Leland D. ShaefferPLMAssociates

Positioning Your Product And Your Brand

The Webinar Will Start Shortly

Tuesday 16 February 2015, 16:30pm – 17:30pm (UAE)

Housekeeping• Slides will be available on our SlideShare page; the link will be

emailed to you

• Recording of the webinar will be available to download; the link will be emailed to you

• Take the time to complete a post-webinar survey that will pop up at the end

•• You can type your questions throughout the session

• Time will be allocated in the end for the speaker to address your questions

Your Presenter

Leland (Lee) ShaefferManaging Director – PLM Associates

Lee is on the advisory board of the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) and is a Vice Chairman Emeritus of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). He was the recipient of the AIPMM “Trainer of theYear” award.

His expertise includes strategic business and product planning, product design, product management and marketing. He has held senior positions in marketing, business development,product management and engineering at companies including Apple Computer, Unisys and Imagery/Eastman Kodak. He was also a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he specialised in product and market strategy.

Webinar Objectives• Review the important aspects of

positioning

• Discuss several common positioning tools

• Equip you to:– Determine positioning for a new product

and/or brand– Evaluate the positioning for an existing

offering and identify potential improvements

Agenda

• Four Key Positioning Elements

• Determining Your Positioning

• The Perceptual Map as a Tool

• Thirteen Examples of Ways You Can Position Your Product/Brand

What is Positioning?• Positioning: Arranging for an product or brand to

occupy a clear, desirable and distinctive place - relative to competition - in the minds of target consumers– Clear: easy for the customer to understand and remember

– Relevant: desirable and compelling for the customer

– Distinctive: different from the competition in way that is meaningful to the customer

• (Ultimately the customer,not the company, determines the actual position)

A Perceptual Map

Convenient

Inconvenient

Innovative

Con

serv

ativ

e Southeastern 1st Bank

BNY

Pierce Bank

First Brighton

TattingerRoyal Bank

1. Target Customer: the market segment(s) for which the positioning applies• Different segments may require different

positioning

Four Key Positioning Elements

PLMAssociates

Frame of Reference: Something that is familiar to the customers that they can use as the basis for comparison (i.e., evaluating the relative merits of the product/brand being positioned).

• May be expressed as:– A product category

(e.g., smart phones)

– The core benefit provided (e.g., mobile communications and information)

– The leading/exemplar product or brand in the category (e.g., Apple iPhone 6)

Key Positioning Element #2

PLMAssociates

Sports Car

Points-of-Difference: How is your product/brand better than the alternatives in the frame of reference? Why should the customer buy your offering versus the others? • Usually is an expression of the

“Unique Selling Proposition” or“Compelling Value Proposition”

Key Positioning Element #3

Reason to Believe: why should customers believe the claims made in the positioning statement?

May be expressed as:• A credible explanation of how the claim is achieved• Third party awards that reinforce the claim• Customer testimonials and reviews

Key Positioning Element #4

Airline of the Year: Emirates

ExampleFor (price conscious replenishment shoppers),

ALDI food storesoffer everyday essentials at the lowest prices possiblewhich is made feasible by:• Concentrating purchasing power by

carrying only the most frequentlypurchased grocery and household items

• Offering ALDI select (store) brands• Eliminating every feature that increases

cost (and prices) so you pay only for food — not frills.

Targeted customers

Frame of reference (category)

Point-of-difference

Reasons to believe

Based on “Corporate Information” description at //aldi.usPLMAssociates

11

Determining Your Positioning

Specify the target market/segment

Identify the “Key Value Proposition”, based on • Relevance• Distinctiveness• Believability

Develop/communicate the desired positioning

Determine the position in target customers’ mindsMake adjustments as appropriate

1.

2.

3.

4.

2.

1.

1.

2.

The Perceptual Map as a Tool• Displays the current position and, when done

periodically, shows changes due to competitive moves or shifts in the market

• Identifies unoccupied space that could become the distinct place for the product or brand to occupy

A

LuxuryValue

Conservative

Trendy

B

(Actual and Desired)

(Actual)

B(Desired)

B(Potential)

Several Maps May Be Required• Since customers within a given market

segment typically use multiple decision criteria, several maps are usually required to fully visualize the competitive landscape

“D” (2/5)

“C” (2/5)

(2) Weak Position

“F” (5/5)

“E” (5/5)

(3) Strong Position

Attribute “B” (5/5)

Attribute “A” (5/5)

(1) Weak Position

Numbers in parentheses indicate relative importance to customers (“5” = very important)

Innovation

HighLow

Ease Of Use

Low

High

S

Apple

Price

LowHigh

Ease Of Use

Low

High

S

Huawei

Ease of Use: High

Low

Power/Speed

Low

Low (Value)

Features

Basic

Quality: High

Low

HighLowRichHigh

S Innovation

SS

Raw DataPrice: High

Example: Smart Phones

Source: ad-hoc focus groups: Dubai, 9-Nov-2014, n = 14; Shanghai, 29-Oct-2014, n = 10

Price

Lower

Higher

S

Features

RicherLess Rich

SamsungPrice

Low

High

S Features

RichBasic

Samsung

1. Key Features/Attributes

2. Benefits

3. Price: a) Low (bargain)

b) Moderately low (value)

c) Moderately high (premium)

d) High (status)

4. Relative to the Leader

Thirteen Positioning Examples

RALSTON

Sources: Paul Temporal, “Advanced Brand Management”; PLM Associates

5. Usage

6. Target User

7. Problem –Solution

8. Emotion

9. Personality

10. Aspiration

11. Corporate Identity

12. Causes and Values

13. Leadership (#1 or #2 in category)

Summary• “Positioning” is the act of establishing a desirable

“position” in the minds of the target customers. The message must be clear, relevant and distinctive

• Key elements include “target customer”, “frame-of-reference”, “points-of-difference” and “reasons to believe”

• A perceptual map is a useful tool for determining the actual position, detecting changes over time and identifying potential unoccupied space for a new position

• There are a variety of attributes that can be used to position a product/brand – choose one that provides the greatest clarity, relevance and distinctiveness

Questions