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Positioning for Market Leadership
Describe your offering in a way that is consistent with what people already believe to be true
Because of the proliferation of new technologies, users are constantly bombarded with new products making it difficult for them to understand and then select from an overwhelming number of choices. Meanwhile, many small companies fighting for recognition in a sea of competitive alternatives can’t understand why their innovative products aren’t selling well.
The solution to both problems is positioning and messaging: creating a unique depiction of a company and its products (within a chosen market segment) and then building support throughout the market infrastructure or ecosystem. When combined with effective messaging, positioning helps high-tech companies deal with such problems as:
- short product lifecycles
- rapid response from competitors
- the inability to differentiate
- loss of market leadership
Customers “position” a product and company in relative terms of importance and value in their minds based on what the company does, not what it says.
To position a product effectively, you must know how well customers understand your product offering and how they currently perceive its value.
Done correctly it will establish credibility and make your product more valuable than alternative offerings.
The key to successful positioning, differentiation and competitive advantage is describing your product in terms of “the current market environment.” (Ted Levitt describes this in an article called “Marketing Success Through the Differentiation of Anything”)
You’ll learn about these key concepts:
- Positioning is the single greatest influence on a customer’s buying decision
- Each customer evaluates products in the market according to their mental map of the market
- Positioning exists in customers’ minds, not in positioning statements
- People do not easily or willingly change their minds about a product’s positioning
- Positioning must first demonstrate a product’s relevance, using supportable, credible, and factual terms
- Making the product easier to buy through effective positioning makes the product easier to sell.
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