Market Positioning
From Virbus
Contents |
[edit] 1 Summary
Market positioning refers to the process of establishing and maintaining a distinctive place in the market for an organisation and/ or its individual offers.
[edit] 2 Why should you use it?
Competing organisations play a prominent role by providing a frame of reference required for defining a position. Based on a realistic assessment of the organisation’s position in the market, the decision can be made as to what market segments to target and how to design the product/service. In a saturated marketplace full of me-too products/service positioning is vital for differentiation.
[edit] 3 Why has it been developed and who developed it?
The emergence of market positioning can be traced back to the 1960s. Positioning is something (perception) that happens in the minds of the target market. It is the aggregate perception the market has of a particular organisation, product or service in relation to the market's perceptions of competitors in the same category. Thus, the objective of positioning is to create a distinctive place in the mind of potential customers (market). A position that evokes images of an organisation in the customers' (market) mind; images that differentiate the organisation from the competition and also a place that can satisfy market needs and wants.
[edit] 4 When should you use it?
Since market segmentation is based on the notion that different organisations appeal to different types of customers, target market segments must be selected before marketers can begin to entice these potential customers. Thus, an effective positioning provides a competitive edge to an organisation that is trying to convey its attractiveness to the target market.
[edit] 5 How does it work?
The positioning process consists of the various steps needed to develop an effective position. This process must be continuous to keep up with changes in the environment including the changing needs of the customer and the competitors. Generally the process of positioning involves: Defining the market in which the product/service (or brand) will compete Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product/service 'space' Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each product/service on the relevant attributes Determine each product's/service’s share of mind Determine each product's/service’s current location in the product/service space Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to as an ideal vector) Examine the fit between: The position of your product/service The position of the ideal vector Position.
[edit] 6 Related topics/tools
Differentiation perceptual mapping Re-positioning De-positioning
[edit] 7 links/sources
Aaker, D. A. & Shamsby, J. G. 1982. Positioning your product. Business Horizons (May/June), pp. 56-62.
Chacko, H. E. 1997. Positioning a tourism destination to gain a competitive edge. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research. http://www.hotel-online.com/Trends/AsiaPacificJournal/PositionDestination.html
Crompton, J. 1992. Positioning: the example of the lower Rio Grande valley in the winter long stay destination market. Journal of Travel Research 31:2, pp. 20-26.
DiMingo, F. 1988. The fine art of positioning. The Journal of Business Strategy (March/April), pp. 34-38.
Orth, U. R. & Tureckova, J. 2002. Positioning the destination product ‘Southern Moravia’. Journal of Vacation Marketing 8:3, pp. 247-262.