When doing an STP plan, a question comes up when it moves from segmenting step to targeting—–which segment should a company choose to pressure on? My understanding is simple: choose the segment on which the company already has some advantage factors.

Given an example of Apple.  Apple is known by its electronic products like smartphone, laptop, tablet pc, etc. Obviously, Apple gets technical and marketable advantages in this field. Imagine now Apple tends to enter the TV market. What kind of television Apple would sell and what kind of customers Apple tends to sell to? By segmenting the potential market, it would be best for Apple to develop a high-technique TV that could attract its current customers, such as young people and technique-likers. The product could be able to connect with current Apple devices like iPhone, iMac and acoustics. Apple could gain competitive advantages at the beginning. However, if Apple targeting the segment that required competing with those traditional TV producers like Sony, feature by feature (i.e. large-size high definition display, which Sony and other big TV producers have been developing for years), Apple would likely lost its advantage and therefore, such targeting were unsuccessful.

In other industries like supermarket, customers would not expect to buy luxury products like expensive watch in a supermarket. So as the markers of a supermarket should be smart to target low cost but various products available for customer in order to have some sense of competitive advantage. I mention this because of my own experience. I used to see expensive watches selling for 300 dollars at Costco. I think that was an bed example of targeting because the potential buyers of luxury watches are not identifiable and reachable for Costco.

I do receive tongs of spams every week. Telus and Shaw, the case we talked about in class, is one of them. It seems that companies in tertiary industry would focus more directly on customers as they tend to expand. As a Shaw customer, Telus offers me amazingly good deal which would likely make me change my internet provider immediately as you look at the numbers on their leaflet. And I know Shaw would have done the same thing: actually they just did it and that’s how I became Shaw’s customer.

For a company like Shaw or Telus, giving customers favorable terms is the most popular method to grab new customers from competitors. Others, like a restaurant, their business isn’t built on contract signed with customers so they would probably focus on the qualified service they provide, like a new menu, newly renovated tables and chairs, and so on.

Although entering new markets quite depends on customers, other factors also matter. For companies in the primary and secondary industry, like manufacturing companies, expanding their market share would more likely depend on the technical factors. A great example is Apple. Apple also value a lot on customer service but the “killer”is still technology. They keep their market share and ensure the increase of new customers by inputting a great number of money as the R&D funding. The result is obvious. Apple continually publish new product yearly, or sometimes monthly.  Here is the link talking about the new coming iphone 5s: http://www.knowyourcell.com/news/1795011/apple_budget_iphone_5s_patent_revealed.html

In conclusion, as I mentioned, no matter a company relies directly on customers like Telus or indirectly attracts customers by new technology, the key point is always the people who are willing to reach into pockets for you. To clarify it, just think about what’s at the center of the situational analysis diagram.