After launching a product, the company’s next goal is to get it seen and remembered by the public. One way to create a memorable image around a product is by making the product carry a certain highly desired perception, based on the needs of the company’s audience. This is a way of promoting a product to consumers through product placement.
What is Product Positioning?
Product positioning is the process of determining the position of a product in the minds of consumers i.e. reputation. This includes market analysis that is, where your product fits in the current market among existing ones.
Through product positioning, firms seek to find their audience and create an outstanding product identity in the minds of their target customers by convincing them that this product will meet their needs.
Before deciding what strategy is best to use to position your product in the mind of your audiences it is important to consider several factors that can affect it.
What are the factors of product positioning?
- Audience – To understand what your positioning strategy is, you need to capture your company’s target audience and find out about their needs. For this to happen, it is important to understand the characteristics of your consumers and their problems.
- Product – Product positioning should be based on the unique value that your company and product provide. Therefore, it is important to analyze what your product does well and where it can be improved.
- Competitiveness – Nowadays, almost every product has an alternative. For that reason, it is important to highlight the product characteristic that differentiates it from the competition. For this purpose, you must first understand who your competitors are and how they serve your target customers. You can create polls or groups to reach out to your audience and learn more about them.
As we mentioned earlier product positioning is basically about how this product will be received by your audience. For this to happen, you need to have the right strategy in place to help you define your product positioning.
What are product positioning strategies?
Depending on how you want the company’s product to be seen and remembered, there are different types of strategies such as:
Characteristics-based positioning
Brands give certain characteristics to their products that aim to set them apart from competitors. They do this in order for consumers to make a decision based on brand image and product characteristics.
For example in the automobile industry. A person who worries about safety will probably choose Volvo because of the brand’s positioning. At the same time, another customer who pays attention to reliability would prefer Toyota.
Pricing-based positioning
This strategy aims to differentiate between the prices of your product and the competition.
An example of this type of strategy is the supermarkets. Since the lower prices of the products are more attractive to most consumers, many of them are remembered for their low prices and are chosen without considering other options.
Positioning based on the use
Companies can also position themselves by associating themselves with a particular use.
For some audiences, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, they look for products rich in vitamins, minerals and low in calories that will help them achieve a better body shape. Companies that offer them these products will be preferred and remembered by this type of audience.
High-quality positioning
Some brands are more focused on offering their audiences high-quality products rather than a lower price for example. Product quality earns customer loyalty and helps establish brand recognition. This improves the reputation of the brand and drives more customers.
Conclusion
A well-thought-out strategy will build the brand image that you aim for in order to reach your target audience. As well as allowing easier adaptation to market changes.
