Assignment no-1Summary of “Positioning” topic,

Sagar Ajay Agrawal, Roll no-23 Books referred: - Oxford( IGCSE)

Cambridge (As n A2 level)Philip Kotler- Principles Of Marketing

What is Marketing mix ?

It is a term used to describe all the activities, which go into marketing a product (it includes both goods and services)The producer might need to find out through market research what customers want from the product then they may change the product to produce what consumers want. Once this is achieved, the producers has to convince the consumers that their product is the one that they want and it meets their need than any of their competitors’ product. Producer do this by branding their product. Then, it is then advertised to make consumers believe that it is different to that of any other brands

All of these activities are part of Marketing mix for a product. They are often summarized as 4ps :-Product :this applies to product itself, i.e its design and quality.Price: This is the price at which it is sold .A comparison must be made with the competitors’ product .Promotion: This is how the product is advertised and promoted. What media will be used? It includes offers ,discounts.Place: This refers to channels of distribution that are selected, i.e what distribution channel will be used? Will the manufactures sell their product directly through shops n wholesalers.Packaging is also known as 5th p in marketing mix. Bt it is included as part of both product and promotion.

Eg:-a high-priced perfume should be wrapped in expensive looking packaging, and advertised by glamorous women, but then it should not be sold in small food stores. The “Place” would not fit in with the other parts of the marketing mix.

What is Market Positioning? Consumers are overloaded with information about products and services. They cannot re-evaluate products every time they make a buying decision. To simplify buying decision making, consumers organize products into categories - that is, they 'position' products, services and companies in their minds. A product's position is the complex set of perceptions, impressions and feelings that consumers hold for the product compared with competing products.

It is about managing customers' view of the company and its products. They show which products customers see as alike and those that are not. They can also show segments and the dimensions that customers use to split up the market. It works by associating products with product attributes or other stimuli.

Before deciding on which product to develop and launch it is common for firms to analyses how the new brand will relate to the other brands in the market. this is called positioning the product by using a technique.

Eg: market mapping, It involves identifying key features of that product and these key features might be price,

quality of materials and so on.. It identifies the potential market gap for a related product. Then, alternatively, the firm could

play safe and position the new product in with others- less risky but likely to be less profitable too.

Having identified the sector with the greatest potential, it will heavily promote the key features of the product.

Lastly, this analysis can be used to monitor the existing positions or can easily see if a repositioning is required.

A product's position is the way the product is defined by consumers on import- ant attributes - the place the product occupies in consumers' minds relative to competing products. Thus Tide is positioned as a powerful, all-purpose family detergent. Skoda and Honda are positioned on economy, Mercedes and Jaguar on luxury, and Porsche and BMW on performance.

Differentiating Markets The core strategy of a company shows how it will address the markets it has targeted. By differentiation it develops the strengths of the company, so that they meet the target markets' needs; then, by market positioning, it manages the way consumers view the company and its products.

Differentiation helps a firm compete profitably. It gives it a competitive advantage. If a firm does not differentiate, it will be like 'all the rest' and be forced to compete on price.

There are four main ways to differentiate:Product, Service, Personnel and Image differentiation

• Product Differentiation :-A company can differentiate its physical product .It can also differentiate their products on performance. Eg :Whirlpool designs its dishwasher to run more quietly

• Services Differentiation :- In addition, the firm can also differentiate the services that accompany the product. Some companies gain competitive advantage through speedy, reliable or careful delivery. Example ;

Domino's Pizza promises delivery in less to 30 minutes or reduces the price. Courier services like “DHL” shows that many people are willing to pay extra for a quick, secure

service. Training :- General Electric not only sells and installs expensive X-ray equipment in hospitals, but

also trains the hospital employees who will us the equipment.

• Personnel Differentiation:-Personnel differentiation requires that a company should select its customer- contact people carefully and train them well. These personnel must be competent - they must possess the required skills and knowledge. They need to be courteous, friendly and respectful. They must serve customers with consistency and accu- racy. And they must make an effort to understand customers, to communicate dearly with them, and to respond quickly to customer requests and problems.

Eg :- Singapore Airlines enjoys an excellent reputation largely because of the grace of its flight attendants, McDonald's people are courteous.

• Image Differentiation :- Even when competing offers look the same, buyers may perceive a difference based on company or brand images. Thus companies work to establish images that differentiate them from competitors. A company or brand image should convey a singular and distinctive message that communicates the product's main benefits and positioning. A company cannot implant an image in the public's mind overnight using only a few advertisements. Eg :- If 'IBM means service', this image must be supported by everything the company says and does.