Market Positioning as a Success of an Organization - Term Paper Example

?Positioning Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Why Organizations Opt for Market Positioning 3 Successful Market Positioning 4 Factors Impact on Market Positioning 5 Factors to be Considered for Effective Positioning 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Market positioning is vital for the success of any organization. Through positioning strategies, organizations can differentiate their products or services from that of its competitors and attract valuable customers. Positioning involves two basic features, one is the physical characteristics of a product and other one is the method of advertising the brand towards customers and distinguishes the brand against other competitive products in the market. Thus, it can be said that positioning is the way to stimulate customers’ awareness regarding a brand and place a rich, exclusive, and beneficial insight for the brand in the mind of people (Oxford University Press, 2011). Why Organizations Opt for Market Positioning A successful organization must be aligned closely with the target customer segments in the existing markets as well as in the emerging markets. Organizations which can forecast the market tendencies and form positioning strategies accordingly possess the best prospect for long-term success. The prime reason for an organization to call for market positioning is to achieve competitive advantage by creating a favorable base of rivalry. Through positioning organizations can encourage customers’ awareness and belief regarding a brand and make a clear understanding about the benefits and worth they will get for purchasing the brand. Thus, companies can create competitive advantage over the competitors through effective implications of positioning strategies (Njuguna, 2009). The other reason for market positioning is that, it can help to differentiate the product by communicating some unique benefits over the similar products served by competitors. Thus, other competitors and people will view the product as innovative assisting the organization to express itself as unique and dissimilar from other organizations. Subsequently, the organization shall attain higher competitive advantages through brand recognition. Therefore, the objective to attain competitive advantages over the rivals can be termed as one of the major and core reasons for organizations to implement this strategic alliance (Sengupta, 2005). Successful Market Positioning Market positioning denotes how customers consider a product and its contribution in contrast to other products. For making a successful positioning there is need to recognize the way for changing customers’ awareness through improving, strengthening, or protecting the position of organization in the market. Market positioning must be addressed appropriately because it is the only method to stabilize the misconception produced by ineffective communication channels. A complete message given in right time and in right place is a beneficial way for successful positioning of an organization (Perreault & McCarthy, 2006). Positioning in organization begins with product. Positioning becomes much vital when two or more brands in market look similar to each other. For instance, several customers believe that there is little difference in the LED television models of different brands. While, Sony wants to generate awareness in the mind of customers to consider that their LED television provide clear, lively and detail picture compared to other brands by their unique ‘X-Reality pro Engine’ (Sony Electronics Inc, 2011). On the other hand, Samsung wants to position their LED televisions with the features of innovative picture quality, consumer of lesser electricity and equipped with internet connectivity features by their unique ‘Backlight Technology’ and higher processor speed (Samsung, 2011). Communication ensures to create a positive image about a brand in customers’ mind. Positioning must be combined with the activities of market segmentation because it lets for more laborious tactic which reflects the differentiated market instead of focusing on the total market (Gilbert, 2003). Factors Impact on Market Positioning There are several factors causing significant impacts on the positioning of an organization in its market which are as follows: Product Attributes: The product cannot be differentiated unless it contains better components and attributes. Organizations need to evaluate the scopes of a product which are significant for customers. It is incorrect to believe that consumers always evaluate a product according to components and performances; other factors of product are also judged for appropriateness of products. For instance, packaging often creates a good impression about a product, but the budget should be reasonable with respect to the intensity of impression. Organization: Organizations are engaged with the creation and marketing of products and/or services which can be highly influenced by its past performances. Usually, organizations which have positive history can pose better impression about their products. Customers identify a better impression of a product if it originates from a reputed organization. Competition: The positioning decision is habitually developed by several competitive offerings of other organizations. Customers have a propensity to assess a product in contrast with the leading brands in that field. For example, mobile products are compared with leading mobile brand Nokia; computers are compared with leading brands such as Dell or HP. It is in this context that the brands have effectively positioned themselves in their respective fields which are termed to be highly competitive requiring aggressive positioning movements. Thus, organizations which intend to position their product near or with leading competitors need to implement an aggressive movement to launch their brand(s). Notably, appropriate positioning allows organizations to avoid competitors’ product advantages. Consumer Expectations: Positioning is made on the basis of customers’ expectations. Therefore, it is vital to scrutinize customers’ preferences and identify what are their expectations regarding a product and/or service. The self-awareness of customers also impact in the product positioning. For instance, if a customer comprehends himself as modern and liberal, he will anticipate a more stylish product than compared to a middle-aged or a baby-boomer consumer. Therefore, it is vital to identify the lifestyle and likings of target customers before positioning the product and/or service (Majumdar, 2007). Factors to be Considered for Effective Positioning There are several factors which can lead to positioning error and thus need to be considered in order to avoid confusion. They are as follows: Sometimes organizations fail to differentiate the products and/or services while presenting those towards customers and thus fail to gain the ultimate advantages of the concept If an organization over positions its brand, it is likely to create a narrow impression in the mind of customers Numerous modifications in the positioning of a brand or abundant statements about a commodity can confuse the target customers and they become uncertain about their consumption decisions related to the product or services offered Sometimes organizations make tough statements about a product which is too difficult to believe and thus it creates doubt in the mind of customers and they become reluctant to an extent to purchase the product (Cant & Et. Al., 2009) Conclusion In this 21st century, an effective positioning is needed to attain powerful brand recognition as well as competitive and sustainable market existence. Organization can select several strategies to position its products and/or services in its target market such as attribute positioning, advantage positioning, consumer positioning and price positioning among others (Cant & Et. Al., 2009). In present days, the involvements of celebrities have also emerged as a popular strategy among organizations to promote their products and/or services. It can generate a unique image of the brand. Effective positioning assists in creating positive brand awareness among customers. Thus, organization can successfully manage and increase its target market base through the appropriate implementation of effective positioning strategies (Cant & Et. Al., 2009). References Cant, M. C. & Et. Al., (2009). Marketing Management. Juta and Company Ltd. Gilbert, D., (2003). Retail Marketing Management. Pearson Education India. Majumdar, R., (2007). Product Management in India Third Edition. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Njuguna, J. I., (2009). Strategic Positioning For Sustainable Competitive Advantage: An Organizational Learning Approach. KCA Journal of Business Management, Vol: 2, pp. 32-43. Oxford University Press, (2011). Market Segmentation and Positioning. Principles of Marketing Management. Retrieved Online on October 24, 2011 from http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199290437/baines_ch06.pdf Perreault, W. D. & McCarthy, E. J., (2006). Basic Marketing 15th Edition. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Sengupta, S., (2005). Brand Positioning: Strategies for Competitive Advantage. McGraw-Hill Book Co. Samsung, (2011). Smart TV with Web-Connected Apps and Web Browser. Samsung Smart TV. Retrieved Online on October 24, 2011 from http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN55D8000YFXZA Sony Electronics Inc. (2011). Premium Picture Quality Meets Elegance. HX820 smart TV. Retrieved Online on October 24, 2011 from http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666312896 Read More