When the company has decided on the target segment for work, it is necessary to decide which product positioning on the market it will choose to gain a competitive advantage. But before that, you need to thoroughly study the properties of competitors' products , their image, and based on this, assess your position in the market. Product positioning on the market is a logical continuation of the selected target segment, the optimal position of the product to maximize its proximity to the consumer. Marketers also use the concept of "positioning."
If segmentation determines the characteristics that a product should possess in terms of the preferences and desires of potential buyers, then positioning works to convince consumers that the product is exactly what they wanted to purchase. Factors that determine the position of the product in the market are: the price of the product, its quality, manufacturer, appearance, service when purchasing, as well as the image of the purchased product. Product positioning on the market consists of a whole complex of marketing activities that convince potential buyers that they are offered a product that is created specifically for their preferences.
In this case, it is possible to use a variety of marketing approaches, for example:
- positioning of goods on the basis of advantages, with the help of meeting specific needs;
- positioning, which is aimed at a certain category of consumers who have already purchased this product or through comparison with competitors;
- positioning of goods with the help of ideas about how the goods should be. It must be borne in mind that positioning should not be connected with the misinformation of the buyer. Although this may work once, but after this, the manufacturer expects serious trouble.
The most common strategies for positioning a product on the market are:
- occupying one’s niche in an already formed segment through competition;
- search for a free segment and offer of goods with exceptional properties.
The occupation of one’s niche involves a preliminary study of the competitive positions of all significant participants in this market, the existence of grounds for confidence in the competitive advantages of their product, constant monitoring of the size of the segment for its capacity, comparison of its potential with the potential of competitors, maintaining business activity at a sufficient level using advanced methods promotion of goods on the market. All this together creates the opportunity to offer consumers goods with better properties. Only under such conditions can an enterprise be sure that it will succeed in occupying its niche, having won it from competitors.
The second strategy is the search for a market “window”, a narrow sub-segment that is not yet occupied or is underused. This strategy, with the right approach to marketing activities, guarantees the success of the enterprise.
A way to understand why they buy certain products and do not buy another, is a method of comparing the main factors that affect the preferences of potential buyers. The result of a study of existing products in a certain segment of the market are those obtained through questionnaires, interviews, and other methods of studying the motives of the buyer, and the positioning scheme of competing products. This diagram displays the important, from the point of view of the potential consumer, product properties. The positioning of the product on the market does not correspond to its actual properties, but to the subjective perception of it by consumers.