Definition of Positioning:-
" Positioning can be defined as an act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in mind of target market."
Brand positioning refers to “target consumer’s” reason to buy your brand in preference to others. It ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered by the brand’s benefits/reasons to buy; and it focuses at all points of contact with the consumer.
Brand positioning must make sure that:
* Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ?
* Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ?
* Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ?
* Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ?
* Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the consumer ?
* Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ?
* Is it able to support and boost up the organization ?
In order to create a distinctive place in the market, a niche market has to be carefully chosen and a differential advantage must be created in their mind. Brand positioning is a medium through which an organization can portray it’s customers what it wants to achieve for them and what it wants to mean to them. Brand positioning forms customer’s views and opinions.
Brand Positioning can be defined as an activity of creating a brand offer in such a manner that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the target customer’s mind. For instance-Kotak Mahindra positions itself in the customer’s mind as one entity- “Kotak ”- which can provide customized and one-stop solution for all their financial services needs. It has an unaided top of mind recall. It intends to stay with the proposition of “Think Investments, Think Kotak”. The positioning you choose for your brand will be influenced by the competitive stance you want to adopt.
Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of similarity and difference to ascertain the right brand identity and to create a proper brand image. Brand Positioning is the key of marketing strategy. A strong brand positioning directs marketing strategy by explaining the brand details, the uniqueness of brand and it’s similarity with the competitive brands, as well as the reasons for buying and using that specific brand. Positioning is the base for developing and increasing the required knowledge and perceptions of the customers. It is the single feature that sets your service apart from your competitors. For instance- Kingfisher stands for youth and excitement. It represents brand in full flight.
There are various positioning errors, such as-
1. Under positioning- This is a scenario in which the customer’s have a blurred and unclear idea of the brand.
2. Over positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have too limited a awareness of the brand.
3. Confused positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a confused opinion of the brand.
4. Double Positioning- This is a scenario in which customers do not accept the claims of a brand.
Positioning is a deadly word, it is the battle of brain.If segmentation strategy is right but customers are not conceiving the same image,positioning goes wrong.Moreover it is not very easy to get the image,distinctive place and target market.It is the entire effort of marketers,considering each and every single factor for creating the image of the product or service.Its an effort of entire brand building.It requires holistic approach of entire organisation.
Eg: Lifebuoy- It was positioned as a toilet soap & hence it has been very difficult to change its image in customers mind to be a bath soap. Although it can be differentiated on the basis of health related issues but its positioning is difficult to change.
-Impression of PSU banks.
-Subway in Kharghar: Right place and well accepted/responded by foreigners,other mkt segments but is not doing great business in such locality.
-HSBC The Worlds Local Bank: Introduced the first ATM machine in India, but now the scene has changed.
-DHL: After 40 years of its business, Is it the same message in its vision and mission statement being followed and implemented???
-Education Domain: Institutions, if these service providers consider students as customers their positioning will decline & may go out of the mkt.
-Banks/Consulting firms are large in number today, they are unaware of their target mkts.
-Crafting the brand positioning by respective bride/groom sides.
Value Proposition: Eg: M&M's Scorpio(SUV), Domino's Pizza- The Pizza delivery experts(30 mins delivery) both provide unique offering.
How as a Brand Manager you are crafting the Positioning?
The significance of use of touchpoints is relevant in this context and hence every single touchpoint is important for the marketer.
For instance: Delay in communication with the customer care executives, Meru Cabs, Sim services.
-Maggi,Domino's to retain their brand.
-Sony: Connotation of price and quality(The best feature observed in India, thats unique positioning)
Image: What you create?
Positioning: What customers feel?
If both, the image and positioning are same/right and occupy the same place in customers mind, the positioning of that brand strucks the right chord.If the image,distinctive place and target mkt goes into the right direction you can very well craft the positioning.But the loyalty of customer to a brand should also be considered, as in case of Indian consumers who think differently at different point of time loyalty for a specific brand goes for a toss while other consumers like in US, people are more loyal towards the brand they prefer.Hence the effect of positioning varies according to the consumer behavior.
Brand Positioning Guru's: Jack Trout and Al Ries.(Read Brand Positioning by Jack Trout and Al Ries, and some more literature on Positioning).
