Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The battle for your mind.

New York: McGraw-

Hill.
Toivino Kais Junior Massamba
DR. SEAN D. JASSO
Marketing 606
06/05/2021

We have heard, on several time, that the problem is the lack of communication. In reality, what
we should say is that communication is the problem. A new way of looking at communication is
through the approach given by positioning, a simple concept that people fail to understand how
powerful it is. First of all, we must clarify that positioning does not refer to the product, but to
what is done with the minds of the probable customers or people to be influenced; in other words,
how the product is positioned in their minds. Positioning is the first thing that comes to mind when
trying to solve the problem of how to be heard in an over-communicated society.

What is positioning?
Society is over communicated, which is why a new approach in advertising and marketing is
necessary. In today's world, the only way to stand out is to know how to choose, concentrating on
a few targets, practicing segmentation, that is, "conquering positions".
The mind, as a defense against the volume of information that reaches it, rejects much of it, and
accepts only that which fits with its previous knowledge and experience.
more information can be fed into the mind. But even though we know this reality, we keep sending
more information to that oversaturated the mind. So there is nothing to help the client cope with
the overwhelming complexity of information, and hence, the problem of communication is
communication itself.
The best way to stop our over-communicated society. We have to oversimplified the message that
penetrate the mind you have to sharpen the message. But the solution to the problem is not to be
sought within the product or within the mind itself; the solution to the problem is in the mind of
the prospective customer. Since only a minimal part of the message will make its way through, we
must forget about the sender and concentrate on the receiver: concentrate on the way the client
perceives, not on the reality of the product.
By reversing the process, focusing on the customer rather than the product, the selection process
is simplified.

The raid on the mind

We often believe that communication has several functions: problem solving, social issues, etc.
This has generated such a congestion in the channels that only a few messages reach their
destination.
We can take advertising as an example; a small channel in the vast river of communication. So are
books, newspapers, magazines.... is it possible for the average person to assimilate all that
information?
Communication in an over-communicated society is difficult. Often, it’s better not to communicate
unless you are willing to conquer positions in the long run. No one gets a second chance to make
a good first impression.
 Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The battle for your mind. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Toivino Kais Junior Massamba
DR. SEAN D. JASSO
Marketing 606
06/05/2021

Penetration on the mind

In our over-communicated society, there is the paradox that nothing is more important than
communication: with it everything is possible, without it nothing can be achieved. Positioning is
an organized system for finding windows into the mind. It is based on the concept that
communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances.
The best way to penetrate the mind of customers is to be the first to arrive. We can demonstrate
the validity of this principle by asking ourselves who was the second astronaut to set foot on the
moon, or what is the second highest mountain in the world. It is difficult to unseat these first places.
The first thing that is needed to fix the message indelibly in the mind is not a message, but a blank
mind that has not been marked with the "iron" of another herd.
In business, as in marriage, you have to make an impact first, and then try to make sure there is no
change.
The role of advertising has changed, and the fact that it no longer works as it used to, is reflected
in the chaos that reigns in that market. There are still those who believe that as long as the product
is good and the plan is right, there is no reason why the product can't work. But they forget one
thing: that the noise level in the market is too high.

Positioning as a leader
If we ask ourselves: How to become a leader? The answer is simple; we must reach the first place
in the market. History shows that the first brand to enter the brain usually achieves twice as much
market share over the long term as number two and twice as much again as number three.
In the absence of strong reasons to the contrary, consumers are likely to choose the same brand the
next time they shop as the last time. On almost every level, the leading brand has the upper hand.
In some categories, the top two brands run almost neck and neck. It is also true that these categories
are inherently unstable. Sooner or later one of the brands will pull ahead and open the gap.
When two brands are close, one will grow stronger and dominate the market in the following years.
Additional effort is required when the situation is doubtful and none of the competitors has a clear
superiority.
Leaders can do whatever they want in matters of strategy to maintain leadership. In the short term
they are almost invulnerable, their own momentum carries them.
Leaders must use their short-term flexibility to ensure a stable long-term future.
As long as a company owns the position, there is no point in running ads that say "we are number
one". It is much better to highlight the product category to the perspective customer. There is a
psychological reason to avoid this: either the customer already knows who is number one and
wonders why the leading company feels so insecure that it has to keep repeating it, or he is not
 Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The battle for your mind. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Toivino Kais Junior Massamba
DR. SEAN D. JASSO
Marketing 606
06/05/2021

aware of who is first, and if the latter is the case, it is probably because the company has defined
its leadership on its own terms and not as the customer sees things. This does not work, since
leadership cannot be achieved by looking only at how the company itself sees things. You must
seek a leadership position as seen from the customer's perspective.

Positioning of the second in the market.

What works for a leader does not necessarily work for a runner-up. Leaders can counter a
competitive attack and maintain their lead, while runners-up cannot take advantage of this type of
defense tactic. When they imitate the leader, they are not countering, they are giving a confused
response.
The products, for the most part, fail to make reasonable sales because they emphasize "better" and
not "better". It is not enough to be better than the competitor, you have to launch the attack while
the situation is fluid and before the leader has time to establish its lead. What usually happens is
the opposite: the runner-up wastes valuable time improving the product and then launches the
advertising campaign with a smaller budget than the leader.
We can summarize the strategy by saying that you have to look for a gap and then fill it. But to
find the gap you have to have the ability to think in reverse, to go against the flow.
We will explore various gap-finding strategies:
a. The size of the gap
Volkswagen undoubtedly established the "think small" position by challenging the buyer's
preconception that bigger is better. The effectiveness of this approach, of course, depends on the
existence of an open gap in the public mind. The opposite also offers opportunities: big-screen
TVs, among other types of large products.
b. The high price gap
This gap is opening up for many product categories, as society appreciates the urgent need for
conservation, estimating the product according to its longest lasting quality. Price is a particular
advantage if you are the first to gain a foothold in the high price niche.
The secret to success is to be the first to establish the high price position, to have a product with a
credible story and to be in a category where consumers are willing to pay a high price. Otherwise
the cost will only drive away potential customers.
c. The low price gap
It is often a good strategy in the case of new products, while the high price gap can be a good
choice in the case of well-established products.
The introduction of unbranded foods is an effort to take advantage of the low price gap in
supermarkets: if it doesn't work well, it's not so much money I lose.
d. Other highly effective gaps
 Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The battle for your mind. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Toivino Kais Junior Massamba
DR. SEAN D. JASSO
Marketing 606
06/05/2021

One of them is gender (Marlboro was the first U.S. brand to establish a male position in cigarettes),
although in this case the most obvious approach is not always the best (the world's best-selling
perfume brand uses a male name, Revlon's Charlie).
Age is another strategy that can be adopted in conquering positions, time of day is another
possibility, as is positioning for strong consumers.
e. The factory gap
A great achievement in a research lab will also be frustrated if there is no gap in the consumer's
mind. The customer would not go to much effort to understand the finer points of the verbal logic
of what is being offered.
Another trap is wanting to please everyone, a situation that was feasible a few years ago when
there were fewer brands and less advertising. To win in today's competitive environment you have
to go out and carve a specific niche in the market. If you want to please everyone, you can probably
keep up if you already occupy a place or have a good position in the market, but it is deadly if you
want to conquer a position from scratch.

The positioning game.

It can be seen that achieving a leadership position depends not only on luck and timing, but also
on the agility to pounce while others stand by. You need objectivity to succeed in the era of
positioning, you need to be brutally frank.
You need simplicity. Only an obvious idea will work today. The overwhelming volume of
communication conditions the success of new things.
Subtlety is needed. Beginners who start practicing the positioning game sometimes make the
following remark: how easy it is, it's just a matter of finding a position that can be called their own.
Simple yes, easy no.
The difficulty lies in finding an open position that is also effective.
One must be willing to make sacrifices. One must be willing to lose something to achieve that
unique position. The essence of positioning is sacrifice.