Types
of Positioning
To position
our product in the mind of the consumer and to occupy a favourable
position in relation to our competitors we have various options:
Positioning
depending on attibutes
A very
typical option is to position a product depending on the attributes
or service of the product. The chosen attribute shoud be valued
by the consumers.
The
ideal positioning is a positioning that no other competitor has.
We
can choose a positioning so that we have direct competitors that
are using the same attribute but we have at hand a competitive advantage.
Another
possibility is to use an attribute that a competitor has but which
they have not communicated very well and which is unknown by the
consumers.
For
example, if we position ourselves as a restaurant which offers the
best fresh seafood we can be the prefered option when people think
about going out to eat seafood. Cars can be positioned according
to their many attributes e.g. power, speed, design, reliability,
petrol consumption, etc. Volvo, for example, is positioned as a
safe car and in its adverts appeals to responsable parents worried
about the safety of their children.
Also
certain services are frequently positioned according to certain
attributes valued by the consumers. For example, certain courier
companies are positioned as the best option to send documents and
in only a few hours. Many of these companies have adverts which
claim they can deliver to a destination before 10 in the morning
or they will compensate the client.
Positioning
depending on the competition
One easy
way for a company to position a product is to compare it to an
important competitor. Comparative adverts which mention a competitor
can help comsumers place our brand in a determined position in their
minds.
If,
for example, we are a small bank we can give people the image that
we are close, friendly and human, compared to a big bank which deals
with you as one of the rest. Pepsi is positioned against Coca Cola
as the young, new generation's drink. The new against the classic.
Positioning
depending on the use
We can
position a specific brand as the best for a specific use.
For example, placing our fruit juice as the best to mix with alcoholic
drinks.
Positioning
depending on use allows many variables. For example, we can place
our beer as the best to have with friends. A popular North American
brand of low alcoholic beer has become renowned as the beer that
you can drink alot of and not feel full. This positioning has greatly
increased sales.
Positioning
through life style
A large
percentage of products are positioned depending on life style.
They are positioned as the best alternative for a type of person,
with a certain way of facing life. For example, a product can be
differentiated for being ideal for "yupis", or the car
that social conscious people should buy to help ecology, to be the
most respectful with the environment.
Many
visible products which other consumer's see like clothes, products
consumed with friends or cars are usually positioned depending on
life style.
