POSITIONING
BRAND POSITIONING
All marketing strategy is built on segmentation, targeting,
and positioning (STP).
A company discovers different needs and groups of
consumers in the marketplace, targets those it can satisfy in a
superior way, and then positions its offerings so the target
market recognizes its distinctive offerings and images.
By building customer advantages, companies can deliver
high customer value and satisfaction, which lead to high
repeat purchases and ultimately to high company profitability
POSITIONING
Positioning is the act of designing a company’s offering and
image to occupy a meaningful, distinctive and competitive
position in the minds of the target customers
Result of Positioning is creation of a market-focused value
proposition
It is a simple clear statement of why target market should
buy the product
POSITIONING
“Positioning is not what you do to a product. It is what you do to
the mind of the prospect”
- Ries & Trout
Positioning is a concept first popularized by Al Ries and Jack
Trout in their best seller book “Positioning – A Battle for your
Mind”
POSITIONING
Positioning is what the customer believes based on his/her
experiences and evidence, rather than just the awareness
created by advertising or promotion.
Firms can position brands, the company, the CEO, or individual
products.
STEPS OF POSITIONING
Firm
Firm creating
creating and
and maintaining
maintaining
in
in the
the minds
minds of
of a
a target
target market
market aa particular
particular
image
image relative
relative to
to competing
competing products
products
THREE STEPS
Select position concept
Design the feature that
conveys position
Coordinate the marketing mix
to convey position
DEVELOPING
POSITIONING
STRATEGIES
The goal of positioning is to locate the brand in the minds of
consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm.
A good brand positioning helps guide marketing strategy by
clarifying the brand’s essence, identifying the goals it helps the
consumer achieve, and showing how it does so in a unique way.
Pricing, promotion, channels of distribution, and advertising are
all geared by marketers to maximize the chosen positioning
strategy.
Everyone in the organization should understand the brand
positioning and use it as context for making decisions
Positioning is broadly classified into three types:
1. Functional
This is used when the brand or products provide solutions to problems and
provide benefits to customers. It focuses on the function, benefit or utility
that it gives to the customer.
2. Symbolic
This is useful for creating a brand image which helps create brand equity, a
sense of social belongingness and ego-identification. It is when a customer
has an affection, social connection, ego identification etc. with the product.
3. Experiential
This creates sensory and cognitive simulation in the minds of the customer.
It is one of the basis of the experiences which a customer can relate to
POSITIONING STRATEGIES
Attribute Positioning
Benefit Positioning
Use or Application Positioning
User Positioning
Quality or Price Positioning
Competitor Positioning
PRODUCT OR SERVICE ATTRIBUTE
Product or Service Attribute - Strategy consists in associating
an object with a product characteristic.
May include features such as size, color, ingredients, speed,
etc.
Ex: Hero cycle for durability, financial planning services
Technology Positioning - Positioning on the basis of
technology shows that a firm is on the cutting edge.
BENEFIT POSITIONING
Benefit Positioning - Strategy consists in associating an object with
customer benefit
Benefit positioning is generally a stronger basis for positioning
because it answers the consumer question: What will this
product/service do for me?
Ex: Volvo for safety, Toyota for reliability, BMW for Driving
Colgate for cavity protection
USE OR APPLICATION POSITIONING
Use or application positioning is associating the product with a
specific use
Ex.
Meal replacements designed specifically for people who want performance in the gym,
so high in calories and added vitamins and minerals. Other meal replacements are for
people on a diet, so they are low in calories and would not provide much energy for
somebody’s workout.
Vaporub Used during cold and Flu
USER POSITIONING
User Category - Strategy of associating the product with a
particular type or class of user.
User category positioning relies on customer segments.
Ex: Johnson – Baby soaps
The Pepsi Generation, AXE targets men specifically the Youth
Wheaties the Breakfast of Champions
QUALITY OR PRICE POSITIONING
Quality or Price Positioning - Certain product categories
where high price is automatically associated with quality, or
where low price is often considered to be synonymous with
inferior quality.
Example
Gillette vs Dollar Shave
POSITIONING – CONSUMER AND COMPETITOR
A product can be positioned based on 2 main platforms
1. The Consumer
2. The Competitor
When the positioning is on the basis of CONSUMER, the
campaigns and messages are always targeted to the
consumer himself.
When its based on COMPETITION these campaigns are
targeted towards competing with other players in the market.
COMPETITOR POSITIONING
Competitor Positioning - Positioning
strategy consists in making consumers think that
your brand is better than, or as good as the
competitors, by providing advantages over their
competitors
Ex – Nimboozs – Ekdum Asli Indian
Maiden Maid – Ekdum ghar jaisa
POSITIONING OF LEADER OR FOLLOWER
Positioning of leader – largest percentage of
sales in terms of revenue.
Ex – Coca Cola, McDonald’s
Positioning of follower – claiming to be only
second to the best.
Ex: Avis Car Rentals – We are No:2, We Try Harder
“To be the family friendly low cost restaurant in
The fast food business”
Starbucks is a premium coffee house that adds an
intimate and valuable experience to a
consumer’s
lifestyle by integrating caffein with comfortable
environment”
REPOSITIONING STRATEGIES
Repositioning Strategies - Repositioning is the process of
creating a new or modified brand, company, or product position.
A company may enhance or modify a position, based on
market feedback.
Ex: Cadbury, Dabur (pharma to FMCG)
Yahoo! repositioned from online guide to Web portal.
Amazon repositioned from world’s largest bookstore to
“Earth’s biggest selection.”
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