Delynn Byarsmarketing Analysis: Product Positioning
Marketing Analysis
MKT/498
January 23, 2012
Delynn ByarsMarketing Analysis
Creating a company image, brand, or new product in a given market can be difficult, and getting a target market to notice can be even harder. Whether marketing a service, a company or a person, positioning is crucial to the success of any product. Positioning of that product or service is about how to get into the mind of the potential customer. When positioning a product a company wants the customer to recognize the product was designed especially for him or her. For marketers to develop a marketing strategy he or she must use different types of analysis to determine product positioning, competitive positioning, customer perceptions, and distribution-channel …show more content…
analysis.
Product Positioning Positioning is created by many variables such as quality, price, methods of distribution, and image.
A product’s position is based on two elements the product’s standing relative to the competition and how it is perceived by the customer. Marketers can use factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and conjoint analysis to determine position of a product in a given market. Therefore, product positioning is the process of creating an image and value so consumers in a target market understand the nature of a company and its products relative to the competition (Clow & Baack, 2007). In doing this, a company is sending a message to consumers and trying to establish a competitive advantage that it hopes will appeal to customers in the target segment. In essence, therefore, the marketing mix can be seen as the tactical details of the organization’s positioning strategy. Where, for example, the organization is pursuing a high-quality position, this need to be reflected not just in the quality of the product or service, but in every element of the mix, including price, the pattern of distribution, the style of advertising and the after-sales service. Without this consistency, the believability of the positioning strategy reduces …show more content…
dramatically.
To evaluate the product in factor analysis, the features of product can be used. Factor analysis takes a large number of variables and condenses them into a smaller number of factors. An example would be a study of women, their characteristics of height, weight, hobbies, and interest. These can be summarized into factor analysis such as size (height and weight) and lifestyles (hobbies, activities, and interests), giving the marketer two factors instead of five ("Factor Analysis", 2012). Also quantitative marketing research techniques can be used. From a marketing perspective, quantitative research is most useful in gathering measurable information that can be tracked over time. This is helpful to the marketer because the comparisons help delineate not only the advantages and disadvantages but also the applications most appropriate for various research purposes. Factor analysis is inexpensive and accurate.
Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and other statistical techniques can be used in marketing and social sciences, and can be used to build perceptual maps ("Multi Dimensional Scaling", 2010). These procedures involve algorithms that start with measures of similarity between pairs of products and try to find a geometric representation of the brands in the product category. These techniques position products that are perceived as similar close to one another and locate dissimilar products far apart. Dimensions of perceptual maps are not named by the multidimensional scaling programs. Researchers have to interpret the dimensions themselves based on the geometric representation. Additional information may be gathered from consumers to name the dimensions. The attributes that are the most important in consumers’ perceptions of a product category can be determined from survey research.
Conjoint analysis is a technique a marketer can use to look at the reasons people decide to trade-off one product or service for another and what value he or she places on different features. Understanding how people make decisions and what he or she values in a product or service, a company can decide on what features and services that balance value to the customer against cost to the company. Conjoint analysis breaks a product or service into parts and test combinations of the parts to find what customers prefer ("Conjoint Analysis", 2000-2011).
Positioning is not actually something that is done to the product; rather it is something that marketers do to the minds of consumers. It relates to how consumers perceive the product compared to the competitors product. When positioning a product a company needs to be careful as it can be challenging to attempt to change customer perception later.
Competitive Positioning
In order to analyze competitor positioning, an array of competitors is the common technique to use.
Marketers should obtain a list of competitors and secondary data about the benefits expected by customers, the industry, and strength of each competitor in relation to one another as well as the rating of each competitor based on the key success factors (Clow & Baack, 2007). Competitor profiling, a technique that gives more information about the companies and competitors is also used to analysis competitive positioning. Gaining knowledge about the competitors is a very important intrinsic part of a corporate strategy and the value of a customer is defined by the relativity to what the competitor may
offer.
Another way to gain more insight into what a competitor believes about its target market is media scanning. The changes they do as well as their ad 's reveal a competitor 's new strategic direction, new pricing strategy, new value migration, branding strategy, problems with previous positions, new positioning strategy or upcoming product offerings. The targeting and segmentation strategy, budget allocation, focus, and selectivity can also be revealed because of the media strategy of a competitor. A marketer can execute a media plan based on how he/she analyzes the changes or the behavior that have been observed from the competitor, creating a media plan that does not share similarities with competitors. It is also important to estimate future competitive threats by taking into consideration the companies that are fairly new in the market, and has future growth potential with a related market/product.
Customer Perceptions
Customer perception is the image or picture a customer develops when considering various types of promotional inputs from a company about the products or services it offers. Assessing the customers ' perceptions is vital because customers buy services and products based on their own expectation derived from the media/promotions or other sources such as word-of-mouth. If the product or service meets the customers ' expectations, they will be satisfied; however, if they do not, then the customers will complain. Expectations are drawn from perceptions and, taking this into careful consideration, companies will need to understand the perceptions of their respective customers in order to facilitate sales and advertising promotional efforts toward a more pleasing bargain. A way of determining customers ' perceptions is by using a questionnaire survey to collect information.
The measure of respondents ' perceptions can also be measured using the SERVQUAL instrument, which measures customer’s perceptions of service and quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). Another approach that may be used to analyze customer’s perception is the MDS approach. In order to identify the fundamental dimensions underlying the original items of service quality is factor analysis. It is vital for a company to assess their customers ' service quality perceptions first and then educate their staff on the way the customers define good service quality and to align those definitions with the company 's definition.
Distribution Channels
How the product reaches the customers is ultimately determined by the distribution channels. Existing distribution channels may be well developed, but they may be already dominated by incumbents although new entrants may get the advantage of promoting their own emerging channels as more efficient. The product or service must reach the appropriate customers at the appropriate times for the product to be effective. Determining what the target market is and how they behave as well as studying their consumption patterns are important when deciding what channel to use. The importance of the product for the business as well as the size of the business is a main factor that may help in determining the distribution channel that should be used. The variations in the nature of the product can be a factor when deciding on the appropriate channel of distribution to use. A number of other factors that may prevent a company from operating its own distribution channel are that most marketers enter into a level of channel partnership. Companies who do not use the resellers need to assist the other parts of the distribution process such as using parcel post shippers; creating their own shipping companies and transportation systems.
Conclusion
Positioning a product in a competitive market can be difficult but is a good way to make an impact by positioning the products or service in ways that appeal to the customer. Competitive positioning and product positioning shows how product compares with its competitors and can help a company to become profitable. A customer’s perception and distribution channels are very important to understanding quality and creating good impression of a company’s service by delivering products on time and while maintaining the quality of products.
References
Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2007). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications (3rd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Conjoint Analysis. (2000-2011). Retrieved from http://www.dobney.com/Conjoint/Conjoint_analysis.htm
Factor Analysis. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/factor-analysis#ixzz1kKzltz39
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., & Berry, L. (1988, Spring). SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumers Perception of Service Quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), . Retrieved from http://Item%20Scale%20for%20Measuring%20Consumer%20Perceptions%20of%20Service%20Quality.pdf
MKT/498
January 23, 2012
Delynn ByarsMarketing Analysis
Creating a company image, brand, or new product in a given market can be difficult, and getting a target market to notice can be even harder. Whether marketing a service, a company or a person, positioning is crucial to the success of any product. Positioning of that product or service is about how to get into the mind of the potential customer. When positioning a product a company wants the customer to recognize the product was designed especially for him or her. For marketers to develop a marketing strategy he or she must use different types of analysis to determine product positioning, competitive positioning, customer perceptions, and distribution-channel …show more content…
analysis.
Product Positioning Positioning is created by many variables such as quality, price, methods of distribution, and image.
A product’s position is based on two elements the product’s standing relative to the competition and how it is perceived by the customer. Marketers can use factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and conjoint analysis to determine position of a product in a given market. Therefore, product positioning is the process of creating an image and value so consumers in a target market understand the nature of a company and its products relative to the competition (Clow & Baack, 2007). In doing this, a company is sending a message to consumers and trying to establish a competitive advantage that it hopes will appeal to customers in the target segment. In essence, therefore, the marketing mix can be seen as the tactical details of the organization’s positioning strategy. Where, for example, the organization is pursuing a high-quality position, this need to be reflected not just in the quality of the product or service, but in every element of the mix, including price, the pattern of distribution, the style of advertising and the after-sales service. Without this consistency, the believability of the positioning strategy reduces …show more content…
dramatically.
To evaluate the product in factor analysis, the features of product can be used. Factor analysis takes a large number of variables and condenses them into a smaller number of factors. An example would be a study of women, their characteristics of height, weight, hobbies, and interest. These can be summarized into factor analysis such as size (height and weight) and lifestyles (hobbies, activities, and interests), giving the marketer two factors instead of five ("Factor Analysis", 2012). Also quantitative marketing research techniques can be used. From a marketing perspective, quantitative research is most useful in gathering measurable information that can be tracked over time. This is helpful to the marketer because the comparisons help delineate not only the advantages and disadvantages but also the applications most appropriate for various research purposes. Factor analysis is inexpensive and accurate.
Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and other statistical techniques can be used in marketing and social sciences, and can be used to build perceptual maps ("Multi Dimensional Scaling", 2010). These procedures involve algorithms that start with measures of similarity between pairs of products and try to find a geometric representation of the brands in the product category. These techniques position products that are perceived as similar close to one another and locate dissimilar products far apart. Dimensions of perceptual maps are not named by the multidimensional scaling programs. Researchers have to interpret the dimensions themselves based on the geometric representation. Additional information may be gathered from consumers to name the dimensions. The attributes that are the most important in consumers’ perceptions of a product category can be determined from survey research.
Conjoint analysis is a technique a marketer can use to look at the reasons people decide to trade-off one product or service for another and what value he or she places on different features. Understanding how people make decisions and what he or she values in a product or service, a company can decide on what features and services that balance value to the customer against cost to the company. Conjoint analysis breaks a product or service into parts and test combinations of the parts to find what customers prefer ("Conjoint Analysis", 2000-2011).
Positioning is not actually something that is done to the product; rather it is something that marketers do to the minds of consumers. It relates to how consumers perceive the product compared to the competitors product. When positioning a product a company needs to be careful as it can be challenging to attempt to change customer perception later.
Competitive Positioning
In order to analyze competitor positioning, an array of competitors is the common technique to use.
Marketers should obtain a list of competitors and secondary data about the benefits expected by customers, the industry, and strength of each competitor in relation to one another as well as the rating of each competitor based on the key success factors (Clow & Baack, 2007). Competitor profiling, a technique that gives more information about the companies and competitors is also used to analysis competitive positioning. Gaining knowledge about the competitors is a very important intrinsic part of a corporate strategy and the value of a customer is defined by the relativity to what the competitor may
offer.
Another way to gain more insight into what a competitor believes about its target market is media scanning. The changes they do as well as their ad 's reveal a competitor 's new strategic direction, new pricing strategy, new value migration, branding strategy, problems with previous positions, new positioning strategy or upcoming product offerings. The targeting and segmentation strategy, budget allocation, focus, and selectivity can also be revealed because of the media strategy of a competitor. A marketer can execute a media plan based on how he/she analyzes the changes or the behavior that have been observed from the competitor, creating a media plan that does not share similarities with competitors. It is also important to estimate future competitive threats by taking into consideration the companies that are fairly new in the market, and has future growth potential with a related market/product.
Customer Perceptions
Customer perception is the image or picture a customer develops when considering various types of promotional inputs from a company about the products or services it offers. Assessing the customers ' perceptions is vital because customers buy services and products based on their own expectation derived from the media/promotions or other sources such as word-of-mouth. If the product or service meets the customers ' expectations, they will be satisfied; however, if they do not, then the customers will complain. Expectations are drawn from perceptions and, taking this into careful consideration, companies will need to understand the perceptions of their respective customers in order to facilitate sales and advertising promotional efforts toward a more pleasing bargain. A way of determining customers ' perceptions is by using a questionnaire survey to collect information.
The measure of respondents ' perceptions can also be measured using the SERVQUAL instrument, which measures customer’s perceptions of service and quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). Another approach that may be used to analyze customer’s perception is the MDS approach. In order to identify the fundamental dimensions underlying the original items of service quality is factor analysis. It is vital for a company to assess their customers ' service quality perceptions first and then educate their staff on the way the customers define good service quality and to align those definitions with the company 's definition.
Distribution Channels
How the product reaches the customers is ultimately determined by the distribution channels. Existing distribution channels may be well developed, but they may be already dominated by incumbents although new entrants may get the advantage of promoting their own emerging channels as more efficient. The product or service must reach the appropriate customers at the appropriate times for the product to be effective. Determining what the target market is and how they behave as well as studying their consumption patterns are important when deciding what channel to use. The importance of the product for the business as well as the size of the business is a main factor that may help in determining the distribution channel that should be used. The variations in the nature of the product can be a factor when deciding on the appropriate channel of distribution to use. A number of other factors that may prevent a company from operating its own distribution channel are that most marketers enter into a level of channel partnership. Companies who do not use the resellers need to assist the other parts of the distribution process such as using parcel post shippers; creating their own shipping companies and transportation systems.
Conclusion
Positioning a product in a competitive market can be difficult but is a good way to make an impact by positioning the products or service in ways that appeal to the customer. Competitive positioning and product positioning shows how product compares with its competitors and can help a company to become profitable. A customer’s perception and distribution channels are very important to understanding quality and creating good impression of a company’s service by delivering products on time and while maintaining the quality of products.
References
Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2007). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications (3rd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Conjoint Analysis. (2000-2011). Retrieved from http://www.dobney.com/Conjoint/Conjoint_analysis.htm
Factor Analysis. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/factor-analysis#ixzz1kKzltz39
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., & Berry, L. (1988, Spring). SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumers Perception of Service Quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), . Retrieved from http://Item%20Scale%20for%20Measuring%20Consumer%20Perceptions%20of%20Service%20Quality.pdf