Basics of Marketing - Kotler Philip

Positioning of goods in the market

Suppose that in the market of painkillers "Helen Curtis" decided to focus on "active consumers of the elderly." In this case, the firm will need to identify all the conventional and branded products currently offered on a particular segment. At the same time, it will be necessary to find out exactly what consumers who make up this segment want from painkillers.

A market operator should clearly understand what different brands exist in terms of their actions, how they are advertised, what their prices are, and so on. If Helen Curtis tries to offer a painkiller exactly the same as one available on the market, consumers will have no reason to buy it.

Any product is a set of perceived properties. Aspirin brand - eksedrin - is considered, for example, a quick-acting, but "hard" for the stomach, and Tylenol is a remedy that acts slower, but "softer" for the stomach. One way to understand why consumers buy this product, and not another, is to compare their basic properties that determine the choice. The results of the comparison can be represented in the form of a product positioning scheme (see Figure 10a).

Schemes of product positioning and consumer preferences

Fig. 10. Schemes of product positioning and consumer preferences

Looking at it, you can see quite a lot. First, from the set of possible properties (for example, high price, risk of use, etc.), only two are reflected on it: softness and effectiveness of the action. They were chosen on the grounds that, but the opinion of consumers, are the most important.

Secondly, the intensity of these properties is indicated in the form of numerical values ​​on a five-point scale. For example, the efficiency index of the rats is 4 (good efficiency), and the softness index of its action is 1 (low softness).

Thirdly, the positions of the brands correspond more to the perception of their consumers, rather than their actual properties. Excerdine may have a mild enough action, but the main thing is not this, but the way its customers perceive it. (If desired, we can draw up another scheme based on the objective characteristics of brands.)

Fourthly, the closer the two brands are to each other, the more they look in the eyes of consumers as satisfying the same need. So it's quite possible to assume that more people will switch from a Buyer to Buffer or vice versa than from an Excerd to Tylenol or vice versa.

After that, the firm must find out exactly what consumers want from the product in terms of basic properties. They may be asked to describe the level of effectiveness, softness, cost, speed of action and other characteristics that they would like to see in the drug and for which they would be willing to pay their money. The opinion of each consumer about the ideal combination of properties can be depicted as a point on a scheme of the same type as discussed earlier. Only in this case it will be called the scheme of consumer preferences. Figure 106 shows a possible range of preferences for the two analgesic properties of painkillers.

Then the market activist combines the product positioning and consumer preferences in the summary scheme shown in Fig. 10c. From it it becomes absolutely clear that many consumers would like and are ready to buy that painkiller that combines high softness with high efficiency (the upper right corner), although at present none of the brands is perceived as combining both of these properties.

"Helen Curtis" may decide to take this opportunity. To achieve success, two things are needed. First, the company should be able to produce goods that customers consider soft and effective. Perhaps the competitors did not release a mild and effective painkiller just because a method for its production was not found. Secondly, the company should be able to offer this product at a price that the market is ready to pay for it. If the cost of production is prohibitive, the product may not go to the market because of its high selling price. But if both of the above conditions are met, the company will be able to serve the interests of the market well and make a profit. She identified a patch of unmet customer needs and tried to satisfy her.

Suppose, "Helen Curtis" is not able to take advantage of the opportunity, and decides to keep up with Tylenol. The firm can position its brand as a Cadillac product, claiming its efficiency is higher than that of Tylenol, and setting a higher price on it. Alternatively, it can choose as its basis for positioning its goods any of its many properties that, in the opinion of a sufficiently large number of consumers, are important, desirable and insufficiently present in the brands of competitors.

Positioning on the market - providing the product is not causing doubt, clearly different from others, the desired place in the market and in the minds of target consumers.