You know that your business is offering a great service or product, and you believe that you and your company are special, but your potential customers won't know unless you tell them, Think about it? And they won't care unless they can see how your special angle directly makes their lives easier. In the same time, you need to make sure you know how your product or service works to get customer satisfaction.
It's more than just showing the features of your products or services; you've got to explain the benefits, for instance, if your business is in the educational sector or in the technology services it’s best to slice out specific benefits that will distinguish your products or services in the market.
Therefore, a brand's "position" is where it stands relative to its competitors in the minds of customers. An important aspects of a brand's position in a products or service category is how similar or different the brand is perceived to be in comparison with other brands in the product category.
Positioning has long been acknowledged as a core branding activity (DiMingo, 1988). Positioning is the act of designing an organization's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the target market's mind (Kotler, 2000). For example, Samsung is positioned as the industry leader in technology. Panadol is positioned as the painkiller medicine. Walmart is positioned as lowest possible prices for retailing. Each of these brands holds a distinct position in its product category and the organization's product, promotion, distribution and pricing strategies are designed to communicate and support the brand's unique position.
I would consider the positioning decision as crucial strategic decision for a company or a brand because the position can be central to customers' perception and choice decisions. Further, since all the elements of the marketing program can potentially affect the position, it is usually necessary to apply the positioning strategy as a focus for development of the marketing program. A clear positioning strategy can ensure that the elements of the marketing program are consistent and supportive.
I have a good experience in educational sector, and for this reason I would like to input my example at the level of the higher education to clarify the role of positioning in this business.
A university that has a distinct position is able to convey to prospective students what it is and what it stands for (Lowry & Owens, 2001). By directing all of its marketing efforts towards a desired position, a university maintains a coherence and unity in its activities and establishes a specific image (Lowry & Owens, 2001). Effective positioning focuses in what the target market perceives is important and not necessarily what university administrators believe is significant (Lowry & Owens, 2001).
For instance, AUS (American University of Shariah) is one of the organizations in Middle East that offers services which is not intended to make a monetary profit. AUS one of the top universities ranking in the region and it jumps to 390 in world university rankings.
Positioning results from the specific way in which the four key marketing variables of product, price, promotion, and place (referred to as the 4 Ps) are managed (Lowry & Owens, 2001). In a collegiate environment, product becomes academic programs and services, price is tuition and financial aid, promotion is the communications program, and place refers to the delivery system for academic programs (Lowry & Owens, 2001). The size of a school, class sizes, and the student faculty ratio are important elements of the academic delivery system (Lowry & Owens, 2001). The advertising, public relations, admissions materials, and other promotions of the institution should be coordinated to make a unified positioning statement (Lowry & Owens, 2001).
Based on that, the university works to create its position in terms of student’s quality, community, faculty and staff qualification and skills, program, service and facilities. I have sketched out below a diagram with positioning map that has three categories (competitors, attributes and segments)
The most frequently used positioning base is associating the brand with a particular attribute, product feature, or user benefit. For example, Columbia College of Chicago positions itself on the attribute of innovation in the arts with its positioning slogan "create ... change"
Organizations are often tempted to position themselves along multiple attributes. However, positioning strategies that involve a number of attributes can lead to a diluted brand position and confusion in the minds of consumers.
In the positioning map I drew for example,
GS Style layers are always looking for excellent benefit which includes “Academic Program and Services “. Parents or Guardians of students don’t focus on the price (tuition and fees) versus quality and services; also they prefer safe place with sustain environment to enhance their children for optimal use of energy and learn how to live healthy and sustainable. In the contrast we see UOWD also contain GS segment because some parents are usually seeking for moderate tuition and fees and moderate quality of education
One more important thing which is considered a key element in positioning your business in the market place, it is to monitor the organization's position over time and make adjustments to the marketing strategy as may become necessary. In some instances, companies find it necessary to reposition their brands when either the company fails to achieve the desired position in consumers' minds or when the positioning base is no longer important to consumers. From my perspective American University of Shariah needs more work to market its product or service to its customers or clients. In positioning, the marketing department creates an image for the product based on its intended audience, and this is what AUS should do to enhance its position in the educational market place and differentiate from its competitors
To sum up, I would strongly say if a university is able to establish a distinctive position relative to its competitors, it enhances its ability to maintain or increase enrollments.
0 comments:
Post a Comment