The role of product positioning in the consumer purchasing decision process Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) is the process that marketers use to select target markets. Segmentation is the process of classifying consumers into groups with similar product interests or needs. Targeting involves a business determining which market segments it believes it can satisfy and then choosing an appropriate targeting strategy for those segments. Positioning is how consumers perceive a brand or product, especially in comparison to other brands and products. The relationship between target segments and product positioning depends on the age of the company. For a new company, they have the opportunity to decide what perceptions they want the public to have about the company because they haven't taken a position yet. They can thus choose the target market, then decide on the positioning of the brand. For a company that has been around for a while, it already has a current brand position. Brand positioning often takes time to build and a long time to change. For this reason, established companies are likely to choose ideal target markets for their brand positioning..