Positioning is the final stage in the 'STP' process and focuses on how the customer ultimately views your product or service in comparison to your competitors and is important in gaining a competitive advantage in the market.<ref name=":3" /> Therefore, customer perceptions have a huge impact on the brands positioning in the market. There are three types of positioning that are key in positioning the brand to a competitive advantage; these are functional positioning, symbolic positioning, and experiential positioning.<ref name=":3" /> Functional Positioning is focused on the aspects of the products or services that can fulfill consumers' needs or desires. Symbolic Positioning is based on the characteristics of the brand that fulfill customers' self-esteem. Experiential positioning is based around the characteristics of the brands that stimulate the sensory or emotional connection with the customers. A combination of the three is key to positioning the brand at a competitive advantage to its immediate competition.<ref name=":1" /> Overall, positioning should provide better value than competitors and communicate this differentiation in an effective way to the consumer.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Kotler on Marketing: How to create, win and dominate markets|last = Kotler|first = Philip|publisher = The Free Press|year = 1999|___location = New York, United States}}</ref>
== B2C and B2BPersona ==
{{See|Persona (user experience)}}
In marketing, the outcome of the STP process is a semi-fictional representation of a typical customer or user in each segment, often referred to as a "persona."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Syrjälä |first=Henna |last2=Ruiz |first2=Carlos Diaz |last3=Leipämaa-Leskinen |first3=Hanna |last4=Luomala |first4=Harri T. |date=2025-05-01 |title=From consumers to consumption: The socio-technical assemblage of the persona in market segmentation |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0148296325002103 |journal=Journal of Business Research |volume=194 |pages=115387 |doi=10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115387 |issn=0148-2963}}</ref> The persona represents the most common traits and characteristics of the segment and help marketers communicate relevant market segments more effectively by humanizing data into relatable profiles.
== The STP framework in B2B ==
{{See|Industrial market segmentation}}
The STP process describedcan above canalso be used for both business-to-customer as well as business-to-business marketing. Although most variables used in segmenting the market are based on customer characteristics, business characteristics can be described using the variables which are not depending on the type of buyer.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mora Cortez|first1=Roberto|last2=Højbjerg Clarke|first2=Ann|last3=Freytag|first3=Per Vagn|date=2021-03-01|title=B2B market segmentation: A systematic review and research agenda|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320309073|journal=Journal of Business Research|language=en|volume=126|pages=415–428|doi=10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.12.070|s2cid=233840095 |issn=0148-2963}}</ref> There are methods for creating a positioning statement for both [[B2c|B2C]] and [[B2B Marketing|B2B]] marketing.
