By Claudia Perez

Welcome, my dear readers, owners of small and medium-sized businesses, to another weekly meeting to once again discuss the wonderful world of marketing. Today I will be discussing the practical application of the STP marketing model.

It is not the first time that I talk about my experience in the Airbnb business. Between the years 2017-2019, my husband and I had a business of this type in Havana. When starting this small venture, many of the things we did were empirical, but with a lot of logical sense. Let’s see how we applied the STP Marketing Model to our business model.

Application of the STP Marketing Model

Segmentation

One of the first things that we realized when starting our Airbnb business was that we needed to orient ourselves to a market, that is, segment the audience. It was impossible to pretend to cover the entire market of tourists traveling to the island, so we opted for the European market. We realized that the lifestyle and preferences of this type of market fit perfectly with the service we offered.

We studied a little the psychographic characteristics of these people and realized that they were people interested in city tourism with a great interest in experiencing the way of life of different cultures and understanding their history. They are people of good taste, sophisticated and open to exchange, always looking for a good balance between quality and price. Having a particular interest in people-to-people exchange, they seek to move away a little from the hermetic nature of hotels, which made them excellent candidates for our Airbnb business model.

Another element that we took into account was the behavior of this group of people. Europeans are extremely concerned about the ecological issue and the sustainability of the planet. Their way of life is based a lot on the culture of recycling and they always seek to reduce the impact of their ecological footprint in daily life, for example in matters such as mobility.

Targeting

Within our general market – European tourists -, we decided to focus specifically on young travelers between the ages of 18 and 45 from France, the Netherlands, and Spain. We opted for these three segments because they shared all the previous characteristics and at that time had a large share in tourism in Cuba.

In that period, France and Spain occupied positions 6 and 8, respectively, in the top source marketsLinks to an external site.. In third place, these countries had daily direct flights to Havana. In the case of Air FranceLinks to an external site. (France’s flagship airline), it had two daily direct flights to the capital. Finally, in the case of Spain, it is a traditional market, due to the historical and cultural relationship that this country has maintained with the island.

Market Positioning

Our positioning strategy was based on what made us unique. Our product, more than just an accommodation space, was the opportunity to live a unique and immersive experience. The experience of immersing oneself in the daily life of Cubans, knowing their culture and lifestyle from a studio in the heart of Havana.

How Did We Position Ourselves?

1. We opted for a design aligned with the characteristics of our audience.
2. -We focused on a room design where natural lighting and ventilation prevailed.
3. -All the furniture was made from recycled products.
4. -We created a mono functional space, inspired by an industrial style to add a touch of urban sophistication, but maintaining the Cuban urban essence.
5. Services and amenities aligned with lifestyles and behaviors.
6. -We incorporated the option of bicycles as part of our amenities to tour the city. This type of mobility is highly appreciated by the French and especially by the Dutch, countries with a strong cycling culture.
7. -We included experiences such as “Cooking in a typical Cuban home” or “Spending a day in the life of a Cuban”.
8. A communication strategy consistent with our product
9. -We aligned our Airbnb title and description with the product and services we offered.
10. -We incorporated into those descriptions the values of our target audience.
11. -We paid for Google Ads promotion specifically targeted at that market segment.
12. -We actively requested reviews from clients and guests that would favorably contribute to our brand equity and reinforce our positive presence on social media.

Conclusions:

By applying this STP model, my dear readers, we were able to make our business flow successfully and achieve great results in a very short time. This demonstrates that coherent, well-thought-out, and aligned strategies contribute to success formulas.

On this path, research methods also play a fundamental role, but I will leave that topic for future discussions.

I bid farewell, as always, Not with a goodbye, but with a see you next time!If you want to continue learning a little more about the world of marketing and the Airbnb business, I invite you to read my post about how we calculated our breakeven for this business model, so if you are interested, just click on the following link: How to calculate the Break-Even Point: A Practical Example with AirbnbLinks to an external site.