Module 4: Developing marketing strategies – positioning the product,

developing the positioning strategies,differentiation tools,

product life cycle marketing strategies, designing competitive strategies.

Product line decisions, brand decisions,

pricing decisions , promotion decisions,

channel decisions.

Assignment -II

Product Life Cycle Marketing Strategies

• The STP Process – segmenting, Targeting & Positioning

• Step- I Segmentation is the process of classifying

customers into groups which share some common

characteristic

• Step-II Targeting involves the process of evaluating each

segments attractiveness and selecting one or more

segments to enter

• Step-III Positioning is arranging for a product to occupy a

clear, distinctive and desirable place relative to competing

products in the mind of the consumer

Market Segmentation1. The process of breaking up a homogeneous market

into heterogeneous segments forces the marketer to understand the market and its customers their needs and the company’s ability to competently serve those.

2. Understanding the competitive advantages and disadvantages which helps the company to clarify its own positioning strategy

3. Limited resources are used to best advantage, targeted at those segments that offer the best potential

STEP-I Steps in Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

1. Identify Basesfor Segmenting the Market

2. Develop Profilesof Resulting Segments

3. Develop Selection Criteria

4. Select TargetSegment(s)

5. Develop Positioningfor Each Target Segment

6. Develop MarketingMix for Each Target Segment Market

Positioning

MarketTargeting

Market Segmentation

Requirements for Effective SegmentationRequirements for Effective Segmentation

• Size, purchasing power, profiles of segments can be measured.

• Segments can be effectively reached and served.

• Segments are large or profitable enough to serve.

Measurable Measurable

AccessibleAccessible

SubstantialSubstantial

DifferentialDifferential

ActionableActionable

• Segments must respond differently to different marketing mix elements & programs.

• Effective programs can be designed to attract and serve the segments.

Levels of Market Segmentation

Mass MarketingSame product to all consumers

(no segmentation)

Mass MarketingSame product to all consumers

(no segmentation)

Segment MarketingDifferent products to one or more segments

(some segmentation)

Segment MarketingDifferent products to one or more segments

(some segmentation)

MicromarketingProducts to suit the tastes of individuals and locations

(complete segmentation)

MicromarketingProducts to suit the tastes of individuals and locations

(complete segmentation)

Niche MarketingDifferent products to subgroups within segments

(more segmentation)

Niche MarketingDifferent products to subgroups within segments

(more segmentation)

Local Marketing

Tailoring brands/ promotions to local customer groups

Individual Marketing

Tailoring products/ programs to individual customers

Bases for Segmenting Consumer Markets

Geographic

DemographicAge, gender, family size and life cycle, or income

PsychographicSocial class, lifestyle, or personality

BehaviouralOccasions, benefits sought, user status, usage rate, loyalty

Nations, states, regions or cities

• STEP-II Target Market

• A market is a set of all actual and potential buyers

• A target market is a group of people toward whom a firm

markets its goods, services, or ideas with a strategy

designed to satisfy their specific needs and preferences.

• Any marketing strategy must include a detailed (specific)

description of this.

Market Coverage StrategiesMarket Coverage Strategies

Segment 1Segment 1

Segment 2Segment 2

Segment 3Segment 3

Segment 1Segment 1

Segment 2Segment 2

Segment 3Segment 3

CompanyMarketing

Mix

CompanyMarketing

Mix

CompanyMarketing

Mix

CompanyMarketing

Mix

CompanyMarketing Mix 1

CompanyMarketing Mix 1

CompanyMarketing Mix 2

CompanyMarketing Mix 2

CompanyMarketing Mix 3

CompanyMarketing Mix 3

MarketMarket

A. Undifferentiated Marketing

B. Differentiated Marketing

C. Concentrated Marketing

Choosing a Market-Coverage Strategy

Company Resources

ProductVariability

Product’s Life-Cycle Stage

Market Variability

Competitors’Marketing Strategies

STEP- III - Positioning

Steps in Choosing and Implementing a Positioning Strategy

• Step 1. Identifying Possible Competitive Advantages: • Competitive Differentiation.

• Step 2. Selecting the Right Competitive Advantage:• Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

• Step 3. Communicating and Delivering the Chosen Position.

• Step 4. Support the positioning strategy with a unique marketing mix

Step 1. Developing Competitive Differentiation

ProductProduct ServiceService

ImageImage PeoplePeople

Areas for CompetitiveDifferentiation

Areas for CompetitiveDifferentiation

• Step 2. Selecting the Right Competitive Advantage: Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

• A unique selling proposition is what your business stands for and sets your business apart from others

• Instead of attempting to be known for everything, businesses with a unique selling proposition stand for something specific, and it becomes what you’re known for.

• Many businesses make the mistake of attempting to stand for everything when they first get started.

• When you attempt to be known for everything, you don’t become known for anything..

• Step 3. Communicating and Delivering the Chosen Position.

• During the process of generating product positioning strategies, periodically review each one against the following list of characteristics.

• Is your product positioning strategy:• • Single-minded—does it convey one primary

message at a time?• • Meaningful—will it connect with the target

audience?• • Differentiating—does it contrast your strengths

against the competition?

• • Important—is it pertinent and significant to the target audience?

• • Sustainable—will it resonate with the target audience well into the future?

• • Believable—will it ring true with the target audience?• • Credible—can you clearly substantiate your claims?

• Step 4 – Supporting the positioning strategy with a unique marketing mix

• At this stage the company has decided on its positioning strategy and must now design a marketing mix to support this strategy.

• The next part of the course looks at ‘Developing the Marketing Mix’

• POSITIONING STRATEGIES• A product can be positioned based on 2 main platforms:• The Consumer and The Competitor.• CONSUMER• the campaigns and messages are always targeted to the

consumer himself (the user of the product)• Peter England and Louis Philip always campaigns their

product concentrating on the consumer, the user of its product.• COMPETITION. • These campaigns are targeted towards competing with other

players in the market. Compared with Rivals products.• Dettol television commercials always concentrate on

advertisements, which show that this product would give you more protection, then the others.

• A number of positioning strategies might be employed in developing a promotional program.

• The 7 such strategies are discussed below:• 1. Positioning by Product Attributes and Benefits• Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a

consumer feature.-• Promise(Balasara)- Clove- against Colgate • Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more

attributes simultaneously. • Microsoft windows 8- cool as a tree & Scary as a Sea/ 3 Roses –

Tea- Colour, Taste, Strength• The price/ quality attribute dimension is commonly used for

positioning the products. • Nirma low price /whiteness- against surf• A common approach is setting the brand apart from competitors

on the basis of the specific characteristics or benefits offered.• Suzuki- Max fuel efficiency & Safety •

Sometimes a product may be positioned on more than one product benefit. –

Colgate- Prevent cavity & fresh Breathe Marketers attempt to identify salient attributes (those that

are important to consumers and are the basis for making a purchase decision)-

Ariel- Cleaning the dirtiest- micro cleaning systems in the product.

Volvo stands for ‘safety’ BMW for ‘performance’ ,Mercedes for ‘luxury’, Dermi Cool (prickly heat powder that cools)

2. Positioning by Price/ Quality:• For e.g. Baja Auto: “ Value-for-money, for years”.• Zenith Computers: “ MNC quality, Indian price.”• the ICICI prudential ad and also the wheel detergent or Rin

soap which always focuses on the value addition and price.

• 3.. Positioning by use or application:• Another way is to communicate a specific image or position

for a brand is to associate it with a specific use or application.• For.e.g. Surf Excel is positioned as stain remover ‘ Surf Excel hena!’-------

Repositioned ---- Surf Excel no soaking ‘ Surf Excel matic!’• 4. Positioning by product Class /Category: ( Relative rivals

rather than Absolute rivals)• Often the competition for a particular product comes from

outside the product class. • For example, airlines know that while they compete with

other airlines, trains and buses are also viable alternatives. • Manufacturers of music CDs must compete with the

cassettes industry. • The product is positioned against others that, while not

exactly the same, provide the same class of benefits.Diet beers (kingfisher) and ice beers (United Breweries) as

against the regular beer.

• 5. Positioning by product user:• Positioning a product by associating it with a particular user or

group of users is yet another approach.• Loreal with Aishwarya Rai, Revlon with Cindy Crawford. The

Marlboro Man, • Thums up is also trying to reinforce its ‘for grown ups’ image by

using a ‘macho’ celebrity route (Akshay Kumar).• In these ads the persona of the user of the product is been

positioned.• 6. Positioning by Competitor:• Competitors may be as important to positioning strategy as a

firm’s own product or services.• For e.g. Captain Cook (free flow vs. Tata Salt) Savlon (does not

sting vs. Dettol)• . Onida was positioned against the giants in the television

industry through this strategy, ONIDA colour TV was launched with the message that all others were clones and only Onida was the leader.

•7. Positioning by cultural symbols:

• An additional positioning strategy where in the cultural symbols are used to position the products.

• Examples would be Humara Bajaj, Tata Tea, Ronald McDonald.

– Each of these symbols has successfully differentiated the product it represents from competitors.

• At the initial stages when the product is launched all the ad’s that a company does is to create an image of the product among its consumers.

Positioning : Complan How it is done…? -“ Complete planned food” Complan for what?- Enriched with 23 vital nutrients in right quantity and

proportion essential for healthy growth Complan

for whom? -A brand for growing children

Complan for when?- Higher nutrition needs Packaging - Complan Boy / Complan Girl/ Loving Complan mummy.

Positioning : Boost How it is done? “ Boost is the secret of my energy”

Boost for what? -For fitness and health

Boost for whom? -For the young and the sporty Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag

Boost for when? -Whenever and wherever energy is needed

Packaging- Tall cylindrical straight jar that symbolizes athleticism and fitness

• Means-End Chain- Toothpaste

Attributes Benefits Value

Fluoride no cavities health

Generic low cost economy

Baking soda whitening beauty

Mint nice breath social

No additives natural ecology