Art of Marketing
Chapter 10. Positioning Strategies
“To attract attractive people,
you must be attractive.” — Jim Rohn
Positioning is an important part of the marketing mix and marketing strategy.
Focusing on positioning strategy means structuring your business’s position
in the market so that you are perceived
as different and better than your competitors.
How do you want your products,
services and company to be perceived by your customers?
What do you want them to say about you
and your product or service?
How would you like them to describe you to others?
If someone called one of your customers
for a recommendation or recommendation,
what would you like your customer to say?
And most importantly,
how do you position yourself ideally in the minds
and hearts of your customers?
In sales, the point is not that you’re selling the product,
you’re ‘selling’ yourself. – Aysa Angel
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What words do you own?
Your positioned location includes words
that customers use to describe you,
your products or services to others.
These are the words that appear
when your company,
product or service name is mentioned
or when customers think of them.
In what words are you described in the mind of the customer?
What words would be useful to you
if they appeared in the customer’s mind?
What words can encourage customers
to buy from you more easily and refer friends to buy from you?
Your answers to these questions should be well prepared.
They are an important factor determining your success or failure in business.
Do what you have to do
until you can do what you want to do. ― Oprah Winfrey
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Classic Marketing
Years ago, Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote a book called Positioning:
The Battle for Your Mind.
It is now a marketing classic that anyone in business should read
– even if it makes them a little embarrassed to read through it.
What Ries and Trout refer to is considered
by most to be the pulse of success in modern marketing.
Sit down with your key employees and ask them,
“What words do we want people to use when referring to us?”
Then ask:
“What do we have to do,
starting today,
to activate those words in the minds of our customers
as a result of the good impression they have with us?”
Don’t want success, Deserve it. ― Vikram Gill
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Be well prepared
Sam Walton is the richest man on the planet,
with a fortune of more than $100 billion.
He started out by opening a discount clothing store in Bentonvill Arkansas
when he was young.
He had only one wish for his store to be known
as one that cares about its customers
and offers quality goods at affordable prices.
Not the lowest price,
but good quality at an affordable price.
He sought to achieve that realization
by making Walmart the most successful retail chain in history.
What awareness do you want to create?
How do you benefit from being perceived by your customers?
Would you like to be described as a leader in quality?
What about service leadership?
Low cost leader?
Think about how you want people to think
and feel about you and your business.
What can you do today to create that awareness?
IBM has generated the best customer service awareness of any company
in the world.
That perception is so pervasive
that people who don’t know much about IBM will tell you
that the company provides excellent customer service.
External perception is only complete
if accompanied by significant fundamental changes
within your business.
In other words,
you cannot create a false perception that will last forever.
Customer perceptions must be a true reflection
of the organization’s internal structure and values.
It can only be based on how you treat your customers,
wherever you are.
So, how can you position your products or services
so that they stand out from your competitors’ products and services?
How can you make people perceive your products
and services as different,
superior,
and worth buying from your competitors?
The best way to get what you want is
to help other people get what they want.” –Zig Ziglar
