Blog Post #6: Are You Winning Or Losing?

What do you think about when you are buying something? Do you think about nothing? Maybe you stare blankly at all of the products and play some sort of grocery store roulette, but probably not. Even if you do not think that you are thinking about your purchases much, you still are. As consumers, we constantly are weighing our options, making little decisions about what we value more in that specific situation: value or price. Do we want the “extra duty” window cleaner that will protect windows from filth two times longer but is two times more expensive, or do we want the knock-off brand that will keep windows clean for a short amount of time for less? These are questions that we all ask ourselves, but they are also questions that marketers must ask as well. A marketer is always trying to get inside the heads of their prospective consumers in order to answer these questions, but it may not always work the way the marketer wants it to.

What I am talking about more specifically is called product positioning. A product position is the way a product is defined by consumers on important attributes – the place the product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products. The thing about product positioning that is tough for marketers is the fact that the space that their product occupies in consumers’ minds is not up to them; marketers can only try to impact this. With so many competing products, it is very difficult to occupy a high-positioned spot in the minds of consumers. One strategy that marketers have devised is a positioning map (see Fig. 1 below). A positioning map shows what consumers think of one’s own brand versus competing products on important purchasing factors (such as price and quality). These maps can help marketers see if they are where they want to be or if changes have to be made.

Fig. 1: Positioning Map. Size of circle = market share

Sometimes companies are exactly where they want to be and no changes have to be made. Other times, however, a positioning map can be a wake-up call for marketers. When changes do have to be made to a positioning strategy, it is necessary to revisit the company’s value proposition, which is the full mix of benefits on which a brand is differentiated and positioned.  There are five different types of winning value propositions that marketers should aim for: more for more, more for the same, more for less, the same for less, and less for much less. In order to make sense of this, check out this graphic:

Fig. 2: Winning versus losing value propositions

Here are some examples of each type of winning value proposition:

•        More for more: The North Face sells high quality jackets for high prices.
•        More for the same: Lexus automobiles offer high quality vehicles for a lower price than Mercedes or BMW.
•        The same for less: Stores such as Target that offer lower prices on products that many other businesses carry.
•        Less for much less: Stores like Sam’s Club and Costco embrace low prices and little service or variety.
•        More for less: Something that many companies claim to offer, but it is difficult to sustain such a proposition.

The important thing to take away from all of this is that there are many ways to “win” in the minds of consumers. There is no one golden rule to follow when trying to position a product, service, or idea. Choose for yourself, how do you want consumers to value your product? It is up to you. A closing thought and something worth thinking about: the idea of positioning extends beyond products and services; how do you want people to see yourself? How are you going to reach that goal?