____Assignment____

‘Positioning of
services’
 Submitted by: Shailesh
Gururani

Positioning of Services. Positioning

involves implementing our target. Positioning is about
finding an unoccupied niche in the prospects mind and
filling it with one thing that sticks in the consumer’s
mind. After segmenting and targeting the market,
positioning becomes undoubtedly one of the simplest and
most useful tools to marketers.
Positioning refers to ‘How organizations want their
consumers to see their product’. ‘What message about the
product or service is the company trying to put across’?
Positioning a service is difficult as compared to
products because services are intangible in nature.
However, a company should identify a competitive
position for itself in the market, by differentiating itself
from the competitors.
Further, a company should add value to its services
by improving either its primary activities which consist of
inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics,
marketing and sales, and service or its support activities
which include the procurement processes, infrastructure
of a firm, its human resource management, and the
technology development.
These interdependent and interrelated activities,
together contribute to the margin that the company aims
to earn. This concept of a value chain has helped
organizations identify their core and non-core activities so
that some of them can be outsourced. The firm's strengths
help the firm gain either a cost advantage or a differential
advantage over its competitors.

To gain a competitive advantage, a company should

differentiate itself from its competitors based on the
attributes that are important, distinct, communicable,
superior, preemptive, affordable and profitable to the
customers. Further, companies should understand the
importance of positioning in developing a marketing
strategy and its influence on the profit margins of a
particular company.
This understanding will help a firm in framing a
suitable positioning strategy. As part of the positioning
strategy, a company should first determine the levels of
positioning it wants to occupy in the market, identify the
attributes that are important to the target market, and
locate these attributes on the positioning map in relation
to its customers.
Further, it should evaluate the positioning options
available and decide if it wants to position itself against
its competitor, or occupy a unique position in the market,
or reposition itself. Last, it should opt for a good
implementation strategy that clearly communicates the
desired position to its customers.

Five Key Steps in

Positioning:-
Marketing is about providing a selected set of customers the
products and services they want and need. Positioning is a
valuable step in understanding the strategic decisions that will
need to be made to be successful. A successful company
considers the customers they are serving, what is the value they
can bring to the customers, and how they can differentiate
themselves from other companies, and then creates the products,
services and delivery channels which provide more value than
any other company. By successfully thinking about positioning,
companies can distinguish themselves in ways meaningful to their
target customers. There are five steps to positioning starting with
understanding customer needs and leading to building your brand
equity.

1. Define target customers and market segment to

dominate
 The first step in positioning is studying potential target
customers. Companies must understand the needs of
targeted customers and determine which segments make
the most business sense to target based on the opportunity
uncovered. After carefully understanding the target market
and segments, including their spending patterns, needs,
demographics, and other information about them, specific
industries, functions and even specific titles of customers
can be selected to target.

2. Develop compelling value proposition

Once the needs of the target are understood, companies can
determine what value can be created for the target. It is
important to develop a value proposition that is compelling
to the target, whether it is a product, service, the way the
product is delivered, or even the way the customer is
treated.

3. Differentiate from competitors

Once deciding on the target, understanding their needs, and
determining how to create value for them, a thorough
competitive analysis must be undertaken. To be successful
in the business opportunity, companies must make sure they
are differentiated in the customer's mind. To win in a
competitive business market, companies must make sure
the position they take is clearly different from the other
competitors in the market.

4. Develop positioning statement and messages

Once you are clear as to what your customers want, what
you can deliver of value to them, and how to differentiate
from your competitors, write it down. Your positioning
statement should become the foundation for you and your
employees to use when making business strategy decisions,
so that all decisions support and strengthen your positioning
in the market. By writing a clear positioning statement, you
can then develop the messages you need to convey to each
of your audiences to create awareness and demand. Of
 course, your messages must be based on the real, valuable
and differentiable product, pricing, and distribution
strategies you have developed.

5. Build your position.

By creating a positioning statement, you've gained
understanding of what the market needs and how you can
fill a gap with a valuable solution. Now is the time to
communicate about your company and products, using the
positioning statement as a guide. Communicate your
strengths and benefits and supply the evidence, not only in
what you say, but what your company produces and how it
acts. Communicate though an integrated marketing program
to all your audiences, including customers, prospects,
industry analysts, the press, the community.