I discussed positioning in my previous post when I had written about the individual brilliance of David Mamet and how he had, perhaps inadvertently, positioned himself as a macho and direct-to-the-point writer in our minds.
This led me to ponder about one of the definitive books on positioning called Positioning – The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout.
Here are my thoughts on this brash but still relevant book.
Ries and Trout did a phenomenal job in explaining the concept of positioning in their book. The use of examples throughout the book illustrated the concept effectively.
The lesson of the book was clear-cut: Knowing how to position your product in the head of your consumers and knowing how to effectively create your brand and take the appropriate steps to implement a positioning strategy is critical to success.
The basic question is simple: How do you differentiate your product from competing products in a way that is attractive to a customer?
Solutions:
- Describe the benefits of your products in the simplest possible ways. e.g. Skittles – Taste the rainbow.
- Complement product with supporting billboard and TV spots. Priceline – No one deals like we do, Name your own price.
- Have funny-as-hell ads deliver your message (no booking fees, anyone?) and stay in the consumer’s head.
Problems with the concept:
Singular product differences are often too small to matter as today’s consumer is wary about the truthfulness of product claims. The ability of advertising to achieve effective reach and frequency is enormously expensive, and that, in a way, does inhibit your ability to build a brand. Positioning can work well however, if you are the first to market, your products have attributes that make it the best or if you are the only player in the game.
Mr. Ries and Mr. Trout provide a list of questions aimed at helping determine your product’s position :
1. What position do you own?
2. What position do you want to own?
3. Whom must you out-gun?
4: Do you have enough money?
5. Can you stick it out?
6. Do you match your position?
The above questions are very general and in our metrics-driven world where we try to quantify the results of almost everything we do in terms of marketing, the above questions fall a bit short in terms of quantifiable results.
The book highlights the core of any marketing or promotion – perception is reality. It doesn’t matter how good your product is, or how hard you try, what matters is how your target market perceives you as opposed to your competition.
It’s important to also know that this exercise, if conducted poorly, could result in devastating consequences for the brand or product. History is littered with the carcasses of failed products as a result of positioning (or lack of) failures, so beware!
A good example is the Catholic Church who despite all their good works of charity are perceived as a traditionalist and bureaucratic institution that is not in touch with current realities. Another example is Dell who despite their first mover advantage on the Internet focused on the business market and economies of scale and neglected the home market, product design and customer value. HP was quick to recognize the gap and moved quickly to increase share.
In summary, I’d like to state that positioning is a marketing concept with a psychological base. It’s really about how the human mind works. The principles described in this book apply across all of our lives – from how we are viewed by our friends to why we affiliate with a particular political party, brand or other social cause.
