Product positioning is the process of determining the place that a new product should occupy among existing ones. Properly compiling a pattern of consumer perception of a particular product from a competing group is very useful when planning to market new products or to identify ways to modernize and improve products that are already on sale.
Product positioning is carried out with the aim of ensuring a competitive position among analogues in the market. For this, a set of relevant measures is developed and carried out. The place of a particular product in the minds of consumers in marketing is called its position.
In a classic market, consumers are overwhelmed with information about the goods and services they offer . Often they are not able to evaluate the goods before purchasing. The position taken by the product in the minds of the buyer is a whole set of perceptions, sensations and impressions arising from its comparison with competing counterparts.
Consumers are trying to independently categorize different products for themselves. However, such spontaneous product positioning is not beneficial for manufacturers who, with the help of marketing tools, strive to make this process manageable and profitable for themselves.
To date, three main strategies for product positioning have been developed and are successfully applied:
- Strengthening the current position of the brand in the minds of consumers.
- Search for an unoccupied position of value to a large number of consumers.
- The crowding out of competitors from their position in the minds of consumers or repositioning (if necessary, penetration into new segments or new markets).
A three-step positioning strategy is being developed. On the first, the current positioning is determined, on the second, the desired position is selected, on the third - a set of measures is actually developed to achieve the desired position.
The basic principles of positioning are as follows: consistency and loyalty to the once chosen direction for a long time; accessibility and simplicity combined with the expressiveness of the presentation of the position; full compliance of all components of the business (goods, services, advertising, etc.) with the selected position.
The key advantage of the product, allowing the consumer to best satisfy their needs and distinguishing the product from its competitors, is called the attribute of positioning. That it is the source of motivation for the purchase. The choice by marketers of the attribute begins with the identification of consumer segments by benefits. They are divided into clusters according to a number of criteria: based on the price of a product, image, quality, way of using this product, solving specific problems, or based on a combination of benefits.
The positioning of goods by competitiveness to their counterparts can be carried out either through a new (free in a niche) position, or by means of crowding out competitors from this position.