Strategic Positioning

12 Key excerpts on "Strategic Positioning"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Strategic Positioning in Voluntary and Charitable Organizations

  • Celine Chew(Author)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  The literature also suggests that there are at least two parties’ views of an organization’s strategic position: that belonging to the organization and that of its external target audience. The process of Strategic Positioning within the organization creates its strategic position, which is communicated through a chosen positioning strategy to the various target audiences (Reddy and Campbell 1993; Hooley 2001; Fill 2002). The resulting strategic position refers to the organization’s ‘place’ in the marketplace from its own perspective (Attia 2003). The other view of the organization’s position is from the external audience’s perspective. This ‘market’ perspective may or may not be similar to that of the organization. For instance, Reddy and Campbell (1993) cautioned that Strategic Positioning can take place without the deliberate efforts of the organization. In other words, the external audience, such as the consumer or even the competitor, could assign a position to the organization vis-à-vis other competitors’ positions in the marketplace. The strategic position of the organization is therefore relative (Hooley 2001). Andreasen, Goodstein, and Wilson (2005) argue that regular monitoring of the external target audience’s perspective of the organization’s strategic position is necessary to ensure consistency between how the organization views itself and how the external audience views it.

  Figure 2.1 depicts the relationship between Strategic Positioning, strategic position of the organization, and its positioning strategy. It highlights the importance of consistency between the strategic position developed within the organization and communicated to its target audiences through the

  Figure 2.1 Relationship between Strategic Positioning, strategic position, and positioning strategy at the organizational level. Adapted: Chew (2003, Figure 1) Reprinted with permission .

  positioning strategy, and the strategic position of the organization as perceived by its target audience (Attia 2003; Chew 2003).

  Positioning Strategy

  In order to investigate the factors that could influence the choice of positioning strategy in the charitable context in this study, it is necessary to operationalize positioning strategy by identifying its key components. Identifying these components will also provide a general framework in which different positioning strategies could be developed. As with the general confusion in the literature about the terms ‘positioning’ and ‘position’ highlighted earlier in this chapter, there is also little consensus among scholars as to the components that constitute a positioning strategy. Furthermore, there is a paucity of empirical research in this topic (Blankson and Kalafatis 2001), in particular, in the context of organizations other than for-profit ones.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Culture and Positioning as Determinants of Strategy

  Personality and the Business Organization

  • Tony Ellson(Author)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  If there is the need for this form of ongoing transformation, then the business is going to have to change in order to maintain a preferred position. An effective position is one that enables a brand or service to occupy a pre- ferred and unique niche in a customer’s mind that is consistent with the overall marketing strategy (Lautman, 1993). All elements of a com- pany’s behaviour can affect the position in the mind of customers and this view holds positioning as a concept of predominant strategic rele- vance (Muhlbacher, Dreher and Gabriel-Ritter, 1994). Brooksbank (1994) describes positioning as a creative process with no right or wrong ways of interpreting marketing research to understand the marketplace in the formulation of positioning strategy. The positioning in the mind, the need for a customer relationship and the intimacy of a relationship is determined by differentiation strategies but ‘differenti- ation on an irrelevant attribute – “meaningless” differentiation – can create a valued difference between brands and, in the process, a meaningfully differentiated brand’ (Carpenter, Glazer, and Nakamoto, 1994: 339). The central positioning question is: ‘Does an attribute appear to have value?’ The application of the term ‘strategy’ as applied by a senior marketing manager to positioning as a part of the segmentation, targeting and positioning process is indicative of a broader approach to future intentions and competitive advantage than just a cosmetic approach. Positioning Positioning 39 strategy only applies at the level of a particular product and/or service operating within a particular market and it should not be confused with the broader concept of ‘corporate’ strategy, or with the more specific concepts of strategy as related to each individual element of the marketing mix, such as a ‘promotional’ or ‘pricing’ strategy (Brooksbank, 1994). As Porter (1994: 37) says: ‘At the heart of positioning is competitive positioning .

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Strategic Consulting

  Tools and methods for successful strategy missions

  • Philippe Chereau, Pierre-Xavier Meschi(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  © The Author(s) 2018

  Philippe Chereau and

  Pierre-Xavier Meschi

  Strategic Consulting https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64422-6_3

  Begin Abstract

  3. Defining Strategic Positioning

  Philippe Chereau

  1  

  and

  Pierre-Xavier Meschi 2

  (1) SKEMA Business School, Lille, France

  (2) IAE Aix-en-Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France

   

  End Abstract

  3.1 The Mission

  Defining a company’s Strategic Positioning as part of a consulting mission usually means establishing its positioning with regard to the competition. This means defining its strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors in the same strategic group , for each of its strategic segments in terms of their value (or attractiveness). This process should provide the company with factual information as to the intrinsic value of each of its strategic business units (SBUs)—sometimes called product/market domains—and suggest development choices relative to this value.

  Understanding the company’s environment and thereby assessing its value is key for building a company strategy. This external/internal approach to competitive advantage , embodied by Michael E. Porter , was long-favoured by strategy researchers and consultants; however, its limitations are evident in highly competitive contexts where numerous external influences are likely to weigh heavily on the company’s adaptive capabilities. According to Rita Gunther McGrath1 this hypercompetitive situation renders competitive advantage “transient ” so the company needs to possess a portfolio of ever-renewing advantages to pass from one position to another more quickly than the competition. Learning to do this depends on two prerequisites: first, the company needs, more than ever, to pursue a long-term vision, for it has to decide on its competitive space and how it intends to pass from one competitive advantage to another; second, it requires the capability to possess and develop company-specific resources and competences—true strategic capabilities

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Strategic Thinking

  Today’s Business Imperative

  • Irene M. Duhaime, Larry Stimpert, Julie Chesley(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 6 Business Definition and Positioning

  DOI: 10.4324/9780203807620-6

  This chapter focuses on managers’ decisions about business definition and positioning— decisions that are among the most important that they make. As illustrated in Exhibit 6.1 , this chapter describes how managers’ mental models about their firms’ industry environments influence their decisions about business definition and positioning.

  Exhibit 6.1 Managers' Beliefs, Strategic Decisions, and Their Influence on Performance and Competitive Advantage

  Chapter Objectives

  The specific objectives of this chapter on business definition are to:

  • Emphasize the connection between managers’ understandings of their competitive environment and their decisions about business definition and positioning.
  • Define the concepts of business definition and positioning, and emphasize the importance of these strategic activities.
  • Describe the ways in which business definition can be a source of, or contribute to, the development of sustained competitive advantage.
  • Illustrate some effective business definitions.
  • Since firms and businesses operate in changing industry environments, the chapter will also emphasize the importance of redefinition, and illustrate the challenges associated with redefinition.

  What Are Business Definition and Positioning?

  The text has defined strategy as “a pattern in a stream of decisions,” and one of the most important sets of decisions managers make involves defining and positioning their firms and businesses. Definition is the way a firm or a business describes itself to employees, customers, and other constituencies while also distinguishing it from other business organizations that may or may not be competitors. Thus, definition conveys what is most important about that company while also distinguishing the company from its competitors. In short, definition provides an organization with an identity that describes what is “central, distinctive, and enduring” about it.1

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Business Marketing Face to Face

  • Chris Fill, Scot McKee(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Goodfellow Publishers

    (Publisher)

  „ Positioning Market segmentation and target marketing are prerequisites to successful positioning. Following the analysis, determination and final selection of market segments and target markets, the next task is to position the organisation, brand or product/service through the development and implementation of targeted marketing communication programmes. Positioning is the natural conclusion to the sequence of activities at the core of business marketing strategy. Positioning takes place in the minds of the buyers in the target market. According to Ries and Trout (1972) it is not what you do to a product that mat- Strategy: Segmentation, Positioning and Pricing 5 135 ters, it is what you do to the mind of the prospect that is important. This is an important aspect of the positioning concept. Positioning is not about the product but what the buyer thinks about the product or organisation. It is not the physical nature of the product that is important for positioning, but how the product is perceived that matters. Traditionally, and more commonly, this idea is applied to consumer markets but the principle is the same in business marketing. The difference between the two lies in the types of messages conveyed and the balance of the promotional mix used to deliver the positioning messages. Messages in B2B markets are tra-ditionally rational and product-orientated, with the emphasis on personal selling and increasingly on direct marketing. This is changing as more organisations are using social media and B2B branding is becoming more widespread. The aim of positioning, therefore, is to enable buyers and potential buyers to view a supplier or group of suppliers as different from other suppliers and as a source of added value. It is important that the supplier is regarded not only as different from other suppliers but also that they offer a set of values that will enable them to achieve their own goals more effectively and more efficiently.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Market-Driven Management

  Strategic and Operational Marketing

  • Jean-Jacques Lambin, Isabelle Schuiling(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Bloomsbury Academic

    (Publisher)

  Each indicator is represented at two levels, low and high. Four different targets can be identified. The ideal target is of course in the upper right quadrant which is a win–win situ-ation and the least interesting is the lower left quadrant. The firm having a product orientation will be inclined to privilege the upper left quadrant since this target is more profitable for the firm. On the contrary, the customer-oriented firm will concentrate its marketing efforts on the two right targets, while trying to improve the profitability of the lower right offering. 11.2 THE Strategic Positioning DECISION Once the market coverage decisions are made, the next step is to decide on the positioning strategy to adopt within each targeted segment(s). Selection of the positioning strategy pro-vides the unifying concept for the development of the marketing programme. This is one of the most critical steps in the implementation of strategic marketing, because the firm has to decide how to best differentiate its brand from competing brands. Positioning defined The word “positioning” has been popularized by Ries and Trout (1981). They considered that positioning was the process of positioning the product on the consumers’ mind . Our defini-tion is slightly different. We define positioning, as the decision of the company to choose the benefit(s) that the brand has to put forward to gain a distinctive place in the market. Figure 11.3 Identification of the priority segment(s) Source : Lambin (2000/2007). Value for the seller Average profit margin Average Satisfaction score Value for the customer Loose* - Loose Win* - Loose Loose* - Win Win* - Win * : customer Figure 11.4 The involvement grid Source : Adapted from Vaughn (1986). Intellectuel Mode (think) High Involvement Low Involvement Learning (learn – feel – do) Routine (do – learn – feel) Affective (feel – learn – do) Hedonism (do – feel – learn) Affective Mode (feel)

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Marketing for the Nonmarketing Executive

  An Integrated Resource Management Guide for the 21st Century

  • Norton Paley(Author)
  • 2000(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  ◆ New technologies creating fresh opportunities in such areas as e-com-merce and customer relationship management. ◆ Poorly served markets surfacing due to new organizational capabilities that can provide superior service. • Are there clearly defined positioning strategies for your product or ser- 192 Marketing for the Nonmarketing Executive vice? Positioning is defined in two ways. First, how your company or prod-uct is perceived by your prospects and customers; for example, what image does your product project in terms of quality, delivery, application, or reli-ability? Second, how your product is positioned against competitors; is it positioned against a dominant competitor through differentiation using superior quality, just-in-time delivery, or improved post-sales service? Or, if you are the market leader, have you developed a positioning strategy strong enough to deter a competitor by canceling out any product advan-tage and thereby neutralizing the competitor’s innovation? (See additional information on positioning in Chapter 5.) • Are there strategies to protect your existing sales volume or share of mar-ket? This guideline suggests that while looking for new markets and pur-suing other enticing opportunities, it is important not to neglect existing customers. • Are there strategies to launch new products? Assuming that new products, line extensions, or modifications of existing products are included in your plan, have you identified appropriate strategies to develop and launch or relaunch those products? DEVELOPING YOUR STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN (SMP) Key point: Following the SMP process will add an organized and structured approach to your thinking that will result in numerous opportunities expressed through markets, products, and services. A SMP is best developed by following a defined process, which is diagrammed in Figure 9.1.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  No longer available |Learn more

  Quality Management Techniques

  • (Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Orange Apple

    (Publisher)

  According to Arieu (2007), there is strategic consistency when the actions of an organization are consistent with the expectations of management, and these in turn are with the market and the context. Strategic management includes not only the management team but can also include the Board of Directors and other stakeholders of the organization. It depends on the organizational structure. “Strategic management is an ongoing process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which the company is involved; assesses its competitors and sets goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors; and then reassesses each strategy annually or quarterly [i.e. regularly] to determine how it has been implemented and whether it has succeeded or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet changed circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic environment., or a new social, financial, or political environment.” (Lamb, 1984:ix) Strategy formation Strategic formation is a combination of three main processes which are as follows: ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ • Performing a situation analysis, self-evaluation and competitor analysis: both internal and external; both micro-environmental and macro-environmental. • Concurrent with this assessment, objectives are set. These objectives should be parallel to a time-line; some are in the short-term and others on the long-term. This involves crafting vision statements (long term view of a possible future), mission statements (the role that the organization gives itself in society), overall corporate objectives (both financial and strategic), strategic business unit objectives (both financial and strategic), and tactical objectives. • These objectives should, in the light of the situation analysis, suggest a strategic plan. The plan provides the details of how to achieve these objectives.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Essentials of Strategic Management

  • Charles Hill, Gareth Jones(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Discuss the nature of competitive posi-tioning in reference to the three main factors that underlie the choice of a successful business-level strategy. • Differentiate between the principal kinds of generic business-level strategies and appreciate their advantages and disadvantages. • Appreciate the competitive positioning issues involved in fragmented, growing, mature, and declining industry environments. L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S The Nature of Competitive Positioning Customer Needs and Product Differentiation Customer Groups and Market Segmentation Distinctive Competencies Choosing a Business-Level Strategy Cost-Leadership Strategy Differentiation Strategy Cost Leadership and Differentiation Focus Strategy Stuck in the Middle Competitive Positioning in Different Industry Environments Strategies in Fragmented and Growing Industries Strategy in Mature Industries Strategies in Declining Industries C H A P T E R O U T L I N E Business-Level Strategy and Competitive Positioning 5 Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Business-Level Strategy The plan of action strategic managers adopt to use a company’s resources and distinctive competencies to gain a competitive advantage. Customer Needs Desires, wants, or cravings that can be satisfied by means of the characteristics of a product or service. Product Differentiation The process of creating a competitive advantage by designing goods or services to satisfy customer needs.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Business Strategy Formulation

  Theory, Process, and the Intellectual Revolution

  • Anthony W. Ulwick(Author)
  • 1999(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 5 Defining the Desired Competitive Position In his article titled ‘‘What Is Strategy?’’ (1996), Michael Porter states that, ‘‘Strategy is the creation of a unique and valued competitive position.’’ He and other experts in the field of strategy formulation agree that an effective strategy, a breakthrough strategy, must enable an organization to achieve both a unique and valued competitive position. The Universal Strategy Formulation Model (USFM) includes the four essen- tial elements of strategy formulation: desired outcomes, constraints, the desired competitive position and solutions. We have established that desired outcomes can be obtained from customers and that the methods required to capture them have been created. We have established that constraints, which often result from time, resource or capital limitations, can be imposed on a strategy or solution by the organization itself or by a third party. Solutions, as we have learned, come from many sources including customers, employees, managers, consult- ants, technologists and others. We now know how to obtain each of these es- sential elements of strategy formulation, but one question remains, how do we obtain the information that is needed to define the desired competitive position? Before we begin to explain how this information is captured, let’s define what we mean by the desired competitive position. We define the desired competitive position as a unique and valued position that an organization desires to achieve relative to its competitors. The organization’s desired competitive position should be unique in that it should be different from the competitive position that is occupied by other organizations. It should be valued in that it should deliver value to the internal and external customers for whom the strategy is being devised. As we applied pattern detection techniques to the process of strategy for- mulation, we found that breakthrough strategies and solutions invariably resulted

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Public Sector Management

  Mission Impossible?

  • Ian Chaston(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  12 Strategy The aims of this chapter are to cover the issues of: (1) Definitions of ‘strategy’ and competitive advantage (2) RBV theory in relation to identifying strategy (3) Alternative Strategic Positioning options (4) Assessing the need for strategic defence options (5) The importance of strategic flexibility Definition Even a cursory review of management texts and academic journal articles will reveal that there are significant differences of opinion among academics about precisely what is a strategy. In commenting upon this situation Markides (2004, p. 6) noted that: the confusion is not restricted to academics. If asked, most practising executives would define strategy as how I could achieve my company’s objectives. Although this definition is technically correct, it is so general that it is practically meaningless. The confusion which exists over defining ‘strategy’ is not a new issue. Almost 20 years ago, the editors of Planning Review explained that ‘nobody seems to know what is strategy anymore’. In an attempt to clarify the situation, the journal asked the MIT Professor Arnolodo Hax to present his perspective in this matter. Hax (1990) posited that a strategy embraces all of the key activities of the organiza-tion and hence should be required to be constituted of the following 6 specific elements: (1) Provides a coherent unifying and integrative pattern of behaviour. (2) Determines organizational purpose in terms of long-term objectives, actions, and resource allocation priorities. 226 STRATEGY 227 (3) Selects the areas of activity the organization is in or is considering entering. (4) Attempts to achieve a long-term sustainable advantage by responding to the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses of the organization. (5) Engages all the hierarchical levels of the firm. (6) Defines the economic and non-economic contributions the organization intends to make to the stakeholders.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Marketing Management

  • Dawn Iacobucci(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  67 Positioning 5.1 What Is Positioning and Why Is It Probably the Most Important Aspect of Marketing? We know how important it is to segment the market and decide on a target; we’ve seen the S and T in STP. 1 In this chapter, we turn to positioning. Positioning has many physical elements, but even more perceptual ones. It’s about iden-tity: who your brand or company is in the marketplace vis-à-vis the competition and in the eyes of the customer. Once you see who you are, you can determine who you want to be. Positioning comprises much of a marketer’s responsibilities. It requires: ● ● Designing a product with benefits that the target segment will value. How do you want your customers to think about your brand? ● ● Pricing your product so it’s profitable yet seen as valuable. How high a price can you command for your brand? ● ● Building distributor relationships to make the market offering available. Where do customers go to find your brand? ● ● Communicating all of this to the customer through an array of promotional activi-ties—what do you say about your brand? 5 Learning Objectives After you have finished this chapter, you should be able to: LO 5-1 Describe what marketing positioning is and how a perceptual map helps LO 5-2 Explain where your brand would be in the positioning matrix and how the 4Ps of the matrix need to be consistent 5Cs Customer Company Context Collaborators Competitors STP Segmentation Targeting Positioning 4Ps Product Price Place Promotion M anagerial Checklist • Positioning via perceptual maps • The positioning matrix • Write a positioning statement Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book