9

Crafting the Brand Positioning

and Dealing with Competition
 Chapter Questions
ƒ How can a firm choose and communicate an
effective positioning?
ƒ How are brands and offerings differentiated?
ƒ How can a firm identify its primary competitors
and analyze their strategies, objectives,
strengths, and weaknesses?
ƒ How can market leaders, challengers,
followers, and nichers compete effectively?

9-2
 What is Positioning?

Positioning is the
act of designing the
company’s offering
and image to
occupy a distinctive
place in the mind of
the target market.

9-3
 Competitive Frame of Reference

Category
Membership – the
products or sets of
products with which
a brand competes
and which function
as close substitutes.

9-4
 Conveying Category
Membership
ƒ Announcing category benefits
ƒ Comparing to exemplars
ƒ Relying on the product descriptor

9-5
 Value Propositions

ƒ Perdue Chicken
ƒ More tender golden chicken at a moderate

premium price
ƒ Domino’s
ƒ A good hot pizza, delivered to your door

within 30 minutes of ordering, at a moderate

price

9-6
POP versus POD

9-7
 Defining Associations (POD,
POP)
Points-of-difference Points-of-parity
Attributes or benefits Associations that
consumers strongly are not necessarily
associate with a unique to the brand
brand, positively but may be shared
evaluate, and with other brands
believe they could
not find to the same Category POPs vs.
extent with a Competitive POPs
competitive brand

9-8
Point-of-Difference Criteria

Desirable
(relevant, desirable, believable)

Deliverable
(feasible, communicable, sustainable)

Differentiating

9-9
 Examples of Negatively
Correlated Attributes and
Benefits
ƒ Low-price vs. High ƒ Powerful vs. Safe
quality ƒ Strong vs. Refined
ƒ Taste vs. Low ƒ Ubiquitous vs.
calories Exclusive
ƒ Nutritious vs. Good ƒ Varied vs. Simple
tasting
ƒ Efficacious vs. Mild

9-10
Perceptual Map: Current
Perceptions

9-11
Perceptual Map: Possibilities

9-12
Brand Mantras

9-13
Designing a Brand Mantra

Communicate

Simplify

Inspire

9-14
Constructing a
Brand Positioning Bull’s-Eye

9-15
 Differentiation Strategies
Product Services
ƒ Form ƒ Ordering ease

ƒ Features ƒ Delivery

ƒ Customization ƒ Installation

ƒ Performance quality ƒ Customer training

ƒ Conformance quality ƒ Customer consulting

ƒ Durability ƒ Maintenance and

ƒ Reliability repair
ƒ Repairability ƒ Return and

ƒ Style, design
exchange policy
9-16
 Differentiation Strategies
Personnel Channel
ƒ Competence ƒ Market coverage

ƒ Courtesy ƒ Expertise

ƒ Credibility ƒ Channel performance

ƒ Reliability
Image
ƒ Responsiveness
ƒ Identity
ƒ Communication
ƒ Image

9-17
Five Forces Determining Market
Attractiveness

9-18
 Analyzing
Competitors

ƒ Strategies
ƒ Objectives
ƒ Strengths and
weaknesses

9-19
 Industry Concept of
Competition
ƒ Number of sellers and degree of
differentiation
ƒ Entry, mobility, and exit barriers
ƒ Cost structure
ƒ Degree of vertical integration
ƒ Degree of globalization

9-20
Customer Ratings of
Competitors

9-21
Hypothetical
Market Structure

9-22
Market-Leader Strategies:
Expanding the Total Market
ƒ New customers
ƒ New uses
ƒ More usage

9-23
Market-Leader Strategies:
Six Types of Defense Strategies

9-24
 Market-Leader Strategies:
Expanding Market Share
ƒ Possibility of provoking antitrust action
ƒ Economic cost
ƒ Pursuing the wrong marketing-mix strategy
ƒ The effect of increased market share on
actual and perceived quality

9-25
 Market-Challenger Strategies

ƒ Define the strategic objective and opponents

ƒ Choose a general attack strategy
ƒ Choose a specific attack strategy

9-26
Market-Challenger Attack
Strategies

Frontal Attack Flank Attack

Encirclement
Bypass Attack
Attack

Guerrilla Warfare

9-27
 Specific Attack Strategies

ƒ Price discounts ƒ Improved services

ƒ Lower-priced ƒ Distribution
goods innovation
ƒ Value-priced goods ƒ Manufacturing-cost
ƒ Prestige goods reduction
ƒ Product ƒ Intensive
proliferation advertising
ƒ Product innovation promotion

9-28
 Market-Follower Strategies

ƒ Counterfeiter
ƒ Cloner
ƒ Imitator
ƒ Adapter

9-29
 Market-Nicher Strategies:
Niche Specialist Roles
ƒ End-User Specialist ƒ Product-Line
ƒ Vertical-Level Specialist
Specialist ƒ Job-Shop Specialist
ƒ Customer-Size ƒ Quality-Price
Specialist Specialist
ƒ Specific-Customer ƒ Service-Specialist
Specialist ƒ Channel Specialist
ƒ Geographic
Specialist

9-30
Emotional Branding

Strong culture

Communication style

Emotional hook

9-31
Brand Narratives and
Storytelling

9-32
 Strengths and Weaknesses

ƒ Share of market
ƒ Share of mind
ƒ Share of heart

9-33
 Steps in Benchmarking
ƒ Determine which functions or processes to
benchmark
ƒ Identify the key performance variables to
measure
ƒ Identify the best-in-class companies
ƒ Measure the performance of best-in-class
companies
ƒ Measure the company’s performance
ƒ Specify programs/actions to close the gap
ƒ Implement and monitor results
9-34
New Ways to Use a Brand

9-35
Protecting Market Share

Responsive anticipation

Creative anticipation

9-36
The Concept of Optimal Market
Share

9-37
Other Competitive Strategies

Market
Challengers

Market Market
Followers Nichers

9-38
 Balancing Orientations

ƒ Competitor-centered
ƒ Customer-centered

9-39