WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA

Every now and then a major marketing idea comes along that revolutionizes the way that marketers approach their craft. Some simply set the stage for the next "big idea," while the most influential have a significant impact that lasts for decades.

A Case in Point

In 1961, Rosser Reeves published Reality in Advertising and introduced marketers to the concept of the "Unique Selling Proposition," or USP. Reeves posited that product/service marketing created the greatest marketplace impact when it focused on the USP, the single aspect of the product/service that most significantly distinguished it from competitive offerings. The directive was simple: Identify the USP and then hammer it home—repeatedly.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, most effective product/service advertising and promotion employed the USP approach. Then, some marketing experts took issue with this focus on a single differentiating factor of a product or service. They believed that effective marketing depended not on how your message described the product or service but rather on what impression your message made on the mind of the audience. Thereafter, "Positioning" became the new marketing buzzword.

The two early proponents of positioning were the marketing thought leaders Al Ries and Jack Trout. Their 1981 groundbreaking book, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, was a direct response to the non-stop sensory assault that characterized the marketing of that time. The dramatic proliferation of marketing promotion for virtually all products and services had created unprecedented marketplace clutter.

The high priests of the advertising, won over by the compelling logic of positioning, scurried to embrace this new concept. A marketing revolution was born. Now, decades later, Positioning has evolved from a marketing buzzword to a marketing approach that is still extensively used—and frequently misused—in today's marketing environment.

The ABCs of Positioning

Positioning aims to orchestrate the image and perceptions of a given product or service so that it occupies the premier place in the customer's mind relative to competitive offerings. Effective positioning triggers conditioned selection responses when individuals are asked to choose the best brand in a particular product category. The ultimate goal is to have your product or service become virtually synonymous with its product category—e.g., people ask for a Kleenex rather than a tissue and make a Xerox instead of a copy. Similarly, ask people to name a brand of soft drink, soup or razor blades, and the most common answers will almost always be Coke, Campbell's and Gillette.

Brand prominence is especially important in product sectors where there are few, if any, distinguishing factors between competing brands. When competing brands in a product category are so similar, the advantage goes to the one that is favorably positioned in consumers' minds. It is the conditioned selection response produced by strong marketing positioning that motivates consumers to choose between close competitors such as Coke and Pepsi, Colgate and Crest, Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney, or American Funds and T. Rowe Price.

Taking Aim

The old adage warns, "When you try to be all things to all people, you end up not being anything to anyone." In other words, the less something stands for the stronger it is.

Therefore, the first rule of effective positioning is to appeal directly to specific consumer attitudes, perceptions, needs and market trends. Position the product or service to stand for something that is intuitively appealing and then concentrate resources on reinforcing those attributes and perceptions.

Positioning campaigns that focus on a few strong attributes gain prominent positions in the minds of consumers far more effectively than more broad-based approaches. Over time, marketers have adopted, adapted and expanded positioning concepts in an effort to find differentiated ways to gain a unique position in the minds of their target markets. The result has been a broad range of positioning strategies and approaches based on, to name only a few: low price; quality; originality; distribution channels; competitive excellence; or a specific appeal to a target market. Companies also continually revise, reinvent or expand their positioning to appeal to the arrival of a new natural or created niche.

Positioning is a mind game and the objective is to make a differentiated appeal that conforms to the way people think and react to the information they continually encounter.

The Bottom Line

Positioning brings to the forefront a basic concept that underlies all good marketing—perception becomes reality. Positioning, therefore, focuses on the logic and processes that the human mind employs to make decisions in the midst of the over-abundance of choices and other stimuli that confront us every day. Therefore, how a product or service is perceived (read: positioned) versus its competition is a key determinant of marketplace success. However, marketers must never lose sight of the fact that success follows truth. To be most successful, you must always be able to deliver—or hopefully over-deliver—what you are promising the marketplace.