Positioning products to acquire a desired business image

1. Positioning products to acquire a desired business image 4.05

2. What is Product Positioning • This is the image that your product projects or how your product stands out in regard to your competition • Positioning is how your products are perceived in the minds of customers

3. Types of Positioning Strategies • Price and Quality • Features and Benefits • In relation to competition • By product user

4. Positioning by Price and Quality • Often the price of the product is high owing to its high quality and the product is positioned in a way that the super quality of the product justifies its high price. • Often higher priced items offer more services, features or better performance • On the other hand, other brands are appealing on the basis of their low price although they may appear to be less quality • The price/quality product positioning is so useful and pervasive that it is appropriate to consider it separately • Examples of positioning by high price: designer clothes, watches, shoes, luxury cars • Examples of positioning by low price: Sears, Wal-mart, JC Penny

5. Positioning by Features and Benefits • The most frequently used strategy for positioning • “Features” are physical characteristics about the product-size, color, style, etc. • “Benefits” are what those features do for • Examples within the auto industry: • Honda and Toyota emphasize economy and reliability • Volvo stresses its safety and durability • Imported automobiles like Mercedes and Porsche stress their excellent performance in handling and engineering • Other cars for their shape, color, style • Examples in the toothpaste industry: • Crest positioned itself as a cavity fighter • Aim is good-tasting • Aqua-Fresh offers both cavity-fighting and breath-freshening

6. Positioning by Product User • Another positioning approach is to associate aproduct with a user or a class of users • Examples: • Cosmetic companies have used models or movie stars to position their products • Nike has used professional athletes, like Michael Jordan, to position their products • The “For Dummies” series of instruction books attract people who want to learn about a topic that they do not know little about • Johnson and Johnson positions their shampoos for those with babies or small children

7. Positioning in relation to competition • This strategy is important when trying to secure an advantage over another business • A business can either position themselves against a competitor or away from a competition • Against a competitor-positioning your product directly against a competitor; using a superiority claim • Away from a competitor-positioning your products as the opposite from your competitor to help you get attention in a market dominated by some other product; Example: 7Up calling itself the Uncola