specific enough to guide creative work, sales training, and product roadmap decisions — and different enough that no competitor can make the same claim.

You bring

A description of your product, service, or brand and the broad market it competes in
Known or hypothesized customer groups, even if loosely defined
A list of direct and indirect competitors you are positioned against
Any existing messaging, value propositions, or target audience assumptions you want to evaluate or replace

You get

A structured segmentation matrix mapping distinct customer groups across all four variable bases (Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, Behavioral)
A scored target segment scorecard that ranks segments by Kotler's five attractiveness criteria with a recommended primary target and targeting strategy
A POD/POP analysis identifying which competitive advantages are genuinely ownable versus category table-stakes
A completed Positioning Statement in Kotler's 'To [target]… because [RTB]' format, ready to drive creative briefs, sales training, and product roadmap decisions

In action

Watch the methodology work.

Three specimens from a single real session: the same situation, unaided and calibrated, the full transcript, and the skill answering live in the channel where the work happens.

Fig.01  —  The same situation, two ways

Specimens A · B

Specimen AVague

Unaided

“You have a product your existing customers love, but your go-to-market pitch is 'project management software for software teams' — identical in structure to Asana, Monday.com, Linear, Jira, and a dozen others. Prospects ask 'why not just use Asana?' and your team either discounts on price or lists features. You're losing deals you should win, pursuing mid-market opportunities that require product work you haven't done, and spending marketing budget on an audience defined as 'software teams' — so broad it's unreachable and unmessageable.”

×Vague — nothing concrete to act on.

Specimen BCalibrated

With STP Model

“After completing the STP analysis: your segmentation matrix identified four distinct buyer groups in the project management market; your MSADA validity check ruled out two that were too diffuse to reach cost-effectively; your target segment scorecard ranked Series A-B startup engineering teams highest on company fit and growth; your POD/POP analysis confirmed that 'zero-configuration setup' and 'engineer-native UX' are ownable advantages Asana cannot credibly claim for this cohort. Your formal Positioning Statement now reads: 'To engineering managers at Series A-B startups, [Brand] is the project management tool that gets a 10-person engineering team running in under 30 minutes — without the workflow overhead Asana imposes — because it was built by engineers for engineers, not adapted from an enterprise program management tool.' Every marketer, salesperson, and product manager on your team is aligned on exactly who you serve and why they should choose you.”

◦Specific, grounded, and ends with one clear next step.

Fig.02  —  A real session, unedited

In-app · assistant

STP ModelClaude

STP Model

I'll walk you through Kotler's STP framework — Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning — and we'll produce four deliverables: a segmentation matrix, a target segment scorecard, a POD/POP competitive analysis, and a formal positioning statement. Let's start at the top. In one or two sentences: what is the product or service, and what broad market does it compete in?

We make a B2B project management SaaS for software teams. We're trying to figure out how to compete against Asana and Monday.com — we keep losing deals and we don't know why.

Good starting point — and a common trap. Before we talk competitors, we need to segment the market, because 'software teams' is a description, not a segment. Kotler builds segmentation across four bases: Demographic (company size, industry, buyer role), Geographic (region, market maturity), Psychographic (values and ways of working), and Behavioral (what job they're hiring the tool to do).

Let me start with the behavioral layer, since it's typically the most actionable. When a software team buys project management software, what primary problem are they solving? I'll give you four common benefit segments in this market — tell me which resonates most, or correct me:

(A) Visibility — leaders and stakeholders want project status without having to ask(B) Process enforcement — the team needs a tool that forces workflow discipline(C) Cross-functional coordination — dev, design, and product need to work in one system(D) Low-friction execution — engineers want minimal overhead so they can spend more time shipping

Which best describes why your best current customers chose you?

Definitely D. Our best customers tend to be small, fast-moving teams who think Asana is too much process for where they are.

That's a real behavioral segment — let's name it 'Low-Friction Execution.' Now let's make it measurable, which is the first of Kotler's five MSADA validity criteria. A segment that can't be quantified or identified can't be targeted or reached.

For your 'Low-Friction Execution' buyers, based on your existing customers: what's the typical company stage (pre-revenue, Seed, Series A-B, growth-stage)? How large is the engineering team — fewer than 10, 10-50, 50+? And who is the actual buyer — an engineering manager, CTO, or VP of Engineering?

These details turn a behavioral hypothesis into a segment we can size and score.

Almost always Series A or B startups. Engineering team of 5 to 20. Buyer is usually the engineering manager or CTO.

Good — that's a well-scoped segment. Here's how it scores against Kotler's MSADA validity criteria before we move to attractiveness scoring:

- Measurable: Yes — 'Series A-B startups with 5-20 person eng teams' is identifiable via Crunchbase, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and firmographic filters.- Substantial: Likely yes — tens of thousands of companies globally at this stage at any given time, though turnover is high as companies graduate into the next band.- Accessible: Yes — reachable through developer communities, engineering manager Slack groups, Lenny's Newsletter, and targeted LinkedIn outreach.- Differentiable: Yes — their behavior (reject process overhead, prioritize speed) is meaningfully distinct from enterprise teams (who want governance) and solo freelancers (different scale entirely).- Actionable: Yes — you can build specific product features, onboarding flows, pricing tiers, and messaging tailored to this cohort.

This segment passes all five criteria. Now let's score it for attractiveness against any other segments you've pursued. What other buyer types have come through your pipeline, even opportunistically?

We've had some mid-market companies, like 200-500 person companies, show up. Those deals take forever and they always want integrations we don't have yet.

Exactly what the attractiveness scorecard is designed to surface. Here's the comparison — 'Series A-B Startups (5-20 eng)' versus 'Mid-Market (200-500 person companies)' — scored on Kotler's five factors:

| Factor | Series A-B Startups | Mid-Market Companies ||---|---|---|| Segment Size | Medium | Large || Growth Rate | High (freelance/startup economy) | Moderate || Profitability | Medium — lower ACV, faster close | High ACV, but slow cycle || Competitive Intensity | High — many tools, but you have fit | Very High — Asana/Monday dominant || Company Fit | High — your product serves them today | Low — requires integrations you haven't built |

Verdict: Series A-B Startups score significantly higher on company fit and growth rate. Mid-Market fails the company fit test — those deals are pulling you into product scope you haven't committed to, which is exactly what Kotler calls a resource fit mismatch.

Recommended targeting strategy: Single-Segment Concentration — direct all product, marketing, and sales resources at Series A-B engineering teams. This is Kotler's prescribed strategy for resource-constrained companies with a strong fit in one clearly defined segment. Shall we move to positioning — where we define your POD against Asana specifically for this segment?

Yes — that's exactly where we struggle. Prospects ask 'why not just use Asana?' and we don't have a sharp answer.

Then this is the core positioning work. Let's build your POD/POP analysis against Asana for the Series A-B engineering team segment.

Points of Parity (POP) — what Asana delivers that you must also credibly offer to be considered at all:- Task assignment and deadline tracking- Basic project views (list, board, calendar)- Team notifications and comment threads

These are category entry credentials. You don't win deals on them, but you lose deals without them.

Candidate Points of Difference (POD) — where you can potentially claim a meaningful advantage for this specific segment:- Zero-setup time: if a 10-person eng team is running in under 30 minutes versus Asana's configuration overhead, that's a POD- No mandatory process fields: if your tool imposes zero required status workflows or approval chains, that directly addresses the 'Asana is too much process' objection- Engineer-native UX: if your interface maps to how developers already think — closer to GitHub issues than a program management tool — that's a POD for a CTO making the call

Kotler's test for a valid POD: it must be Desirable to the target segment, Deliverable by your company today, and Differentiating versus the specific competitor. Which of these three do you actually deliver better than Asana, with evidence to back it up?

From your answer, I'll draft your full Positioning Statement in Kotler's template: 'To [target], [brand] is the [frame of reference] that [POD] because [reason to believe].'

Reply to STP Model…

What the skill is doing

01Four-Base Segmentation Matrix

02MSADA Segment Validity Check

03Segment Attractiveness Scorecard

Fig.03  —  The same skill, in the channel you already use

WhatsApp · live

9:41

SMSTP Modeltyping…

Messages are end-to-end encrypted. No one outside of this chat can read them.

Today

We make a B2B project management SaaS for software teams. We're trying to figure out how to compete against Asana and Monday.com — we keep losing deal…9:14✓✓

In one or two sentences: what is the product or service, and what broad market does it compete in?9:14

Message

The same skill, where the work happens.

No new app to learn. The methodology runs over the WhatsApp Business API, so the answer lands as a reply in the thread you’re already in — same rigour, zero context-switch.

◦Reads the situation, names the pattern, returns one concrete next move.

◦Delivered in seconds, inside a conversation that already exists.

Specimen · WhatsApp Business API · live

Capabilities

What it does, specifically.

Each capability is a distinct move drawn straight from the source methodology — not a generic assistant guessing.

CapabilityC-01

Four-Base Segmentation Matrix

Systematically maps your market across all four of Kotler's segmentation bases — Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, and Behavioral — to surface distinct customer groups that single-variable intuition typically misses. The matrix output makes it possible to compare candidate segments side-by-side and enter the targeting stage with clearly profiled, named groups rather than vague audience descriptors.

◦ MethodBased on Kotler's four-base segmentation typology from Marketing Management, which identifies behavioral variables (usage rate, loyalty status, benefits sought) as typically the most actionable starting point, with demographic variables used to profile and make the resulting behavioral segments measurable and reachable.

CapabilityC-02

MSADA Segment Validity Check

Evaluates each candidate segment against Kotler's five validity criteria — Measurable, Substantial, Accessible, Differentiable, and Actionable — to eliminate segments that look appealing but cannot be effectively served. This prevents the common mistake of pursuing segments that are conceptually interesting but too small, too expensive to reach, or indistinguishable from adjacent groups in how they respond to marketing.

◦ MethodApplies Kotler's five MSADA criteria verbatim from Marketing Management: a segment fails if you cannot measure its size and buying power, it is too small to return a profit, you cannot reach it through available channels, it does not respond distinctly to a differentiated offer, or your firm lacks the programs and capability to serve it effectively.

CapabilityC-03

Segment Attractiveness Scorecard

Scores each valid segment across five attractiveness dimensions — segment size, growth rate, profitability potential, level of competitive rivalry, and fit with company resources and objectives — to produce a ranked priority list of target segments with transparent, documented rationale. The scorecard output makes targeting decisions defensible to leadership, investors, and cross-functional teams.

◦ MethodImplements Kotler's segment attractiveness evaluation model from Marketing Management, which draws on Porter's Five Forces for the competitive intensity dimension and integrates internal resource fit analysis to ensure the chosen target is both attractive in the market and achievable for the specific company — a dual test that rules out segments where structural advantages are absent.

CapabilityC-04

Targeting Strategy Recommendation

Recommends one of Kotler's five targeting strategies — Single-Segment Concentration, Selective Specialization, Product Specialization, Market Specialization, or Full Market Coverage — with rationale tied to the company's resources, competitive position, and scorecard results. Each strategy carries distinct risk and investment profiles, and the recommendation includes explicit logic for why the selected pattern fits this company at this stage.

◦ MethodBased on Kotler's five targeting pattern framework from Marketing Management, which maps strategy choice to company resource level, product maturity, market variability, and competitive environment — recommending Single-Segment Concentration for resource-constrained new entrants and reserving Full Market Coverage for companies with demonstrated scale and differentiated product portfolios.

CapabilityC-05

POD/POP Competitive Analysis

Identifies which claimed advantages are genuine Points of Difference (POD) — valued by the target segment, deliverable by your company today, and credibly distinct from competitors — versus Points of Parity (POP) — category-entry credentials that every buyer expects but that cannot drive preference. Clarifies which claims belong in your positioning statement versus which belong in your baseline product offer.

◦ MethodApplies Kotler and Keller's POD/POP distinction from Marketing Management: a valid POD must satisfy three tests — desirability to the target consumer, deliverability by the company, and differentiation from competitors. A POP is a category membership credential that neutralizes competitor attacks but does not itself create purchase preference.

CapabilityC-06

Positioning Statement Builder

Drafts a formal Positioning Statement using Kotler's four-part template, then stress-tests it for clarity (does the target segment understand it?), credibility (is the reason to believe defensible and specific?), and distinctiveness (could a direct competitor make the same claim today?). Outputs a statement ready for use in creative briefs, sales playbooks, and brand guidelines.

◦ MethodUses Kotler's positioning statement template verbatim from Marketing Management: 'To [target segment and need], [brand name] is the [frame of reference/category] that [point of difference] because [reason to believe]' — enforcing all four structural components as a complete unit, since a statement missing any element is incomplete positioning.

CapabilityC-07

Perceptual Map Generation

Creates a text-based perceptual map plotting your brand and named competitors on two strategically selected attribute axes drawn from the segmentation and POD analysis. The map visually identifies white space (unclaimed positions), overcrowded zones, and the specific attribute dimensions that most influence preference for the target segment — validating that the claimed position is genuinely available.

◦ MethodBased on Kotler's use of perceptual and positioning maps in Marketing Management as tools for visualizing the competitive landscape before committing to a position — ensuring that the selected POD corresponds to real white space rather than a claimed advantage already owned by a stronger competitor.

Tested

Graded before it shipped.

Every skill is scored against independent scenarios for methodology fidelity before it goes live — not vibes, a rubric.

What it produces

OutputD-01

Market Segmentation Matrix

A structured table mapping distinct customer segments across all four variable bases (Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, Behavioral), with each segment named, profiled, and assessed against Kotler's MSADA validity criteria. The foundation document for all downstream targeting and positioning decisions.

OutputD-02

Target Segment Scorecard

A scored ranking of validated segments across Kotler's five attractiveness criteria — size, growth, profitability, competitive intensity, and company fit — with a recommended primary target and targeting strategy type, plus documented rationale for each score. Designed to be shareable with leadership teams who need to understand and align on the prioritization logic.

OutputD-03

POD/POP Competitive Map

A side-by-side comparison of your brand versus named competitors, distinguishing Points of Difference (ownable advantages that drive preference for the target segment) from Points of Parity (category expectations that must be met but cannot win deals), with a verdict on which PODs are specific, credible, and defensible enough to anchor the positioning statement.

OutputD-04

Positioning Statement

A completed single-sentence Positioning Statement in Kotler's four-part 'To [target]… because [RTB]' format, plus a text-based perceptual map plotting your brand and competitors on the two most strategically relevant attribute axes — confirming the claimed position occupies genuine white space in the competitive landscape.

The source

Grounded in the original work.

Every answer traces back to a real source and the practitioner who wrote it — not a secondhand summary. Here is the source of record.

Source authorA-01

Philip Kotler

Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where he has taught since 1962. His textbook 'Marketing Management,' co-authored with Kevin Lane Keller, is the world's most widely adopted marketing textbook — across 16 editions, translated into 25+ languages, and used in MBA programs at virtually every top business school globally. The Financial Times named him 'the father of modern marketing,' and the Wall Street Journal listed him among the top ten most influential business thinkers in the world.

Status · Inspired by Philip Kotler’s work — not yet claimed. Are you Philip Kotler?

Primary sourceS-01

Marketing Management (16th Edition, with Kevin Lane Keller)

by Philip Kotler

S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor at Kellogg (Northwestern); author of 80+ books including the world's most-used marketing textbook; AMA Distinguished Marketing Educator Award; named one of the top 10 most influential business thinkers by the Wall Street Journal.

Read the original ↗

Citationpearson.com

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At launchI need to run a full STP analysis. We have a product with customers who love us, but we can't articulate our target segment or positioning clearly enough to win competitive deals. Can we start with segmentation and work through to a positioning statement?