Thursday, March 10, 2011

5 Marketing Positioning Strategies


Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the different types of competitive positioning strategies. The types of strategies that help to differentiate your offering and create value for your market. Short and sweet, the types of strategies that help you carve out your spot in a competitive landscape and help focus your company.



5 Key Competitive Positioning Strategies


1. Front Attack: A front attack strategy is a direct approach based on the customer's perception of your overwhelming superiority in solution, price or reputation.

Guidelines and Caveats

• 3:1 advantage
• Requires size, speed or surprise
• Resource intensive
• Blatant/obvious
• Most often used and easily defeated strategy

2. Flanking: A flanking strategy shifts the focus of the customer's buying criteria to new or different issues that favor your solution.

Guidelines and Caveats

• Don't play by their rules
• Right timing
• Right target
• Right Issues
• Focus on business value
• Don't open the "playing field"

3. Fragment: A fragment strategy divides the opportunity into smaller pieces and focuses the customer on a subset of the issues that you can address.

Guidelines and Caveats

• Leverage your position
• Requires support of your product or service
• Pick the correct base for the future
• Monitor the cost of each sale

4. Defend: A defend strategy protects your position from the inevitable assault from your competitors

Guidelines and Caveats

• Articulate your credibility
• Articulate your business value
• Beware of isolation
• Keep your eye on your competitors

5. Develop: A develop strategy establishes a position for a possible future

Guidelines and Caveats


• Not in the position to compete
• Establish presence for the future
• Focus on credibility
• Qualify your business value

I will be writing a few blog posts focusing on each positioning strategy.

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