Guide to Product Positioning

To successfully sell your product to today’s businesses or consumers, you must research competitive products, your market segment and your distribution channels to determine how your product should be positioned. Are you developing a product with more features and benefits than any other product, so that your product can therefore be sold at a premium price? Or are you developing a product that does not have many of the features of that of competitive products, so that it can be sold cheaper than anything else on the market? Is your market segment married suburban women between the ages of 35 and 45, or is your market segment 14-year-old boys? Will your product be sold at Bloomingdale’s or K-Mart? It is a consumer or a business product?

To develop product positioning, you will need to write product positioning statements. Positioning statements are internally focused and are not meant to be broadcast to your market. They typically compare your product to that of the competition and may even reference weaknesses in your product. A positioning statement is not to be confused with a messaging statement. A messaging statement is based on positioning, but unlike a positioning statement, messaging is broadcast to your market and will not include any weaknesses or references to internal goals.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider this information when writing your product positioning statement

Information that should be considered when forming product positioning statements includes the following: 1) Product differentiators that show the product’s advantages over the competition’s products 2) Market segment 3) Customer benefits 4) Pricing and how it relates to performance of the product (For example, a high end product may cost more, but it may offer more features or benefits than competitive products.) 5) Market share. Here is an example of a product positioning statement: “Our new SuperSonic toy costs more than Acme Corp.’s Rocket, but unlike the Rocket, which has no audio and comes in only one color, the SuperSonic plays three different popular songs, accelerates twice as fast as the Rocket, has a reverse feature and comes in five alternate colors including hot pink and bright lime. Because of these added features, our SuperSonic appeals to both boys and girls in the age range of eight to twelve, while Acme’s Rocket only appeals to boys eight to ten years old.”

I recommend: Read about "What Every Serious Company Should Know in Order to Dominate Their Market" by Chet Holmes.

Research your market and your competition

To research your market, you may want to commission custom research or perform certain types of research yourself using various methods such as surveys and focus groups. But before you spend the money on customized research, study research that is already complete. Research your competition by visiting their Web sites, visiting stores where their products are displayed, attending trade shows where they are exhibiting and even calling competitive companies and requesting information. Also read analysts' reports and track your competition in the press by performing Internet searches or enlisting the aid of your public relations firm if you have one.

I recommend: Consider joining Shop.org if you are an online or multi-channel retailer. Technology companies may want to subscribe to appropriate research from Forrester Research, Jupiter Research or Gartner which provide information about both market trends and products. If you are exporting products, be sure to check out the U.S. Government Web site Export.gov for access to valuable market research. Can't find what you need? Locate a research firm that is right for your company at The Blue Book Research Services Directory or at Greenbook. For focused, customized marketing research and analysis to support your company and product positioning and messaging, contact Kurfiss Connect.

Be first or carve out a unique niche

It is hard to change the minds of consumers once they are set, so if you can position yourself as first in your market, you have an advantage. But no matter what, you need to carve out a unique niche for your product.

I recommend: Positioning as Popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout explains these and other positioning concepts. The American Marketing Association provides a Product Positioning Overview. Also see the SBA for information sheets on Product Basics and Finding a Niche.

Choose your price strategically

Price is a critical factor in positioning your product. Consider your market segment, your product's benefits and features as compared to that of the competition, the demand, your costs and your pricing objective.

I recommend: Read more about pricing strategy at NetMBA or Marketing Teacher. You may also want to try Price Director software to assist you in setting pricing.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Company positioning: Before you position your product, position your company. However, reexamine company positioning when you introduce new products that may affect image and direction. A sample company positioning statement might be, "With the new SuperSonic, we can overtake Acme Corporation's lead and gain majority market share."
• Product line positioning: Define how the product fits into your line and how you can lay the groundwork for future products with the positioning of this one.
• Product positioning: Do not be afraid to be too detailed when positioning your product. You will want to compare your product to that of the competition.
• Channel positioning: If your product is being distributed by a channel, you need to specifically consider how to demonstrate that your product is unique or superior to others the channel representative handles.
• Messaging: Messaging statements are the foundation of everything you broadcast to your market. They are based on positioning statements, but unlike positioning statements, they are externally oriented to your target market.