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The Importance of Product Positioning to the Marketing PlanProduct positioning is an important element of a marketing plan. Product positioning is the process marketers use to determine how to best communicate their products' attributes to their target customers based on customer needs, competitive pressures, available communication channels and carefully crafted key messages. Effective product positioning ensures that marketing messages resonate with target consumers and compel them to take action. Customer NeedsEffective product positioning requires a clear understanding of customer needs so that the right communication channels are selected and key messages will resonate with customers. Product positioning starts with identifying specific, niche market segments to target -- not just women over 25 but women from 25 to 30 who work in senior-level management positions, make $X per year, are single and enjoy sporting activities. The more specific, the better. In addition to identifying the customer based on demographic and psychographic (personality/lifestyle) attributes, marketers need to understand customer needs, especially relative to the products and services they have to offer, to clearly convey value as part of their marketing plan. Competitive PressuresMarketers must weigh competitive pressures when they are considering the positioning elements of their marketing plans. Effective positioning conveys to consumers why this company's product or service should be preferred over other competitive options based on what the company knows about the target audience's needs. Effective marketing plans clearly identify how the company's products or services are different from competitors' offerings and in what ways. There is no value in being a "me too" product offering and simply copying what competitors are doing. Marketers must stand out from the crowd in ways that hold value for their target markets. Related Reading: Marketing Plan of a Product Communication ChannelsProduct positioning helps marketers consider how their offerings are different from others that consumers have to choose from. But it is not enough to know this from an internal perspective -- marketers must communicate this to the target audiences. To do this effectively, they must choose communication channels that are designed to connect with their identified target audiences at times when they will be most receptive to these messages. Consider how automobile manufacturers position their products through communication via television commercials during sporting events, for instance, or how cosmetics manufacturers run full-page, full-color ads in women's magazines. Carefully Crafted Key MessagesThe final challenge in effective product positioning is conveying the differentiating, value-added aspects of your product or service to your target audience through the communication channels you have selected. These messages are designed to convey how your product is different (and better) than competitive offerings, as well as to address the value-added attributes that are important to your audience. Product positioning is at the foundation of any effective marketing plan because it impacts the ultimate purchase decision. (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-product-positioning-marketing-plan-24275.html) Public relations is a demanding business, mostly because of the conditions of digital media. Consumers access multiple online channels on an almost constant basis, so keeping your brand both visible and positively received by the masses can be troublesome for the busy entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs, especially those helming startups or small businesses, simply neglect their public-relations-development strategy, believing it to be a secondary priority. But no matter how busy you are, you can make time for these simple, yet effective, PR strategies: 1. Cultivate testimonialsTestimonials are your best friend as an entrepreneur. Depending on the medium you use for your inbound testimonials, you could enjoy the benefits of increased brand visibility, increased user trust, increased SEO authority from external links, and an increased propensity to go viral with a product or campaign. Encourage your users to post written and video testimonials on their social-media profiles and external sites. You can offer them a small reward in exchange for their honest opinions, or sponsor a competition that recognizes a random participant. Initiating a steady flow of user testimonials is a way to let your customers do your PR work for you. Consumers trust other consumers more than brands anyway, so you’ll be able to build your reputation naturally without doing all the work yourself. |