Establishing
a Positioning Strategy
1.- Analyze
the competitors.
We need to identify who the competitors are. Answer the question,
who are our competitors? the answer to this can be as obvious as it
first appears. For example, for Coca Cola the competitors can be the
rest of the coke manufacturers, but they can also consider the different
soft drink manufacturers or other alternative drinks. To identify
our competitors one possibility is to analyse what products the consumer
considers alternative.
2.- Determine
how the consumers perceive the different competitors.
You will have to study how the consumers perceive and evaluate different
competitors. There are various techniques to determine the position
of the different competitors in the mind of the consumers. Therefore,
we should analyze the consumers in depth.
3.- Select
the positioning.
Once we have the different competitors placed we can choose the position
we want to occupy. It is a good idea to choose a position which we
can defend and that is not taken by a powerful competitor.
4.- Negotiate
the positioning.
You need to maintain the positioning for a period of time. A big part
of company actions, especially marketing activities, are going to
influence the positioning in the mind of the consumer. Therefore,
you will need to co-ordinate the different marketing actions. It is
necessary to have a continuous and systematic brand image and positioning
management.
