Chapter 9 - Differentiation and Positioning Strategies

Differentiation - The process of adding a set of meaningful and valued differences to distinguish the company’s offering from competetors’ offerings.

Types of differentiation – Product differentiation, service differentiation, personnel differentiation, channel differentiation, image differentiation.

Differentiation strategies – 1. Being the first to enter the market. 2. Owning a product attribute or quality in the consumer’s mind. 3. Demonstrating product leadership. 4. Utilizing an impressive company history or heritage. 5. Supporting and emonstrating the differentiating idea. 6. Communicating the difference.

Internet specific differentiation - Site Environment/atmospherics. Build trust. Efficient and timely order processing. Pricing. Customer relationship management. Invite user generated content.

Positioning – the process of creating a desired image for a company.

Position - is the resulting view of the firm or brand from the customer perspective.

Bases and strategies for positioning – Product or service attribute (Size, color, ingredients, etc.). Technology positioning (demonstrating that firm is on cutting edge). Benefit Positioning (Customers perspective of what the feature will do for them). User category (relies on customer segments; segment has a unique quality that ties product benefits to the market segment). Competitor positioning. Integrator positioning. Repositioning strategies.