Positioning Strategies in Marketing by Jack Trout & Al Ries

(Last Updated On: February 9, 2019)

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To begin with, it should be noted that positioning strategies in marketing work in the case when people compare different brands, companies in their heads. That is, it is assumed that at least someone already knows you. If the company is just starting its development, it can easily assess the competitive environment and find a strong solution for its positioning and development. The formulas below, this is my summary of the book Jack Trout and Al Rice ” Marketing Wars» with some comments and additions. This book is one of not many that can be called a classic of marketing. It will not soon lose its relevance. The main advantage and innovation of the authors is the transformation of Karl von Clausewitz’s war technologies into the world of marketing. And the world of corporate development and brand warfare in America in the second half of the 20th century was the best example of how these laws operate. To memorize this technology, you should feel the main ideas and just imagine how it works in a particular market, for example, your country or city. You will notice that there is almost always a market leader, a player in second place, and other players who are trying to divide small market shares.

The authors described 4 basic strategies; I would include in the synopsis the most important strategy that must be sought from the very beginning. And if it fails to find, then go to these four. This is a blue ocean strategy . In a word – do not look for benefits for a hundred. That is, when looking for options for the development and growth of a company, it’s necessary to start looking not at those markets that are developing, but at those that do not even exist yet, or few people suspect of their origin. Most often, the blue ocean strategy is used by companies that introduce some kind of innovation. I recall that:

Modernization is the improvement of existing products, services, technologies.
Innovation is the creation of new products, services, technologies that kill the old non-working solutions, and / or create a new market.

For example, the company Henry Ford, which was the first to introduce a conveyor system in the automotive industry. Thus, almost destroying small artisans and making the car a possible acquisition for almost every inhabitant of the planet.

Or Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg, who created a completely new format of communication between people, while essentially uniting the whole world into one global space. And even the search engines could not create a social network of this magnitude. In short, if you can create your product, service or technology that is not in the world, country, city and most importantly, you will tell people how to use it correctly and why it is better, then most likely you will create a new market with your own rules. And then your goal is to remain in the leader’s strategy without letting anyone in and continuously improving your company.

The first, most important and most important in terms of consequences, the decision that a statesman and commander must take is to determine the type of war in which he plunges; one cannot be mistaken here, just as one cannot try to turn a war into something contrary to its nature. Karl von Clausewitz

Brand positioning options:

Through attribute (Volvo – reliability, Mersedes – success)
“How is it done?” (Clothing brands – made in Italy)
“Market Leader” (Coca-Cola – the world’s most famous sweet drink)

4 steps to implement a positioning strategy:

Determine the market, competitors and strategy of war.
Create a separating idea.
Obtain authority in the company for its implementation.
Display the main separating message (brand message) in communication.

We proceed to the enumeration of the strategies themselves.

Leader’s strategy – defensive war:

Only a market leader can play defensive warfare.
The best defense is an attack on yourself.
Strong moves of rivals should be blocked (for example, Gilette, who blocked Bic moves, releasing brands of the same formats as competitors).

Offensive war strategy:

All the attention offensive leader.
Find the weak point and attack it.
Attack the front in as narrow a place as possible.

Strategy flank war:

The flank movement is aimed at the disputed territory.
Tactical surprise should be an important part of this plan.
Harassing the enemy is as important as the attack itself.

Guerilla warfare strategy:

Find a small segment in the market and protect it.
Regardless of success, never act like a leader.
Be flexible. Prepare to leave the territory as soon as the necessary moment comes.

The basic idea of positional thinking is to move with the market. Permanent change of position.

And catch the main leitmotif of the ability to determine a positioning strategy:
1. The uniqueness of your service, product, the presence of innovation or modernization is the arrowhead.
2. Understanding the situation on the market and its position, understanding how to position yourself + company resources – this is the strength and accuracy of stringing the string.
Only if you have these two factors will you achieve the desired result. The one without the other does not work here, no matter how any of the categories are thought out at all.

Marketing battles are played for three main reasons:

You have a wrong strategy.
You took on something that exceeds your resources.
Something unexpected happened (the nature of the market changed, the competitor came up with a new strategy)

Pay attention that the right strategy provides the correct order of tactical actions. That is, the question of how to carry out tactical actions is the basis of a good strategy. Although the reality is that the correctness of the strategy can be assessed only after its application. Before that, no matter what theoretical axioms she might rely on, it makes no sense to talk about its correctness. Practice and reality are the only judges of any battle.

But why should the above strategies work? Because the laws of war are almost always the same, and the mind of man does not change much. He has the same desires that he had before.

When there is clarity in the company’s strategy, the quantity and quality of the company’s resources comes to the fore. But without understanding how to properly position the brand, you can waste millions of dollars.

In addition, a picture of how best to evaluate the market and understand customer needs.

About the author

Ivan Palii

Blog author, internet marketer, product manager. I grow online products, write about thinking, social technology and education. Follow me on Medium, Quora, Facebook and LinkedIn.