Milestone 3: STP

Select a Service or Product to market.  It can be something all-new that you invent OR something that is existing that could use marketing help.  This works best when you use a smaller local business you know and love or a business idea you are passionate about.
Written Portion of Plan (100 points)
This can be a Word document, video, Power Point/Prezi, combination…or whatever other form gets your message across effectively.  Visuals are helpful with this assignment, and former students tell me creating this in a presentation format helped them because they could add visuals and stay more organized.
STP: 
1. Identify which combination of the five major segmentation methods you might use to help determine your target market  demographic, psychographic, behavioral, geographic, benefit (probably 3-4 methods).  What are they, and explain fully why you chose them.
2. ID and describe your target market(s).  Be thorough and clearly define your market(s).

Describe your core target market group(s) in detail.  Yes, you will be making guesses at this point because you don’t have a load of research to back it up.  If you are struggling with this, consider the target based on demographics (ie: gender, age, income), geographics (ie: region, city size, etc.)  lifestyle (ie: attitudes, interests, self concept), behavioral (ie: shopping/buying preferences), benefits sought (ie: needs fulfilled) and anything else that relates.  This section should be expansive with lots of specifics.
Now, bring one of your target consumers to life by creating a persona.  Give the person a name if that helps.  In a nutshell, describe who he/she is (i.e.  gender, age, hh income, work, family or not, attitude, etc.) Find a few people who would be your ideal target consumers, and do some research.  For instance, learn what they do in their free time, where they shop, what they enjoy, what they are proud of, what they seek out, what brands they like, what media they consume (tv, online, radio, magazine, etc.) and so on.   What is his/her shopping attitude for this category?  What might his/her purchase process look like for your product/service? 

 4.  Position your product/service.

Draw a Perceptual Map to show your positioning (and competitor positionings) within the industry (see example on pp. 287-289).  You can draw this electronically or by hand (i.e. take a picture of it to include in your presentation).  I don’t care about your art skills — I just want to ensure you know what a perceptual map is and how it can be used.  
Communicate your own product/service positioning (a clear, distinct understanding of offerings and benefits relative to the competition).  In other words, communicate in a few words what your product/service will stand for in the minds of consumers compared to the competition. Remember, the key to a strong positioning is that your product is compelling to your target consumer — something they consider unique, desirable and worth their $.  This is usually only one sentence.
Add bullet points that list the 4-5 key benefits your product/service will offer relative to the competition.   Make sure you answer the question, What makes you different, and how does that improve the life of your target consumer?  Really think about this — be creative and decide what it’s going to take to stand out.  Vague words like “high quality, innovative, best service” are not what I am looking for.  Typically, points of difference tie to a customer problem to be solved.

Remember to cite your sources and use proper format.