Dr. Robert J. Thomas
Professor of Marketing
McDonough School of Business
Georgetown University

Listen to Dr. Thomas' podcast about Segmentation

Grow Your Business Profitability through STP — Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

In the face of increasingly competitive business conditions and limited resources, managers need to know how to identify target markets that provide the fastest and greatest chance for success. In this seminar, a leading authority presents the process and tools to help you identify profitable and reachable groups of customer segments. By targeting segments you can develop a strong competitive positioning and focus resources on customers that make a difference to your business.

Objectives

After completing this seminar, you will be able to…

• Segment markets on the basis of customer needs and value
• Design better market research studies for segmentation and learn how to use the results to make better decisions
• Select target markets to achieve the best financial results
• Write a clear and focused segment-based positioning statement that defines your competitive advantage
• Better design complete product and service offerings to meet customer needs
• Align sales force and marketing communication actions for optimal market response
  
  

Who Should Attend

• Managers with bottom-line responsibility
• Managers in charge of developing and delivering targeted products or services to business markets
• Planners and market researchers who develop and interpret studies that support marketing decisions
• Company "teams" facing a segmentation problem will especially benefit from this seminar

Bring Your Marketing Problem

Participants are encouraged to bring a marketing problem or challenge to learn how segmentation can help resolve it. For example, if your R&D group has developed a new product or technology, which group of customers should be targeted first, second, etc.? In this seminar, you can put learned concepts to immediate use.

Content

Define Your Segmentation Opportunity

• Why segmentation works
• When to use segmentation
• Segmentation success stories

Build a Segmentation Data Base

• Define segmentation variables
• Focus on defining and measuring customer value
• Conduct market research

Identify Market Segments

• Analyze the data base
• Form segments with cluster analysis
• Describe and label the segments

Select Target Segments

• Establish criteria and a methodology to select target segments
• Consider targeting strategies
• Create your target customer profile

Decide on Positioning and Marketing Strategy

• Write a positioning statement for the target segment
• Formulate objectives and marketing strategy to reach the target segment
• Create segment-based marketing action plans

Implement Segment Action Plans to Achieve Goals

• Identify barriers to implementation of segmentation strategies
• Build organizational support for segmentation
• Tips, traps, and tricks in using STP
  
  

Instructor

Bob Thomas is a Professor of Marketing in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, where he has also been Senior Associate Dean, Director of Executive Programs, Associate Dean for Graduate Business Programs, Founder and Executive Director for the Center for Professional Development and Innovation, and Interim Dean for the School of Continuing Studies. Bob received his doctorate in marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. At Georgetown, Bob teaches courses in Marketing Management, New Product Development, and Market Segmentation. He is also a Faculty Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM).

Bob has over forty publications in the areas of new product development, organizational buying behavior, business-to-business marketing, and forecasting. His book, New Product Development: Managing and Forecasting for Strategic Success, was a featured selection of the Fortune Book Club and his book New Product Success Stories: Lessons From Leading Innovators has been published in several languages. He is on the editorial board of several journals and is an active member in numerous academic associations.

Bob has designed and taught executive education seminars in the U.S. and several countries and has consulted with over fifty organizations in a wide variety of industries and cultures, including both consumer and industrial products and services. He has provided expert testimony before several U.S. regulatory agencies.

Format

The two-day seminar meets from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. It uses a mix of lectures, discussion, case studies, and videotape illustrations. All materials are provided.

Cost and Registration

ISBM Member: $1,500
Non-Member: $2,500

Contact Us

Paula Dorminy or Gary Holler
Phone: 814-863-2782
Fax: 814-863-0413
E-mail: isbm@psu.edu