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Positioning

The term, “Positioning” has been used in a marketing context since the late 1970’s. Since then it has been used and redefined, often by those who missed the point of what positioning really is and its significance.

Positioning defined: When Al Ries and Jack Trout labeled and defined the term “positioning” in their breakthrough book, Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind, they stated anyone in any business will establish a “position” in the collective mind of their customers and the prospects who know about them. That position is built through the accumulation of contacts with the company and its competitors, through their experiences and their impressions based on everything from the color of a salesman’s tie to the overnight express service they use.

In other words, the position is built through the sum of all the exposures, direct and indirect, positive and negative, that customers experience about you and your competitors. Customers will judge and then label a company/product/service based on these exposures, and it’s extremely difficult to dislodge that label once established, whether it be positive or negative.

Competitors compound the problem because they, too, have made impressions and have occupied specific positions in the collective customer mind, and they are almost impossible to dislodge. Trying to occupy a position preempted by a competitor is next to impossible. Customers tend to “pigeon hole” and rank suppliers, and only through a major event or circumstance will they wish or need to reevaluate their initial opinions.

So positioning is not, as many people interpret it, something a marketer can fabricate in a vacuum, or on a neat cluster analysis based on product features, price and quality. Positioning is all about the perception of your brand in the minds of those who populate your target market(s) as juxtaposed to the perceptions of your competitors.

Competitive arenas - product categories: If you wish to occupy a favorable position in your customers’ and prospects’ minds, it’s best not to attempt to try to unseat a competitor from their established position. Rather, attempt to find an equally positive, unoccupied position. If this is not possible, or if you’re seeking a leadership role in a product category, try to reposition your product in another category or create a new category in which to compete.

For example, in the mid 1970’s, Tektronix had a hefty lead over Hewlett-Packard in the analog oscilloscope market. Both companies introduced “digital oscilloscopes” in the same time frame, but H-P established a different playing field by naming a category, “digital analyzer”, and forcing Tektronix to compete in this new category where Tek and H-P competed as equals for awhile. H-P became the undisputed leader in the new category in less than two years.

Positioning in action: By determining what attributes of a particular category of product or service are important to customers, and measuring how individual companies rank in these attributes, the positions of the competitors can be determined.  Their strengths and weaknesses are exposed. Thus, you can identify positive, important positions which are unoccupied (customer needs not being adequately met). You can also determine which positions to steer clear of because of entrenched competition. Moreover, you will be able to differentiate your offerings from competitors in a way that’s meaningful to customers.

See Positioning Research for methodology and a research example.

We can help you assess existing and candidate positions: Signature Strategies can perform an assessment of your particular positioning picture, first through discussions with your personnel and a review of competitive materials, then through a series of telephone interviews with your customers and your competitor’s customers. Often this will provide enough information to begin defining the positions you and your competitors occupy.

But just as often we will determine that a more formal research project is required to really differentiate you from your competitors. Through the two-step process of (1) identifying differentiating attributes customers use to position brands, and (2) asking respondents who provides those attributes, we determine which brands occupy the vital positions as defined by attributes.

We can also help you with the next level: establishing a new position if required, or reenforcing an existing positive position. We do this by helping you create or strengthen brand personalities, positioning statements, memes based on customer buying advantages, target marketing strategies, and message development.

Contact us by phone (303-796-9458), or email us to begin a dialog. Remember, you can receive an hour of FREE consultation just for asking for it. Just contact us.