Sometimes it’s tough to predict how people will react to your product while you’re still developing it. Planning how consumers will identify your product is the main focus of a product positioning strategy.
We may say the product sits in a certain niche, but in reality, it leads a life of its own. When considering where to place a product on the market, listen to what your customers have to say. If a customer isn’t contemplating buying your product, it doesn’t have that status.
What is positioning a product?
Marketing is the process of showing how your product will help a certain group of people. Market researchers and focus groups can help marketers figure out who to target based on how well a product is liked.
Through research, you can also find out what a product is good for. These metrics can be used to streamline marketing campaigns and create effective marketing messages that increase sales and leads. They also help set products and services apart from those of their competitors.
Product positioning is an important part of any marketing plan, but it doesn’t have to be aimed at just one group. For example, a product might have a main target audience and a secondary audience that is also interested in it, but maybe in a different way.
Since each audience will be interested in the product for different reasons, marketing messages need to focus on the benefits that are most important to each audience.
Why product positioning is important?
Brands need to know their customers in order to make products that speak to them. With a well-thought-out plan, it is possible to figure out what this product offers to consumers.
To create a clear image of a brand and its products in the minds of consumers, marketing professionals figure out what a product’s main benefits are and how they compare to those of similar products from competitors.
The brand’s target audience is then told about the difference through the best ways to get the word out. Marketing messages should be engaging.
Marketers need to figure out the best way to show specific products to their target audiences based on customer needs, alternatives offered by competitors, the most effective communication channels, and customised messages.
Companies can make messages that appeal to the needs and wants of their customers and get them to buy by using product positioning strategies.
Here are some more reasons why product positioning is one of the best ways to market a product:
- Matching the benefits of a product with what customers want
- Keeping an edge over the competition even as markets change
- Customer expectations must be met.
- Getting the name and products of the brand out there
- Keeping customers around longer
- Putting together a good marketing plan
- Getting more customers
- Getting better at competing
- Putting out new products
- Adding new features to products that already exist
- Different ways to position a product
There are many different ways to position something. Here are some examples:
What the product does and how it works: Putting your brand or product in relation to certain qualities or benefits
Price of the product: Make sure that your brand or product is priced competitively.
Quality of the product: Making sure your brand or product has a good name
Use and application of the product: Making a connection between your brand and a certain use
Competition: Convincing customers that your brand or product is better than those of your rivals.
Creating a plan for how to position your product
Even though companies spend a lot of time making products, not many of them think about how people will feel about them once they are on the market.
To put products in the right places, you need to know what people think about them. Because of this, it’s important to listen to what your customers have to say. Here are some key strategies that can help you find your product’s place in the market.
Positioning based on the features of the product
With a positioning strategy based on product features or benefits, your brand is linked to a quality that people want. For example, Toyota is known for being reliable, Porsche for being fast, and Volvo for being safe. Consumers are always told what makes a brand’s product special or what it can do for them.
Placement based on price
The goal of a competitive pricing strategy is to make your company the market leader. A brand can market itself as the one that sells goods or services at the lowest prices.
One example is a grocery store. They can sell their products at lower prices because their shipping and distribution costs are lower, they sell a lot of goods, and they buy a lot of goods. This is why many people choose supermarkets with good prices without looking at other options.
Brands can position themselves based on price or by filling a gap they see in the market. You become the only option in your market for a certain price range. Brands often add new products to their lines to fill a gap in the market.
Putting things in place based on their uses
Companies can also position themselves by being linked to a certain use or application. People who try to live healthy lives need gym products that help them do better.
Because of this, many businesses sell nutritional supplements. Most of these brands sell products with vitamins, minerals, and calories.
Quality or prestige-based positioning
Now we’re going to talk about brands that don’t focus on price but rather on high quality or prestige. The reputation of a brand can sometimes bring in customers. One example is Rolex.
This watch brand is popular with powerful and wealthy people, and it’s known for being good at sports and getting things done.
Putting yourself in the market based on your competitors
Competitor-based positioning is the process of setting yourself apart by comparing yourself to your competitors. In their marketing, brands highlight the most important difference between their product or service and those of their competitors. This makes their product or service seem unique and appealing. It appears to be unique.
Brands can use their competitors as a guide to come up with similar plans. If a brand has a large market share, its positioning strategy needs to appeal to a wide range of people.
So, you offer a similar product with similar benefits and the same price so that some of their customers will switch to you.
Some Examples of Positioning a Product
The airline Virgin
Virgin Airlines stands out because of how it thinks outside the box. The brand was one of the first to offer internet access and movie screens on flights. Now, it wants to offer customers the chance to go to space.
Because of how it positions its brand, this famous company is known as a responsible business.
Coca-Cola
When it comes to product positioning, Coca-Cola was an early leader. Since the company has been around for more than 125 years, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it has done so well.
Brands have always tried to position themselves in the market based on values like happiness, friendship, joy, and sharing. In turn, this has made people more involved, which has made them more likely to share their happy memories and experiences.
Apple
This is the Apple for you if you want to feel special, rich, and elegant. It is the leader in technology, and other brands have used this as part of their marketing strategies. Their products, services, and websites all show this.
Starbucks
Starbucks is in a good position because it focuses on the customer experience more than anything else. Before serving a drink to a customer, this brand has made it a habit to write their name on the glass.
This was confirmed by thousands of posts on Facebook. The brand was able to send a simple message by focusing on the idea that buying coffee can be a fun thing to do.
Users can also use mobile apps to place orders. This lets the customer choose his coffee in peace and makes the best use of their time, which in turn strengthens and improves the brand’s position.
Dove
Dove is in a good place compared to its competitors. In all of its marketing campaigns, a lot of attention is paid to women. With an emotional focus, the brand’s message was easy for people to understand and connect with.
The Real Beauty campaign is a successful one for the company. Women told a portraitist about themselves and how they looked.
When the portraitist told someone who knew the women about them, the women seemed a lot prettier. The message was told in a sweet and meaningful way.
Conclusion
Brands can improve their in-store marketing with the help of mobile apps. Programs like these make people aware of products in the moment, so they can be used to introduce new products or increase interest in old ones. Putting them together with standard positioning strategies will make them work better.
Traditional strategies for putting a product on the market can be helped by mobile marketing. When brands use incentives, interesting content, and location-based messages, consumers are more likely to decide to buy something.
