Positioning (marketing)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues
on the talk page.
This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states the
Wikipedia editor's particular feelings about a topic, rather than the opinions of
experts. (January 2014)
This article has no lead section. (January 2014)
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it
has insufficient inline citations. (January 2014)
Positioning is a marketing strategy that aims to make a brand occupy a distinct
position, relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer. Companies
apply this strategy either by emphasizing the distinguishing features of their brand
(what it is, what it does and how, etc.) or they may try to create a suitable image
(inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious, entry-level or high-end, etc.)
through advertising. Once a brand is positioned, it is very difficult to reposition it
without destroying its credibility. It is also called product positioning.

Contents [hide]
1 Definitions
2 Brand positioning process
3 Product positioning process
4 Positioning concepts
5 Repositioning a company
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Definitions[edit]

Positioning was first introduced by Jack Trout in 1969 ("Industrial Marketing"

Magazine- June/1969) and then popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout in their
bestselling book "Positioning - The Battle for Your Mind." (McGraw-Hill 1981)

This differs slightly from the context in which the term was first published in 1969
by Jack Trout in the paper "Positioning" is a game people play in todays me-too
market place" in the publication Industrial Marketing, in which the case is made that
the typical consumer is overwhelmed with unwanted advertising, and has a natural
tendency to discard all information that does not immediately find a comfortable
(and empty) slot in the consumer's mind. It was then expanded into their groundbreaking first book, "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind," in which they define
Positioning as "an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on
the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the
right circumstances" (p. 19 of 2001 paperback edition).

What most will agree on is that Positioning is something (perception) that happens
in the minds of the target market. It is the aggregate perception the market has of a
particular company, product or service in relation to their perceptions of the
competitors in the same category. An important concept in positioning is that it
expects that consumers compare and analyze products in the marketplace, whether
based on features of the product itself (quality, multiple uses, etc.), price, and/or
packaging and image.[1] It will happen whether or not a company's management is
proactive, reactive or passive about the ongoing process of evolving a position. But
a company can positively influence the perceptions through enlightened strategic
actions.

A company, a product or a brand must have positioning concept in order to survive

in the competitive marketplace. Many individuals confuse a core idea concept with a
positioning concept. A Core Idea Concept simply describes the product or service.
Its purpose is merely to determine whether the idea has any interest to the end
buyer. In contrast, a Positioning Concept attempts to sell the benefits of the product
or service to a potential buyer. The positioning concepts focus on the rational or
emotional benefits that buyer will receive or feel by using the product/service. A
successful positioning concept must be developed and qualified before a
"positioning statement" can be created. The positioning concept is shared with the
target audience for feedback and optimization; the Positioning Statement (as
defined below) is a business person's articulation of the target audience qualified
idea that would be used to develop a creative brief for an agency to develop
advertising or a communications strategy.

Positioning Statement As written in the book Crossing the Chasm (Copyright 1991,
by Geoffrey Moore, HarperCollins Publishers), the position statement is a phrase so
formulated: For (target customer) who (statement of the need or opportunity), the
(product name) is a (product category) that (statement of key benefit that is,
compelling reason to buy). Unlike (primary competitive alternative), our product
(statement of primary differentiation).

Differentiation in the context of business is what a company can hang its hat on that
no other business can. For example, for some companies this is being the least
expensive. Other companies credit themselves with being the first or the fastest.
Whatever it is a business can use to stand out from the rest is called differentiation.
Differentiation in todays over-crowded marketplace is a business imperative, not
only in terms of a companys success, but also for its continuing survival.

Brand positioning process[edit]

Effective Brand Positioning is contingent upon identifying and communicating a
brand's uniqueness, differentiation and verifiable value. While "me too" brand
positioning contradicts the notion of differentiation, this type of "copycat" brand
positioning can work if the business offers its solutions at a significant discount over
the other competitor(s.) According to Lamb, some companies position their brands
"as being similar to competing products or brands"; a few examples are "margarine
tasting like butter" and "artificial sweeteners tasting like sugar".[1] This can also be
seen in reactive marketing, when companies reposition more than just products:
after Target added food and grocery items to become a "supercenter", certain
grocery stores (such as Texas chain HEB) added retail products to become
supercenters as well. Another example would be the iPhone spawning several
competitive smartphones - differentiated from Apple, yes, but not as significantly as
Apple would prefer based on the patent infringement lawsuits filed by Apple.[2] The
conclusion seems to be emulate, but do not duplicate. As the Harvard Business
Review notes when discussing positioning and strategy, "A company can outperform
rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve."[3]

Generally, the brand positioning process involves:

Identifying the business's direct competition (could include players that offer your
product/service amongst a larger portfolio of solutions)

Understanding how each competitor is positioning their business today (e.g.

claiming to be the fastest, cheapest, largest, the #1 provider, etc.)
Documenting the provider's own positioning as it exists today (may not exist if
startup business)
Comparing the company's positioning to its competitors' to identify viable areas for
differentiation
Developing a distinctive, differentiating and value-based positioning concept
Creating a positioning statement with key messages and customer value
propositions to be used for communications development across the organization
Product positioning process[edit]
Generally, the product positioning process involves:-

Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the relevant
buyers are)
Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product 'space'
Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each
product on the relevant attributes
Determine each product's share of mind
Determine each product's current location in the product space
Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to as an
ideal vector)
Examine the fit between the product and the market.
Positioning concepts[edit]
More generally, there are three types of positioning concepts:

Functional positions
Solve problems
Provide benefits to customers
Get favorable perception by investors (stock profile) and lenders

Symbolic positions
Self-image enhancement
Ego identification
Belongingness and social meaningfulness
Affective fulfillment
Experiential positions
Provide sensory stimulation
Provide cognitive stimulation
Repositioning a company[edit]
Main article: Turnaround management
In volatile markets, it can be necessary - even urgent - to reposition an entire
company, rather than just a product line or brand. When Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley suddenly shifted from investment to commercial banks, for
example, the expectations of investors, employees, clients and regulators all
needed to shift, and each company needed to influence how these perceptions
changed. Doing so involves repositioning the entire firm.

This is especially true of small and medium-sized firms, many of which often lack
strong brands for individual product lines. In a prolonged recession, business
approaches that were effective during healthy economies often become ineffective
and it becomes necessary to change a firm's positioning. Upscale restaurants, for
example, which previously flourished on expense account dinners and corporate
events, may for the first time need to stress value as a sale tool.

Repositioning a company involves more than a marketing challenge. It involves

making hard decisions about how a market is shifting and how a firm's competitors
will react. Often these decisions must be made without the benefit of sufficient
information, simply because the definition of "volatility" is that change becomes
difficult or impossible to predict.

Positioning is however difficult to measure, in the sense that customer perception of

a product may not have been tested on quantitative measures.

See also[edit]
Brand management
Brand community
Customer engagement
Marketing
Marketing management
Target market
Product management
Market segment
Product differentiation
Marketing plan
Sustainable competitive advantage
Strategic management
Marketing strategies
Placebo (origins of technical term)
Points-of-parity/points-of-difference
Right-time marketing
List of renamed products
References[edit]
Business Dictionary. (n.d.) Definition of Positioning. Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com
Lamb, C. (2013). e-Study Guide for MKTG 7. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com/books
Trout, J., (1969) ""Positioning" is a game people play in todays me-too market
place", Industrial Marketing, Vol.54, No.6, (June 1969), pp. 5155.
Ries, A. and Trout, J. (1981) Positioning, The battle for your mind, Warner Books McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, 1981, ISBN 0-446-34794-9

Trout, J. and Rivkin, S. (1996) The New Positioning : The latest on the worlds #1
business strategy, McGraw Hill, New York, 1996, ISBN 0-07-065291-0
Moore, G. (1991) Crossing the Chasm, HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.
Levi, K. (2007) "Differentiate or Diminish: The Art and Necessity of Business
Positioning", (March 2007), p. 9
External links[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Lamb, Charles (2012). Essentials of Marketing (7e ed.). Mason,
OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. pp. 27982. ISBN 978-0-538-47834-2.
Jump up ^ "Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al, California Northern
District Court, Case No. 5:11-cv-01846. Filed April 15, 2011; Apple Inc. v. HTC
Corporation et al, Delaware District Court, Civil Action No.: 1:12-cv-1004-GMS. Filed
8/3/2012; Apple Inc. et al v. Motorola Mobility, Inc., California Southern District
Court, Case 3:2012cv00355. Filed: February 10, 2012.; Apple Inc. v. Sanho
Corporation, California Northern District Court, 5:2010cv04042, Filed: September 9,
2010.; Apple Inc. v. Nokia Corporation and Nokia Inc., Delaware District Court, Case
1:09-cv-00791-GMS. Filed 12/11/09". Justia.com.
Jump up ^ Porter, Michael (November 1996). "What Is Strategy?". Harvard Business
Review.
Categories: Marketing
Navigation menu
Create accountNot logged inTalkContributionsLog inArticleTalkReadEditView history

Search
Go
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages

Catal
etina
Deutsch
Eesti

Espaol
Euskara
Franais

Italiano

Polski
Portugus
Svenska
Trke

Ting Vit

Edit links
This page was last modified on 8 September 2015, at 01:04.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki