Strategic market research should be a necessary tool to achieve the stated marketing objectives. It should be a guide to guide the strategy and not a banal service turned into a “commodity”. Market research must provide value to the company from solutions, and these can only be based on a point of view of depth of analysis and application of the most advanced multivariable techniques.
Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning and Positioning Engineering (STPI), this is the “secret” of the marketing strategy of consumer-oriented brands that are undoubtedly the leading brands in this 21st century. It is the reality that prevails over the utopia of “one to one” marketing.
From the most innovative marketing thinking, the disappearance of everything related to market segmentation was predicted to give way from the “internet era” to micromarketing, but it has been shown that we are neither prepared to respond to it, nor do we have enough tools to provide the brand with the requirements that each consumer makes of it, and beyond all this, conceptually, it is not possible to produce or offer anything prior to what the consumer details in their demands. In short, a brand exists and is created to serve global benefits that are appropriate for all consumers, even with all possible differentiations.
It is also not true that the market can be subdivided into small portions of existing segments, the “niche” market has gone down in history because the complexity, maturity and globalization of many markets has shown that market segmentation yields a concept that is the hegemonic to develop the marketing strategy.
Segmentation is not simply a division of the market based on the sociodemographic or socioeconomic characteristics of consumers, this is rather a division of the population and not a segmentation of the market.
The process of creating segments, in which we can be helped by tools such as “datamining”, tries to choose exclusively those variables or base criteria that will determine the differences in behavior between consumers. In most cases these segmentation criteria are not exclusive but are a combination of criteria.
The combination of all levels of each base criterion in the segmentation of a market can give rise to multiple possible segments (primary or descriptive segments), this is where the processes of "counter-segmentation" (Market research technique in segmentation that allows discovering the ideal combination of strategic segments based on primary or descriptive segments) can help us solve the puzzle of finding a strategic segmentation
Finding a strategic segmentation is not just a question of methodology (counter-segmentation) or technology (datamining), it is necessary that the marketing professional has the ability to validate that the segments found generate a differentiated behavioral response, are identifiable segments, are measurable ( we can know their size), profitable and accessible (through marketing actions).
If the segmentation is validated, it will be essential to "profile" it; it is then about defining the segments found in all those characteristics necessary to be able to access the same segments based on criteria that have not been used in the segmentation process.
Choosing which segment or segments it is best for the brand to target in the coming years is what we call targeting and this will depend mainly on the available resources, the company's brand strategy, the existing competition and the maturity of the market itself. The choice of value segments must make the brand profitable.
Regardless of the targeting strategy chosen by the brand, the next step in this STPI process is the design of the positioning strategy. The objective is to occupy a privileged position in the minds of consumers who will be part of our target. It requires the design of the brand image and the development of an appropriate marketing mix to achieve the modification of the perception of our brand with respect to the competition, whether in benefits or attributes (tangible or intangible) and gain the desired mental position. on the chosen target.
To close the “virtuous” circle of the STPI, the next essential step is positioning engineering that, based on current positioning, defines future brand positioning strategies based on simulation strategies and projection processes. The path that the brand should follow in each value segment must be determined to capture the desired potential. Show how to defend the position against competitive attacks.
