Good morning, Marketers

1. Good morning, Marketers • Please take out your Product Mix homework so we can discuss. • Today – we will cover Positioning and work on last major grade of the 9 weeks. 

2. Positioning

3. Define competitive advantage • A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices.

4. Positioning • Positioning is how your target market defines you in relation to your competitors.

5. Purpose? • The purpose of positioning is to make your product or service stand out in a crowd. Positioning is important because you are competing with all the noise out there competing for your potential customers’ attention. If you can stand out with a unique benefit, you have a chance at getting their attention.

6. Notes… • Positioning is about how products are perceived in the minds of consumers. • How a company sees itself and sees its products are not always the way that customers and potential customers view the products.

7. Discuss the relationship between the target market and positioning. • When positioning your product/service, it is important to focus on how your target market perceives you. After all, the target market makes up those consumers that are most likely to purchase your product/service. • Key tip: you can never make everyone happy, but you must make your target market happy in order to survive.

8. Discuss the relationship between the competition and positioning. • Is our product the first in its market? • If not, how are our competitors positioned? • Do we have enough money to position our product/service similarly to the market leader and thus take over as the market leader? 4. If not, we must find an unoccupied position in the market that the target market cares about. Example: Target was certainly not the first mass merchandiser, but it was the first to successfully position itself as the “trendy, hip mass merchandiser” in the eyes of its target market.

9. Positioning Strategies There are seven positioning strategies that can be pursued: • Product Attributes: What are the specific product attributes? • Benefits: What are the benefits to the customers? • Usage Occasions: When/how can the product be used? • Users: Identify a class of users. • Against a Competitor: Positioned directly against a competitor. • Away from a Competitor: Positioned away from competitor. • Product Classes: Compared to different classes of products.

10. Marketing Mix Elements • Each of the 4 P’s should be examined as potential tactics for differentiating your product/service and reinforcing its positioning in the minds of the target market. • Ex: Krispy Kreme

11. Product/Service • What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy? • How and where will the customer use it? • How is it differentiated versus your competitors’ products/services?

12. Place • Where do buyers look for your product or service? • If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue? • How can you access the right distribution channels? • Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies? • What do your competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate what you do from them?

13. Price • What is the value of the product or service to the buyer? • Are there established price points for products or services in this area? • Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin? • What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market? • How will your price compare with your competitors?

14. Promotion • Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market? • Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct mail? Through PR? On the Internet? • When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions? • How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?

15. Positioning activity Ever wonder about the laundry detergent product category? Why do several companies produce the majority of laundry brands? For example, Procter & Gamble markets Tide, Gain, Era, Cheer, Ivory, and Bold. . . among others. How does P&G differentiate these brands? How many different messages can you develop about laundry detergent? Using the Web and a little research at a retail outlet that sells laundry detergent, conduct an analysis of the P&G brands of laundry detergent. What are the distinguishing features of each brand -- and are they clearly communicated to the consumer? What are the target markets for each brand? Are the positions different enough to avoid cannibalization?