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Focusing Marketing Strategy with Segmentation and Positioning
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- 1. Tập trung vào chiến lược Marketing sử dụng Phân khúc thị trường và Định vị Focusing Marketing Strategy with Segmentation and Positioning
- 2. What Are Attractive Opportunities Xác định những Cơ hội hấp dẫn Breakthrough Breakthrough Opportunities Opportunities Các cơ hội đột phá Competitive Avoid Hit-or-Miss Marketing Competitive Advantage Tránh kiểu Marketing được Advantage Lợi thế cạnh tranh chăng hay chớ © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 3. Exhibit 3-1 Marketing Strategy Planning Process Highlights Opportunities Quá trình lập kế hoạch chiến lược Marketing nhấn mạnh tầm quan trọng của các cơ hội External Market Environment © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 4. Exhibit 3-2 Types of Opportunities to Pursue Các loại Cơ hội cần quan tâm Present products New products Giới thiệu SP Sản phẩm mới Present Market Product markets penetration development TT hiện tại Xâm nhập TT Phát triển SP mới New Market Diversification markets development Khác biệt hóa TT mới Phát triển TT © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 5. Market Penetration Xâm nhập thị trường + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 6. Product Development Phát triển SP + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 7. International Opportunities Should Be Considered Cần xem xét các cơ hội quốc tế Smaller World Smaller World Smaller Smaller Thế giới thu Thế giới thu World World hẹp hẹp Competitive Competitive Early Start Early Start Competitive Competitive Advantage Advantage Xuất phát sớm Xuất phát sớm Advantage Advantage Lợi thế cạnh tranh Lợi thế cạnh tranh Better Trends? Better Trends? Better Better Xu hướng Xu hướng Trends? Trends? thuận lợi thuận lợi © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 8. Global Competitive Advantage Lợi thế cạnh tranh toàn cầu + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 9. Exhibit 3-3 Search for Opportunities Can Begin by Understanding markets Tìm kiếm các Cơ hội bắt đầu với việc tìm hiểu thị trường Selecting target marketing approach Segmenting Single target Narrowing down to into possible market specific product-market target markets approach One Homogeneous Multiple All Some broad target customer generic (narrow) product- product- market needs market market approach markets Combined target market approach © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 10. Naming Product-Markets and Generic Markets Đặt tên cho các thị trường sản phẩm và các thị trường truyền thống Customer Needs Customer Needs Product Type Product Type Type Customer Customer Product phẩm Product phẩm Loại sản Type Nhu cầu khách Nhu cầu khách Loại sản Needs Needs hàng hàng Product-Market Product-Market Definition Definition Định nghĩa Định nghĩa Thị trường-Sản phẩm Thị trường-Sản phẩm Geographic Area Geographic Area Customer Type Khu vực địa lý Customer Type Customer Type Customer hàng Loại khách Type Khu vực địa lý Loại khách hàng No Product Type in Generic Market Definition © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 11. Exhibit 3-5 Market Segmentation Defines Possible Target Markets Phân khúc thị trường cho định nghĩa về các thị trường mục tiêu khả dĩ Broad product-market (or generic market) name goes here (The bicycle-riders product-market) Tên đặt cho thị trường sản phẩm bao quát (hay thị trường truyền thống) nằm ở đây (Thị trường sản phẩm dành cho những người đi xe đạp) Submarket 1 (Exercisers) Submarket 3 Submarket 4 (Transportation riders) (Socializers) Submarket 2 (Off-road adventurers) Submarket 5 (Environmentalists) © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 12. What Dimensions Are Used to Segment Markets? Những tiêu chí nào được sử dụng để phân khúc thị trường? + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 13. What Dimensions Are Used to Segment Markets? Những tiêu chí nào được sử dụng để phân khúc thị trường? + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 14. What Dimensions Are Used to Segment Markets? Những tiêu chí nào được sử dụng để phân khúc thị trường? + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 15. What Dimensions Are Used to Segment Markets? Những tiêu chí nào được sử dụng để phân khúc thị trường? Qualifying Qualifying Determining Determining Dimensions Dimensions Dimensions Dimensions Những tiêu chí cần Những tiêu chí cần Những tiêu chí đủ Những tiêu chí đủ • Relevant to including a • Affect the customer’s customer type in a product- purchase of a product or market brand • Can be further segmented • Help identify “core features” and • Ảnh hưởng đến việc khách • Có bao gồm một loại khách hàng chọn mua một sản hàng trong một thị trường phẩm hay thương hiệu sản phẩm • Có thể phân khúc sâu hơn • Giúp các định “các đặc tính cốt lõi” © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 16. Broader Issues in Selecting Segmenting Dimensions Những vấn đề khác liên quan đến việc lựa chọn các tiêu chí phân khúc Ethical Ethical Exploitation Exploitation Issues Issues Các vấn đề đạo đức Các vấn đề đạo đức Bóc lột Bóc lột Creates Unnecessary Creates Unnecessary Wants Wants Tạo ra những nhu Tạo ra những nhu cầu không cần thiết cầu không cần thiết Does Harm Does Harm Có hại Có hại © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 17. More Sophisticated Techniques May Help in Segmenting Những kĩ thuật tinh tế có thể giúp trong việc phân khúc Clustering Clustering Clustering Clustering Phân nhóm Phân nhóm Customer Database Customer Database Customer Database Cơ Customer Database Cơ sở dữ liệu khách hàng sở dữ liệu khách hàng Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (CRM) Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 19. What Makes Each of These Brands Unique? Điều gì biến những thương hiệu này trở thành độc nhất vô nhị?
- 20. Positioning Định vị The act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target consumer Hành động thiết kế những ảnh hưởng và hình ảnh của công ty nhằm chiếm được một vị trí cụ thể trong tâm trí khách hàng mục tiêu
- 21. The End Result of Positioning: Kết quả của Định vị The successful creation of a customer- focused value proposition Thành công trong việc tạo ra một tuyên bố giá trị lấy khách hàng làm trung tâm
- 22. Value Proposition Tuyên bố giá trị A reason why the target customer should buy the product Là nguyên nhân khiến khách hàng mục tiêu mua sản phẩm
- 24. Some Value Propositions Một số tuyên bố giá trị • Perdue Chicken – More tender and golden chicken • Volvo – The safest car you can drive • Papa John’s Pizza – Better ingredients than the “other guys” • Perdue Chicken – Gà mềm và vàng hơn • Volvo – Chiếc xe an toàn nhất của bạn • Papa John’s Pizza – Sử dụng các nguyên liệu tốt hơn các hãng khác
- 25. What Are the Value Propositions of… Những tuyên bố giá trị của… • Wal-Mart • Polo
- 26. How Can We Position Our Product? Chúng ta định vị sản phẩm như thế nào? • Strengthen Current Position Củng cố vị trí hiện tại • Grab an Unoccupied Position Chiếm vị trí mới • Re-Position Tái định vị
- 27. Strengthen Current Position Củng cố vị trí hiện tại • 7-Up – The Un-cola • Avis – We try harder, We’re Number 2! • Coca-Cola – Coke is IT!
- 28. Grab An Unoccupied Position Chiếm vị trí mới • P.F. Chang’s China Bistro • Yugo • Vanguard Group of Investment Companies • Michelob Ultra – Less Carbs
- 29. Re-Position Tái định vị • Sears • K-Mart • Polo CHAPS • Towers Perrin – My Story
- 30. Re-Positioning Disasters Những cú thất bại trong việc tái định vị • Levi’s Suits • Tab • Burger King Full Service Restaurants • Cadillac (though now a success) • ???Napster???
- 31. Positioning Định vị + © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 32. Exhibit 3-12 An Example of Positioning Ví dụ về định vị High moisturizing (Giữ ẩm cao) Tone 7 Zest 4 Dove Lever 2000 5 2 Safeguard Coast Lux 8 Nondeodorant 3 Deodorant Không khử mùi (Khử mùi) 1 Dial Lifebuoy Lava 6 low moisturizing (Giữ ẩm thấp) © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- 33. Differentiation Khác biệt hóa Process of adding a set of meaningful and valued differences to distinguish the company’s offerings from competitors’ Quá trình thêm một số khác biệt giá trị và có ý nghĩa để phân biệt công ty với các đối thủ cạnh tranh
- 34. Ways to Differentiate Làm sao để khác biệt hoá • Form (Hình dạng) – Ikea • Features (Đặc tính) – On-Star • Performance Quality (Chất lượng) – Toyota
- 35. Ways to Differentiate Tạo ra sự khác biệt • Service (Dịch vụ) – Nordstrom • Reparability (Sửa chữa) – Maytag • Unique Design (Thiết kế độc đáo) – Cannondale
- 36. Snapple • A Strategic Disaster • How Do We Put a Value on a Brand? • What Do We Do Now? • Tai họa “chết người” • Làm sao để làm Thương hiệu có giá trị? • Chúng ta làm gì bây giờ?
Editor's Notes
- Chapter Three Focusing Marketing Strategy with Segmentation and Positioning For use only with Perreault and McCarthy texts. © 2003 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. McGraw-Hill/Irwin
- Summary Overview Proactively satisfying the needs of customers means that marketers need to engage in a search for opportunities. Key Issues Marketers should be on the lookout for breakthrough opportunities . A breakthrough opportunity is one that helps innovators develop hard-to-copy marketing strategies that will be profitable for a long time. For example, the development of the sweetener aspartame with the trade name "NutraSweet," was a key innovation--a breakthrough opportunity--that was very profitable for the Searle Company. Even if a breakthrough opportunity is not available, marketers need to develop a competitive advantage . Competitive advantage means that a firm has a marketing mix that the target market sees as being better than a competitor's mix. So competitive advantage has to be viewed from the customer's perspective, not the firm's perspective. Competitive advantage can be achieved through excellence in any area of the four Ps or because of the firm's other resources. Discussion Question: Think about the pizza business, and major national chains such as Domino’s, Little Caesar’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s. What is the competitive advantage for each chain? In searching for attractive opportunities, marketers must avoid “hit-or-miss” marketing by following a logical marketing strategy planning process that is based on sound marketing research. This slide relates to material on pp. 52-53. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview The marketing strategy planning process guides the selection of a target market and the development of a marketing mix. Key Issues The process will be affected by the information gathered about customers, the information gathered about the mission, objectives, and resources of the company, and the information gathered about its competitors. In addition, the marketer has to take into account other trends in the external environment. Among these trends are technological trends, political and legal trends, social and cultural trends, or economic trends. Discussion Question: Can you provide an example of a trend in the external environment that affects the marketing mix of a company? The process then narrows down from this broad view to a more specific focus on a target market. Marketers must understand the diversity of consumer needs in the broader market and use segmentation techniques that help pinpoint target groups of similar consumers. In order to narrow down to a superior marketing mix , one that is better than what current competitors offer, marketers need differentiation . Marketers must fine-tune the elements of the marketing mix to the unique needs of the target market. Since there are many opportunities to serve different target markets, marketers must apply screening criteria to make it clear why a particular opportunity is pursued. The marketer considers these screening criteria in a S.W.O.T. analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This analysis highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. This slide relates to material on pp. 53-55. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview There are four main types of opportunities available for meeting customer needs. Key Issues Market penetration means trying to increase sales of a firm’s present products in its present markets. This approach typically calls for a more aggressive marketing mix to increase the usage rate among current customers. Market development means trying to increase sales by selling present products in new markets. This type of opportunity can focus on either opening up new channels of distribution, or on finding new uses for the product that will logically extend into new consumer markets. Product development means offering new or improved products to present markets. This type of opportunity may add or modify product features, create several quality levels, or add more types and/or sizes of products to provide the present market with more choices. Diversification means moving into totally different lines of business. Diversification involves both new products and new markets and presents the most challenging opportunities. Because of this dual difference, diversification involves higher risks. Discussion Question: Can you think of a company that has pursued successful diversification opportunities? Which opportunities come first ? The opportunities that are the easiest to see and pursue are the ones that are closest to current products and current markets. By the same token, it is usually cheaper to retain current customers than to attract new ones. This slide relates to material on p. 55-56. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview IOMEGA practices market penetration—attempting to increase sales of its Zip Disks to its present markets. Key Issues IOMEGA is a manufacturer of computer storage devices. Over the past several years, Zip disks have become a sort of industry standard for portable storage. A 100 or 250 MB Zip disk can hold loads of multimedia information. Many consumers already use Zip disks. In this ad, IOMEGA suggests that its consumers hand out Zip disks at the conclusion of a multimedia presentation instead of standard paper handouts. Discussion Question: Can a company pursue a market penetration strategy and simultaneously pursue other types of opportunities (market development, product development, or diversification)? This slide relates to material on p. 55.
- Summary Overview Saturn practices product development by offering a new or improved product—a three-door coupe—for its present markets. Key Issues Manufacturers, such as General Motors, have ongoing new-product development processes in order to meet the emerging needs of their current customers. In fact, automobile manufacturers have accelerated their new-product development in recent years because consumer needs and wants are changing more rapidly, and because competition in the industry is intense. Service firms also practice “product” development, by offering new services to their customers. Discussion Question: Can you provide an example of a service firm that practices “product” development? This slide relates to material on p. 56.
- Summary Overview In the ever-increasing interdependency of the global economy, marketing managers should consider international opportunities. Key Issues The world is getting smaller , from a business standpoint, and therefore it is more accessible to profitable business growth. There are two reasons for this trend. First, traditional barriers to international trade such as tariffs, regulations, monetary differences, and distribution are improving in favor of more trade. Second, the telecommunications infrastructure -- the highway to move information -- is rapidly improving and expanding. Successful expansion into international markets can help drive down manufacturing costs per unit. These cost reductions can provide an important competitive advantage at home and abroad . Marketers may also try to leverage a competitive advantage established in their home countries and gain an early start in a new market. Innovators and early market share leaders stand the best chance of making profits. Getting an early start in a new international market may be the key to long-term success for many firms. Marketers may also find better trends in international markets, because there may be more favorable combinations of variables affecting how well a firm competes. Discussion Question: The percentage of cigarette smokers in the U. S. population has declined dramatically in the past several years. However, there is still industry growth in international markets. Why? This slide relates to material on pp. 57-58. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Grey Advertising is developing a competitive advantage globally by opening overseas offices in a joint venture with Senioragency International. Key Issues Research shows that the segment of consumers aged 50 and older represents 120 million people--almost one-third of the European Union’s population and a whopping 75% of all financial wealth in any European market. Consumers over age 50 buy 45 percent of all new cars sold in the European Union, 55 percent of all coffee, 50 percent of mineral water, and 50 percent of skin care products. Consequently, the ads for Senioragency clients, like the one shown for the Paris transport system RATP, target the 50 and over segment. Discussion Question: What other firms have developed a competitive advantage among consumers aged 50 and older? This slide relates to material on pp. 57-58.
- Summary Overview Searching for opportunities needs to be a systematic process to ensure that firms don’t overlook important prospects or waste resources. Key Issues A company’s market is a group of potential customers with similar needs who are willing to exchange something of value with sellers offering various goods and/or services that satisfy the customers’ needs. Defining the market means that marketers should not just focus on products that they sell. This strategic error is called marketing myopia. Instead, marketers should define generic markets first. A generic market is a market with broadly similar needs and sellers offering various, often diverse, ways of satisfying those needs. Defining the market broadly at first can help the marketer to uncover some potential new opportunities outside of the firm's current offerings. After defining the generic market in terms of customer needs, the marketer can then narrow down to specific product-markets. In contrast to a generic market, a product-market is a market with very similar needs and sellers offering various close substitute ways of satisfying those needs. Discussion Question: Can you provide examples of companies that found new opportunities by a.) broadening their view of the market; or b.) narrowing their view of the market? After defining the market, marketers can select a particular target market approach. This slide relates to material on pp. 58-59. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview A complete product-market definition includes four parts : Key Issues The product type--the type of good and/or service offered. It should meet customer needs . Customer needs--the needs of the customer (user) that are being met by the product. Customer types--identify who specifically is using the product. Geographic area--identifies where the market is located. In defining product-markets, marketers provide names for each level of definition that distinguish it from other possible markets. This process helps focus the attention of the company on meeting customer needs. Discussion Question: What are the components of the product-market definition for Skippy peanut butter? In defining generic markets, there is no product type ; the definition consists of the customer needs, customer type, and geographic area. This slide relates to material on pp. 60-61. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Market segmentation is a two-step process . This process fails too often because marketers do not realize the complexities of consumer behavior and they attempt to categorize a market around too few consumer-related variables of distinction. Key Issues The steps in market segmentation are: Naming broad product-markets, or disaggregating , is the first step. Marketers must break apart all possible needs into some generic markets and broad product-markets in which the firm may be able to operate profitably. The next step is segmenting these broad product-markets in order to select target markets and develop suitable marketing mixes to serve them. Segmenting is an aggregating process --clustering people with similar needs into individual market segments. A market segment is a relatively homogeneous group of consumers who will respond to a marketing mix in a similar way. Discussion Question: Using Exhibit 3-5 as a guide, think of the generic market for transportation and the broad product-market of customers for motorcycles. Can you segment the broad product-market into several submarkets? This slide relates to material on pp. 61-62. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Market segmentation forces marketing managers to decide which product-market dimensions might be useful for planning marketing strategies. There are many examples of these dimensions. Key Issues Behavioral dimensions refer in some way to the purchase of a product or service by consumers. For example, the benefits consumers seek from a product, the usage rate for the product, and the type of shopping consumers do are all behavioral dimensions. Discussion Question: What benefits do consumers seek in purchasing and using toothpaste? How do these benefits affect segmentation among consumers of toothpaste? Geographic dimensions refer to where people live, work, shop, or engage in leisure activities. Geographic variables can include a region of the world, a country, a region within a country, and so forth. Discussion Question: What products or brands are not available in your home region that are generally available in regions outside your home region? Why aren’t they available in your home region? This slide relates to material on p. 66.
- Summary Overview In addition to behavioral and geographic dimensions, there are also demographic segmentation dimensions. Key Issues Demographics are personal characteristics of consumers, such as income, gender, age, education level, and ethnicity. Discussion Question: Considering the demographic variables of age and education level, can you provide examples of products or services that are targeted to college students? This slide relates to material on p. 66.
- Summary Overview There are also many possible segmentation dimensions in the business or organizational market . Key Issues The type of business or organizational customer refers to whether the customer is a manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, service provider, or some other organization. Discussion Question: How would the type of customer be related to marketing mix decisions a marketer might make in trying to serve a particular segment? The type of buying situation refers to whether the situation involves a straight rebuy, or basic replenishment purchase; a new task, or first-time, major purchase; or a modified rebuy--a replacement or replenishment purchase for which the firm may consider an alternative source than the one the buyer previously used. Purchasing methods include: vendor analysis, purchasing specifications, Internet bids, negotiated contracts, long-term contracts, and e-commerce websites. Other segmenting dimensions include demographics or the type of relationship between the buyer and seller, among others. This slide relates to material on p. 67.
- Summary Overview Segmenting dimensions guide marketing mix planning . Ideally, a product-market will be described in terms of customer behavior, customer urgency to satisfy his or her needs, and customer geographic location. Segmentation Dimensions Many segmenting dimensions may be considered , so to select among so many choices, two key concepts are helpful: Qualifying dimensions are those relevant to including a customer type in a product-market. For example, customers must have enough money to afford a specific product in order to qualify as a potential market. Qualifying dimensions help identify the “core features” that must be offered to everyone in a product-market. Determining dimensions are those that actually affect the customer’s purchase of a specific product or brand in a product-market. For example, customers in need of a general product category can be further segmented into groups for whom various product features meet relatively more important needs to the customer. In the car-market, for instance, “sporty” and “economical” might be different determining dimensions for different consumers. Determining dimensions may be very specific. The degree of specificity depends on whether the marketer is concerned with a general product type or a specific brand. These dimensions may change as companies seek new ways of serving customers and strengthening the relationship with them Discussion Question: Think about the various submarkets of bicycle riders--exercisers, off-road adventurers, environmentalists, etc. Can you describe how the determining and qualifying dimensions differ from submarket to submarket? This slide relates to material on pp. 66-67. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Along with the segmenting dimensions themselves, there are other considerations for marketers in market segmentation. Key Issues Ethical issues are important in selecting segmenting dimensions. For example, some critics argue that some target marketing exploits consumers, makes them want things they don’t need, or may even cause them physical, emotional, or financial harm. Discussion Question: What types of companies are criticized the most for exploiting particular target markets? Success in international marketing requires even more segmenting , because there are so many countries, languages, and unique cultures. Moreover, many countries do not have as sophisticated an infrastructure for gathering marketing research information as does the United States. However, segmenting international markets adds just one step to the whole process of segmentation. First, marketers must segment by country or region, and then proceed with the same basic segmentation approaches already discussed. This slide relates to material on pp. 68-69. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Computer-aided methods afford marketers additional help in segmenting markets. The ability of the computer to simultaneously record, sort, recombine, and analyze a great many variables relating to consumer behavior allows marketers to develop much more sophisticated market segments. Key Issues Clustering techniques try to find similar patterns within sets of data. Patterns of behavior can be analyzed to find new needs and product design and marketing communications can focus on how these needs can be filled. Marketers can sort customer databases . Past customer behavior is often the source of information about new purchase opportunities or identification of cyclical buying habits. Database sorting is especially helpful in providing services. For example, a financial advisor enters a great deal of information about a client in a database. By contacting the client before key events, such as a wedding anniversary, the advisor demonstrates to the client the importance of their continuing relationship and how well the advisor has internalized what is important to the client. Discussion Question: How do you provide information to marketers that are attempting to meet your needs? A good customer database makes customer relationship management (CRM) possible. For example, sophisticated modeling techniques can predict the types of products or services an individual customer might want, based on the information stored in the database. Anticipation of emerging needs helps a marketer to maintain a long-term relationship with customers. This slide relates to material on pp. 69-70. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.
- Summary Overview Marketers can differentiate the marketing mix in order to meet customer needs better than competitors and build a competitive advantage. Key Issues Differentiation refers to how the marketer tries to distinguish his or her offer in the marketplace -- how it is set off from the competition in hopefully meaningful ways. However, even if a marketer tries to differentiate a product or service from competitive offerings, it’s important to adopt the customer’s point of view. What really matters is that the consumer perceives the product to be different. Positioning refers to how customers think about proposed and/or present brands in a market. Marketing research techniques are designed to collect information about consumer perceptions and determine how different competing products are viewed by consumers. In this ad, Thomasville sells high-quality furniture, but it faces the same problem faced by many other furniture makers: it's hard to identify the product with the brand name while it is in use. Customers tend not to be very loyal to any particular brand of furniture and often don't even know what company produced the pieces that they like the best. These characteristics of the furniture industry make the positioning challenge even more difficult. Positioning analysis helps marketers like Thomasville to know if their intended positioning is what consumers actually perceive. Discussion Question: Can you think of other brands of furniture? In your opinion, how are they positioned against each other in the market? Does the marketer’s intended positioning match consumer perceptions? This slide relates to material on p. 70.
- Summary Overview This diagram shows output of a computer program that does positioning analysis. Key Issues Consumers have provided information about their perceptions of different brands of bar soap. The computer program has determined that there are two attributes of soap that account for the greatest difference in consumer perceptions: a.) the degree to which the soap is a deodorant soap; and b.) the degree to which the soap is a moisturizing soap. The closer that any two dots are to each other, the more similar those brands are in the minds of consumers. Lifebuoy and Dial are in close proximity to each other because they are both low moisturizing, deodorant soaps. Each segment may have its own preferences . The circles refer to the size of market attracted to a combination of attributes. Discussion Question: What is the largest segment in the diagram? What brands serve that segment best? Segment 7 is a fairly sizable segment with no products in close proximity to it. A marketer might then conclude that an opportunity exists to serve segment 7 with a new product. Positioning may also lead to combining instead of segmenting , if a firm can successfully appeal to several segments with the same product. Therefore, positioning studies can be part of a broader analysis because they: a.) identify important attributes of the product offerings in a market; b.) identify what offerings are likely to appeal to segments; and c.) provide a basis for changing the marketing mix, should a marketer decide to reposition a product. This slide relates to material on pp. 71-73. Indicates place where slide “builds” to include the corresponding point.