BY M.

HAROON RASITH

BRAND POSITIONING:


Although there are different definitions of Brand Positioning, probably the most common is: identifying a market niche for a brand, product or service utilizing traditional marketing placement strategies (i.e. price, promotion, distribution, packaging, and competition).
Brand positioning refers to target consumers reason to buy your brand in preference to others. It is ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered by the brands benefits/reasons to buy; and it focuses at all points of contact with the consumer.

1. Brand Attributes
What the brand delivers through features and benefits to consumers.

2. Consumer Expectations
 What consumers expect to receive from the brand.

3. Competitor attributes
 What the other brands in the market offer through features and benefits to

consumers.

4. Price
 An easily quantifiable factor Your prices vs. your competitors prices.

5. Consumer perceptions
 The perceived quality and value of your brand in consumer s minds (i.e., does

your brand offer the cheap solution, the good value for the money solution, the high-end, high-price tag solution, etc.

Re-positioning involves changing the identity of a product, relative to the identity of competing products, in the collective minds of the target market. De-positioning involves attempting to change the identity of competing products, relative to the identity of your own product, in the collective minds of the target market.

Effective Brand Positioning is contingent upon identifying and communicating a brand's uniqueness, differentiation and verifiable value. It is important to note that "me too" brand positioning contradicts the notion of differentiation and should be avoided at all costs. This type of copycat brand positioning only works if the business offers its solutions at a significant discount over the other competitor(s). Generally, the brand positioning process involves: Identifying the business's direct competition (could include tertiary players that offer your product/service amongst a larger portfolio of solutions) Understanding how each competitor is positioning their business today (e.g. claiming to be the fastest, cheapest, largest, the #1 provider, etc.) Documenting the provider's own positioning as it exists today (may not exist if startup business) Comparing the company's positioning to its competitors' to identify viable areas for differentiation Developing a distinctive, differentiating and value-based brand positioning statement, key messages and customer value propositions.

Generally, the product positioning process involves: Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the relevant buyers are) Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product 'space' Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each product on the relevant attributes Determine each product's share of mind Determine each product's current location in the product space Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to as an ideal vector) Examine the fit between: interest and started a conversation, you'll know you're on the right track.
 The position of your product  The position of the ideal vector

More generally, there are three types of positioning concepts: Functional positions
 Solve problems  Provide benefits to customers  Get favorable perception by investors (stock profile ) and lenders    

Symbolic positions

Self-image enhancement Ego identification Belongingness and social meaningfulness Affective fulfillment

Experiential positions
 Provide sensory stimulation  Provide cognitive stimulation