CHAPTER-1

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 INTRODUCTION
Definitions Of Brand Positioning

Brand Positioning probably the most common is identifying a market niche for a brand,
product or service utilizing traditional marketing placement strategies.

Positioning is defined as the way by which the marketers create impression in the customers
mind.

Brand positioning is an essential element of winning brand strategy. The term brand
positioning as two connotations- a vertical and the horizontal one. In the terms of the vertical
connotations, the term refers to the order in which the products ranks relative to the products
of the competitors in the minds of the customers in the industry niche. In terms of horizontal
connotations, the term refers to qualities and attributes the product represent in the mind of
their customers, again relative to the competitors.

Objectives of Brand Positioning:

The objectives of brand positioning can be explained with the following points:

1. To be Recognised:

If the business actually needs to make its service or product to gain the category of brand,
it needs to make then accessible to people in such a way that they start recognising the brand
name by the product or service they offer. It makes the brand to gain popularity and
streamline the processes of sales in a well-defined manner
2. To be Rebranded:

It can also be taken as refurbishing or rebranding the product in such a way that will make
it different and uniquely defined than all the other products of same kind. This will really
make the product to get under the exclusiveness category and it is the great thing to make
the brand or product a renowned name in any industry or market.
3. To provide Brand Stealth:

This mode will help to know how farther the business has gone and where it exactly reach
in the competitive market. A proper understanding of present position of business will go a
long way in helping it on the steps to take for moving its product and brand beyond the
present state. It is an effort to give all the popularity, which it thinks is good as a choice for
making the brand to reach top position
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4. To Help Brand Judgement:

Brand Positioning also strives to help the business to sufficiently judge the way customer
judge its product in comparison with other very competitive brand available with the same
products or service.

Brand Positioning Process:

1. Competitor’s Identification:
This step requires broad thinking. Competitors may not be just those, whose product
and brands fall into our product class or with which we compete directly. The marketer
must consider all likely competitors ,as well as the various effects of use and situations
on the consumers.
2. Determining how competitors are perceived and evaluated:
Once we determine the competitors we must determine how they are perceived by the
consumers. Which attributes are important to the consumers in evaluating a product or
brand. As we might expect for many products a wide variety of attributes or product
benefits may be considered- most if not all of which are important much of the marketing
firm’s research is directed at making such determinations. Consumers are asked to take
part in focused groups and complete surveys indicating which attributes are considered
important to them in purchasing the product.
3. Determining the Competitors Position:
Having determined the relevant attributes and their relative importance to consumers, we
must determine how each competitor is positioned with respect to each attribute. This
will also show how the competitor are positioned relative to each other. Consumer
research is required to make this assessment.
4. Analysing Customers Perception:
Segmentation distinguishes among groups of consumers, including life style, purchase
motivations, demographic differences and so on. Each of these segments may have
different purchase motivations and different attribute importance ratings. One way to
determine these difference is to consider the ideal brand or product, defined as the object
the consumer would prefer over all the other, including objects that can imagined that
do not exists. Identifying the ideal product can help the marketer identify different ideals
among segments or identifying segments with similar or the same ideal points.

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5. Making the Positioning decision:
After going through the first four steps, the final positioning decision is to be made.
Such a decision is not always clear and well defined. However conducting research may
provide only limited input , in the case the marketing manager must make some strategies
subjective judgement.
6. Monitoring Position:
Once a position has been established necessary to monitor how well this position is being
maintained the market place. Tracking studies measure the image of the product or firm
over time. Changes in consumers perception can be determined with any slippage
immediately noted and reacted to the same time, the impact of competitor can be
determined.

Why is positioning important?

Market positioning sets the competitive positioning for the product and creates a detailed
marketing mix. The outcome of positioning is the creation of an effective value proposition
which is customer-oriented (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Positioning of a brand/product helps to
differentiate it from its competitors on the basis of important attributes to the customers of
the target marketplace and develops a distinctive identity for the product/brand in the minds
of the customers (Ansari et. al., 1994); creates a unique perception in buyers’ minds of the
target market segment (Cravens & Piercy, 2009).

An effective positioning is helpful to guide marketing strategy by clarifying the brand’s

essence, what goals it helps the consumer achieve, and how it does so in a unique way (Kotler
& Keller, 2009). Positioning is an important source of competitive advantage and acts as a
support for competitive advantage. (Cronshaw et al., 1990). Positioning strategy which
includes product strategy, distribution strategy, pricing strategy, advertising and sales
promotion strategy, sales force strategy, direct marketing strategy, and the Internet strategy
points out how (and why) the product mix, line, or brand is to be positioned in the target
market segment and hence effective targeting and positioning of the firm’s products are core
dimensions of market-driven strategy and hence are essential in gaining and sustaining
superior performance (Cravens & Piercy, 2009) .

How to position in the marketplace?

During 1950s marketing concepts challenged the old concepts and was focused to create and
market products as per customers’ needs and wants. During the 1960s and 1970s, as most of
all major industries were over communicated with plenty of existing brands in each product

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category, which were serving same customers’ wants. Availability of high volume of
existing products/brands and their advertising activities created the marketplace as noisy and
as leading brands had already made up customer’s mind and hence traditional approach of
advertising of new brands were unable to create a space in the market by changing the minds
of the prospects. Advertising became ineffective to persuade customer by highlighting
product features or customers’ benefit due to customers changing habit towards a
satisfactory brand instead of best one for any product category in the already mature and
complex and hence chaotic marketplace (Trout & Ries, 1972) and hence Trout & Ries (1972)
emphasised on positioning approach which focused on competitors instead of needs and
requirements of the customers.

Trout & Ries (1972) introduced new marketing philosophy under which, organisation should
conduct their marketing activities. They redefined the marketing concept by focusing on
industry competitors instead of traditional focus on customers. By analysing and giving a lot
of real evidence from the different industrial sectors they suggested that the companies
should follow positioning concept for their orientation towards the chaotic marketplace.
They focused mainly on competitors as a way to position the products or brands. Whereas
Aaker and Shansby (1982) suggested that the competition is a reference point for
positioning. Despite on focusing only on competitors as suggested by Trout & Ries (1972),
they highlighted six strategies of positioning as- positioning by attribute, positioning by
price/quality, positioning by use/application, positioning by product user/class of users,
positioning by product class association and positioning by competitors. Aaker and Shansby
(1982) also emphasised on identifying competitors where competitors might be primary
competitors and secondary competitors (e.g. For Tab, all products in diet cola category are
primary competitors and other colas and all soft drinks are secondary competitors). They
also suggested identifying competitors by association of products with product situation (e.g.
other beverages regarded as appropriate for snack products might be the competitors of Tab).
Sujan & Betman (1989) also suggested identifying the competitive brands before going to
positioning the brands.

How positioning works?

As positioning indicates buyers’ perception about existing or potential brands in a market

and hence in order to position a product/brand firms need to go for positioning analysis
which is helpful for the managers to understand how customers perceive their market which
may be different from their own views and marketing managers require realistic view which
is required for understanding the product market and differentiate their product To formulate
a positioning strategy effectively firms require a simultaneous analysis of competitor and
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consumer behaviour. After selection of a strategy that should be implemented through key
processes of marketing (marketing mix, CRM, internal marketing) innovation & learning
(through market research) in order to create barriers to imitation for effective positioning in
the market and by doing so firms gain good market share which in turn provides good
financial performance.

Positioning concepts

More generally, there are following types of positioning concepts:

1. Functional positions
 Solve problems
 Provide benefits to customers
 Get favorable perception by investors and lenders

2. Symbolic positions
 Self-image enhancement
 Ego identification
 Belongingness and social meaningfulness
 Affective fulfillment

3. Experiential positions
 Provide sensory stimulation
 Provide cognitive stimulation

Measuring the positioning

Positioning is facilitated by a graphical technique called perceptual mapping, various survey

techniques, and statistical techniques like multi dimensional scaling, factor analysis, conjoint
analysis, and logic analysis. POSE Analysis offers a somewhat more sophisticated approach
than perceptual mapping and allows one to not only determine the positioning of a brand but
also the overall strength of a brand's proposition.

Repositioning a Company

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
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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

Brand positioning is the ―space‖ that your services and solutions occupy in the minds of
your target audience. The right positioning incorporates strong values and differentiators that
are important to your customers

Brand positioning is important in deciding where you want to position your brand within its
category and relative to the competition. Brand Positioning permeates virtually everything
we do. It is the foundation to all communications and brand strategy. It is the disciplined
thinking that guides the basis for building relationships between brands and customers.

Once you determine the way in which you can reach your market, the next thing to look at
is how you are going to lure your customer to try your brand.

Here is a list of nine positioning types you can think of before deciding on which one you
will attach to your brand

1. Quality positioning

Perception of quality is probably one of the most important elements for a brand to have and
can be combined with any of the other prompts below.

Quality, or the perception of quality, lies in the mind of the buyer. Build a powerful
perception of quality, and you will succeed in creating a powerful brand. Al Reis and Laura
Reis, authors of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding say the best way to increase perception
of quality is to narrow the company’s focus.
When you narrow a product’s focus, they explain, you become a specialist rather than a
generalist, and a specialist is perceived to know more, or be of ―higher quality‖ than a
generalist.
The product or service does need to have some perk or difference to justify the higher price.

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2. Value positioning

Although at one time, items that were considered to be a good ―value‖ meant that they were
inexpensive, that stigma has fallen by the wayside.
Today, brands that are considered a value are rising in popularity amongst consumers.
Southwest Airlines is probably the best example of how a company has been able to offer
discount prices and still keep a strong brand identity. In fact, most of the other major airlines
have followed Southwest’s lead by rolling out value-priced flights under new, co-branded
names
3. Feature-driven positioning

More marketers rely on product/service features to differentiate their brands than any other
method. The advantage is that the message is clear, and the positioning will be credible if
you stick to the facts about the product. Unfortunately, feature-orientated stances are often
rendered useless if the competition comes out with a faster or more advanced model.
4. Relational positioning

One of the most effective ways to create interest in a brand is to send out a positioning
prompt that resonates well with potential buyers.
5. Aspiration positioning

These are positioning prompts that offer prospects a place they might like to go, or a person
they might like to be, or a state of mind they might like to achieve.
6. Problem/solution positioning

As the name implies, problem/solution prompts show the consumer how a sticky situation
can be relieved quickly and easily with the brand or service.

Factors of Brand Positioning

1. Brand Attributes

What the brand delivers through features and benefits to consumers.

2. Consumer Expectations

What consumers expect to receive from the brand.

3. Competitor attributes

What the other brands in the market offer through features and benefits to consumers

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4. Price.

An easily quantifiable factor is your prices vs. your competitors’ prices.

5. Consumer perceptions

The perceived quality and value of your brand in consumer’s minds (i.e., does your brand
offer the cheap solution, the good value for the money solution, the high-end, high price tag
solution, etc.
Three C’s Of Positioning

Positioning requires three C’s

1. Customer

A product cannot be successfully positioned unless the answer to the basic question is
known; “What is the target customer’s most pressing problem?” Notice that this question
asks about the problem not problems .
The prospects are Overwhelmed by communications in today high-tech world. They get so
many marketing messages somewhere between 5000- 10000 per day that they have become
experts in filtering them out
But some companies feel they have to sell to everyone , and often fail to communicate
effectively with the ultimate decision maker. It may be surprise anyone that is relatively easy
to adapt a good positioning statement to different target audience
2. Competition:

Differentiation is the critical to successful positioning of a product. In marketing context “

positioning is the battle for one’s Mind”
One can often discover how a competitor is positioned by analysing its print advertisement
and website. A positioning statement idea or theme frequently appears in the first paragraph
of an advertisement or on the homepage of the website. It is good idea to become familiar
with the competitor message in the other marketing communication , such as direct
marketing piece, brochures, press announcement and tradeshow materials. If there is
consistency and continuity , one can gain competitive advantage just by recognising the
realities of his competitor
3. Company

Through the company analysis a firm attempts to identify its strength and weakness to satisfy
its potential target customer needs and expectations. The fit of the product/services to the
firm mission and goal is an important as the fit of product/service to the target market
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Marketers focus on understanding the company’s cost structure and the position relative to
the competitors, as well as working to identify a firm’s core competencies and other distant
companies . Core competencies are particular strengths relative to other organisations in the
industry which provide the fundamental basis for the provision of added value. A core
competency can be the technical/subject know-how, a reliable process , close relationship
with customer and supplier
How To Determine if Your Brand Position is Strong:

Typically, organizations have several positions available to them. A strong brand position
can pass through these four filters:
1. Relevance:

Does the target audience care about your differentiation? Is it important in their purchase
decision making?
2. Differentiation:

Does the target market really believe you are different (superior) to your competitors? Are
your competitors able to make the same claim? (One of the ways commonly used to test
positioning statements is to substitute your competitor’s brand name for yours. If it is still a
true statement, then it is not a strong position. For example, a university said its
differentiation was that they were “the only place where students can use their gifts.” As that
would also be true for just about any institute of higher education, this is not a strong
positioning statement.)
3. Delivery:

Can you actually deliver on the differentiation? Is this a promise you will be able to keep
over time? There is a story of a bank who decided to position themselves as fast, the bank
where you could get your business done quickest. It seemed like a good idea: after all,
consumers wanted a fast bank and none of their competitors were making the claim that they
were fastest. However, after looking at the financial analysis of what it would take in terms
of additional staff, additional branches and additional ATMs, it became clear that there was
no way to be the “fast bank” and still stay in business. The position was not deliverable
4. Communication:

I have no doubt that all marketers are able to communicate their positions — but the
challenge may be the amount of resources it will take to communicate your position to the
target market. If you have a highly technical position, will need to educate the market on
your position or if you are going to have consumers change the way they do something, you

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had better plan on having significant resources available to achieve your position. Consider
your company’s typical marketing spend — and the likelihood of increasing it — when
determining which position is optimal for your brand.
Another factor that you should think about is position evolution. Brand positions are built
and maintained over time — and their benefits come back over time as well. Look at some
of the world’s strongest brands (Volvo, FedEx, etc.) and you will see that they keep their
brand positions for decades. If you are changing your brand position every few years, you
are doing something wrong and you should seriously reconsider your actions. So look at
your potential positions and think about how long they will last. Do you see a lot of potential
innovation available in the position for product, service and communication? Do you think
it is broad enough but narrow enough so that you can work with it? This is a difficult
judgment to make, but if you look at other brands with superior longevity, you begin to see
what it will take to evolve your position over time.
Another way of looking at evaluating positions comes from Jennifer Rice, of Fruitful
Strategy, who recommends the “4D’s Rule” of strong brand positioning:
 Is it desirable by consumers?
 Is it deliverable by the company?
 Is it distinctive by the competition?
 Is it durable over time?
Product Positioning

Product positioning is an important element of a marketing plan. Product positioning is the

process marketers use to determine how to best communicate their products' attributes to
their target customers based on customer needs, competitive pressures, available
communication channels and carefully crafted key messages. Effective product positioning
ensures that marketing messages resonate with target consumers and compel them to take
action
Importance of Product Positioning

Product positioning is a very important tool for an effective marketing strategic planning.
Product positioning creates an image of the company’s products in the mind of consumers,
highlighting the most important benefits that differentiate the product from similar products
in the market. Product positioning involves identifying points of parity and points of
differentiation that enable a company’s product to both meet market standards while offering
consumers additional value on key dimensions such as quality, innovation, price, leadership,
and functionality, among others.

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Product positioning starts with identifying the specific, niche market segments to target e.g.
not just working professionals but single working professionals of age group 25-30 years,
having an annual income of $50,000-$60,000, and enjoy adventure activities. After
segmenting the target market by demographic and psychographic attributes, marketers must
understand customer needs. With well-defined target segments, product positioning enables
a company to meet very specific needs of a particular market segment, offering value that
may not be provided by competitors.

Marketers must keep an eye on the competitiion while considering positioning elements of
their marketing strategy. An effective positioning must convey a message to customers why
this company’s product should be preferred over the other competitor’s products of similar
nature. In other words, the company should not go by the flow of the market i.e. copying
what the competitors are doing rather they need to stand out from the crowd by offering
distinguishing or differentiated product attributes and other value added services.
Product Positioning Strategies

The manufactures design and choose the Product Positioning Strategies according to the
manufactured products and the unique features of that product. Choosing the right strategy
for the product is crucial for the brand Success

1. Competition Strategies

These Product Positioning Strategies requires a unique or a superior product attribute in

regard to a competing product. Positioning a Product against the Competitors product
requires a claim of superiority. A very good example to understand this concept is of Avis
Rental Cars

2. Reducing Competition Strategies

This concept of Product Positioning Strategies can help to differentiate a product in the
dominant market of an already well established brand.

3. Product Benefits Strategies

In these Product Positioning Strategies the company focuses on defining and communicating
the product benefit, unique features that the product offers to the targeted customers. In this
strategy the companies emphasizes on the various product benefits. The product features
include durability, availability, economy or reliability can be illustrated in this type of
product positioning

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4. Product Attributes Strategies
Positioning a product based upon a specific attribute can also be compelling to the targeted
audience.

5. Product Categories

Positioning your product by differentiating it from other product based upon a category is a
very effective way to resonate the key message in the targeted audience. A product can be
positioned along two or more characteristics in the same time

6. Usage Occasions Approach

This concept is used when marketers positioned there product based upon the usage situation
of the product by the tarred audience. These types of Product Positioning Strategies is done
intentionally to expand the market for a particular brand. Introducing new and different uses
of the same product will automatically expand the horizons for the product, increase the
market share and will lead more sales

7. Pricing Approach

Using the price and quality approach to position a product can ensure easy sales of a product.
In this concept the marketers play with human perception and the thinking of associating
quality with price. The customer often perceives that there is direct relation in quality and
price i.e. the higher the price the greater the quality of the product. The Marketers use this
Price – quality approach to position the products and can easily charge higher margins of
profits.

8. Users Approach

Another interesting form of product positioning strategies is to focus on the specific

characteristics of the users of the product. In this case the makers of a specific brand use a
personality or a model to effectively influencing the product image in the minds of the
consumer. This type of positioning resulted in an increased market share

Errors in Product Positioning

Positioning is undeniably a tough job , and if marketer attempts to position a product without
careful planning, it becomes very difficult to sustain the product in the market and derive a
competitive advantage. There are certain errors that might creep up while positioning a
product.

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1. Obvious Aspects of the product feature:
Quite often, it happens that a product is positioned on the basis of the aspects of the
product features, this has become too predictable and the charm in the positioning is lost.
However many times obvious aspect is used in the positioning.
2. Under Position:
This occurs when buyers know how less about the brand or do not know anything special
about the brand. Marketer often commit the mistake of diluting the positioning strategy
to make it more attractive. Products should be positioned with powerful idea and
communicated as they are. But normally marketers come out with a simple position idea
and pass it on to the creative department. This is where the strength of the positioning
gets diluted and the process is known as under positioning.
3. Over Positioning:
Just as under positioning of a brand is a possibility that there is also a scope for over
positioning a brand. In this situation buyer may have a very narrow image of the
company’s brand. Over positioning is usually seen in cases where the firm initially
promotes its brand as a premium brand.
4. Short-term Gains
Companies often position their product such that it helps them achieve short-term sales
and profits. Issues like stocks and share price are the major reason for the type of
positioning. But positioning has to be done keeping in minds long term gains in the
market and not short-term gains.
5. Confused Positioning:
Another error is confused positioning. Marketer should not confuse consumer by
meddling too much with the positioning strategies of their established brands.
6. Doubtful Positioining:
Sometimes Companies try to create brand awareness among customers even before
positioning the brand positioning the brand clearly in the market. This phenomenon ,
known as doubtful positioning , can lead to bad positioning of the product in the market,
often and generates a negative attitude towards the brand.
7. Positioning on the wrong attributes:

Companies quite often do not realise what customer expect from the product. As a result
they position the product based on the wrong attributes or on the attributes that are of no
interest to the customers

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Competitive Positioning: POPs and PODs

The exercise to determine the positioning strategy is not easy and could prove to be difficult

and quite complex. It is important to fix a competitive point of reference by defining

customer target market and nature of competition because arriving at the proper positioning

requires establishing correct points of parity and points of difference associations

Points of Difference (PODs):

Points of Difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumer strongly associate with a
brand, positively evaluate and believe they could not find to the same extent with a
competitive brand. It is the term used for outcome of product differentiation. In the business
economies, differentiation is seen as important strategic move for companies to move
companies to make Points of Differentiation (PODs) describe Individual factor of
differentiation.
Points of Parity (POPs):

Points of Parity (POPs) on the other hand are associations that are not necessarily unique to
the brand but may, in fact be shared with other brands. It is driven by the needs of category
membership to create category of POPs and the necessity of negating competitors Point Of
Difference (POD) to create competitive POPs. In choosing points of difference , two
important considerations are the consumers find POD desirable and that the firm has
capabilities to deliver on the POD
Point of Parity represent the attributes or benefit a product or service offers that the consumer
can satisfy elasewhere. This may also include elements of the service format, features,
performance quality. Points of Parity are not necessarily negative. If a consumer expects a
product or service to offer similar elements as a competitors service, failure to meet these
expectations can influence the consumer to choose a competitor product or service.
Choosing POP’s and POD’

Marketers typically focus on brand benefits in choosing the points of parity and the point of
difference that make-up their brand positioning. Brand attribute generally play more of
supporting role by providing reasons to believe or proof of point as why a brand can credibly
claim it offers certain benefits. Consumers are usually more interested in the benefits and
what exactly they will get from the product. Multiple attributes may support a certain benefit
and they change over time for choosing a specific as POPs and PODs to position a brand
perceptual maps may be useful. Perceptual maps are visual representation of consumer
perception and preferences. They provide quantitative portrayals of market situations and
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the way consumers view different product , service and brand along perception, marketers
can reveal “holes” or “opening” that suggest unmet consumer needs and marketing
opportunities
Establishing POPs and Pods:

One common difficulty in creating a strong , competitive brand positioning is that many of
the attributes or benefits that make-up the points of parity and the points of difference are
negatively correlated. Moreover individual attributes and benefits often have positive and
negative aspects.
Unfortunately, consumers typically want to maximise both the negatively correlated
attributes and benefits. Much of the art and science of marketing is dealing with the trade-
off, and positioning is no different. The best approach clearly is to develop a product or
service that performs well on both dimensions some marketers have adopted other
approaches to address attributes or benefit trade-off launching two different marketing
campaigns, each one devoted to different brand attributes or benefit as POP and POD and
even attempting to convince consumer that negative relationship between attributes and
benefits, if they consider it differently.
Brand Positioning versus Product Positioning:

There is a difference between product positioning and brand positioning of course in a

commodity market, product positioning and brand positioning carry the same meaning as
there are either no brands or even if brands are there none of them serve any substantial
differential value to the customer. There is no such difference between brand A and brand B
because both of them serve the same function. In a matchbox segment though there are
multiple brands in India like Camel, Horse etc. but there is no substantial brand difference
as both of them are used for the same purpose. So if the consumer is asked to pay more
because there is a brand name it will not be valid proposition because the consumer will say,
But all of them do the same function”
Product Positioning:

Product positioning brings an idea of function value whereas brand positioning talks about
something above and beyond functional values for which the customer is willing to pay more
and when asked to recall, he may recall the brand more and given chance to replay, he will
associate the brand with so many elements which are beyond the functionality of the product.
Therefore, a product positioning refers to a brands objective or functional attributes in a
relation to other brands in the category. It is a category of the physical product and its
functional attributes.

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Brand Positioning:

Brand positioning is the outcome of the perception of the target segment customer. It is the
brand’s subjective or perceived attribute in relation on competing brands in the market. Some
authors believe that product positioning results from situational analysis and influence the
decision taken for the type and nature of firm’s marketing strategy. Positioning provides
direction and thrust to both to brand positioning and communication and is a binder for all
the elements of marketing programme. Positioning is a process of affiliating a brand with
some category that consumers can readily grasp and differentiating the brand form other
products in same category.
The brand also needs the consumer goals But a true brand positioning statement gets at the
whole offering, the complete entity encompassing the tangible product and the resultant
customer experience. It leads to an emotional connection. It defines the shared meaning (in
terms of values) between the brand and customer. It clarifies the unique and competitive
raison d’etre for the brand. Additionally, unlike a product positioning the brand positioning
1. Reflects its Customers:

Customers identify with the brand. It is a source of identity for them. It may not be an
exaggeration to say that in some cases the brand even helps complete the customer. A Mac
is more than a mobile computer to its loyalists. It empowers them to follow their passions
and encourages them to make a difference.
2. Reveals a distinctive Personality:

Mac is cool and contemporary. PC is traditional and rather industrial. Pepsi is somewhat
counter-cultural to Coke’s clean-cut all-American persona. Perhaps, consumers choose
Pepsi not on it taste but on the badge inherent in its personality. These distinctions should
not be lost. They play out in all sectors and categories. Revisiting Health Care, in this
example the Medical Device sector, DaVinci robotics are purchased by hospitals to help
attract leading surgeons, who are able to perform state of the art surgical procedures, and
thereby build their brand as being the place for advanced care and superior outcomes.
3. Share its Culture:

Perrier and Evian are, well, French. Mercedes is German throughout. Coke and McDonald’s
share a taste of (North) America with the remainder of the world. But culture goes beyond
geographical boundaries to get at the heart of the organization. Starbucks and Patagonia have
eco-minded, socially responsible cultures that span the world.

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4. Builds a relationship with its customers:

Starbucks pours more than a cup of coffee. It serves-up community. Starbucks is more than
a place. It’s a portal to what’s new and hip and cool (within taste) in our society. And
Starbucks is not merely an employer. It makes its Baristas shareholders so that they have a
stake in the outcome of the business and, importantly, leads them to (better) serving
customers.
Key points to remember while positioning:

There are so many factors that a marketer needs to consider for positioning a product or
brand. The key issues or points to be remembered while positioning are briefly mentioned
as follows
 The strategic position should resonate with customer, differentiate the firm from its
competitors, and reflect and supported by the culture, strategy and capabilities of the
business
 While positioning, firm should consider formulating a positioning concept for a particular
brand only not for all the competing brands that consists of product category/class and firm
should follow that positioning concept over the life of the brand/product
 Corporate/brand name should not be narrow; should reflect the vision of the firm; should
not be identical with the name of an established firm and use of initials as name is
meaningless and hence not suggested
 Unnecessary line extension creates confusion and hence decline in market share (Trout &
Ries, but Aaker & McLoughlinpointed out that a broad product offering indicates substance,
acceptance, leadership, and often the convenience of one-stop shopping.
 Products should be positioned in a particular market segment as products positioned in the
wider market to appeal to all were not able to establish in the marketplace Treacy &
Wiersema supported this as they pointed out that industry leaders are focused in the narrow
market segment. But pointing out that ‘Prospector’ firms are opportunistic and show interest
in new and broader markets.
 Management should not forget what made the brand successful and should not create any
confusion to the customers/prospects (Trout & Ries, 1972) and multiple concepts may
confuse buyers and may weaken the effectiveness of positioning actions
 Management of a new brand should not try to compete on head-to-head against a product
leader. Focusing to a niche market or to identify a position where strong competitors have
weaknesses is suggested. It also suggested that successful positioning can be done on the
basis of a narrow product focus. By pointed out that one way to creating competitive
innovation is to identify loose bricks.
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 Positioning should be in a way to adapt in the changing environment and management
should be aggressive enough to utilise the opportunity (if any) by taking flexible strategies
which are appropriate for the company
 Trout & Ries suggested that it is extremely difficult for a company serving in any product
category to establish a position in a different product category as evidence from the industries
confirmed that transfer of skills to other products marketing situations was not successful.
This view is not always acceptable as existing competitive advantages could be used to build
sustainability and competences could be enhanced if they are applied and shared.
 Key to success of a firm in product category is not product innovation or marketing skill
but to establish the position against any opportunity prior to competitors But pointing out
that perception creation is easy if firm’s offering is based on product or service innovation.

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