Differentiation And Positioning

Name : Kajal Makwana Presented To : Dr. jay Badiyani

Roll No:33. Subject: strategic management

Department of Master of Business Administration

Bhavnagar University
What is Positioning?
 Positioning is the place in the market you want your business to hold, especially in the
mind’s eye of your target audience. It can be subtle and difficult to detect but can be
easier to spot if you look at it from your own position as a consumer. Take cars.
 for example, where the idea of perception as reality excels. BMW and Mercedes Benz
position themselves as luxury vehicles, Tesla sets itself apart as a clean energy
alternative, and Kia and Hyundai brand themselves as affordable.
What is Differentiation?
 Differentiation relates to positioning in the sense you want to attract the same clients your competition attracts. If
another professional services firm’s offerings overlap with your target audience, you need to think about how
you’ll stand out and be the more attractive option.
 To understand why most other successful brands don’t seriously under-price their products or service, put
yourself in the consumer role again. When you’re in the mood for a soft drink, do you choose Pepsi, Coke, Sprite,
or another popular brand? Why do you choose it? Is it for the taste, the level of caffeine, or is something more
intangible like the good memories it evokes? These qualities are what differentiate one soft drink from the next.
 example of Nike’s positioning strategy. Nike provides a commodity item to hundreds of millions of people
around the world every year. Nike is horizontally positioned.
The differentiation and positioning process:
 Identifying a set of differentiating competitive advantages on which to build a position
 Choosing the right competitive advantages
 Selecting an overall positioning strategy.
Identifying possible competitive advantages

Competitive advantage:
 An advantage over competitors gained by offering greater customer value, either through lower prices or by
providing more benefits that justify higher prices.
• Product differentiation
• Service differentiation
• Channel differentiation
• People differentiation
• Image differentiation
Product differentiation
 product differentiation brands can be differentiated on features, performance, or style
and design.
Service differentiation
 Service Differentiation is based on aspects such as speedy or careful delivery, opening
hours, customer care etc. Thus, the service is differentiated. For instance, an airline could
differentiate itself by means of extraordinary customer care and very attentive and
graceful stewardesses. This type of differentiation may then become experience
differentiation.
Channel differentiation
 A firm can also gain competitive advantage by channel differentiation. This means that
the firm differentiates itself by differentiating their channel’s coverage, expertise and
performance. So how does the firm get goods to the customer? It might be through a
smooth-functioning, speedy direct channel.
People differentiation
 Companies can also differentiate themselves by people differentiation. People
differentiation means nothing else than hiring and training better people than competitors
do. Staff can be more friendly, competent, courteous etc. Certainly, this mainly appeals
to customer contact staff.
Image differentiation
 Image Differentiation refers to the image a company or a brand has in consumers’ minds.
The development of a strong and distinctive image requires creativity and a lot of work.
 Only over a long period, an image in consumers’ minds can be attained. If you want to
differentiate your company by high quality, this image must be supported by absolutely
everything your company does. An aid for image differentiation are symbols, such as the
Nike swoosh or Apple’s logo
Choosing the right competitive criteria advantage
 Important: The difference delivers a highly valued benefit to target buyers
 Distinctive: Competitors don’t offer the difference or the companies can offer in a more
distinctive way
 Superior: The difference is superior to other ways that customers might obtain the same
benefit
 Communicable: The difference is communicable and visible to buyers.
 Preemptive : Competitors cannot be copy
 Affordable : Buyers can offered to pay for the difference
 Profitable : Companies can introduce the difference profitably
Selecting an overall positioning strategy
 More for More More Benefits More price • Not only is the market offering high in
quality, it also gives prestige to the buyer.
 More for the Same More Benefits The same price
 The Same for Less Benefits Price
 Less for Much Less Benefits Price
 More for Less Benefits Price
Positioning Statement
 A statement that summarizes company or brand positioning—it takes this form: To target
segment and need our brand is concept that point-of-difference.
   “To busy, mobile professionals who need to always be in the loop, BlackBerry is a
wireless connectivity solution that gives you an easier, more reliable way to stay
connected to data, people, and resources while on the go.”
THANK YOU