Entrepreneur's Handbook

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARKET POSITIONING

 

In the study carried out so far, the entrepreneur has identified the opportunities, divided the market and decided which or which of these departments to choose. After this point, some studies should be done in order to develop marketing skills and to have a meaningful and positive place in the minds of potential customers in the target audience. Therefore, positioning is activities aimed at gaining a meaningful place in the minds of consumers in the target audience, different from competitors and for potential customers. For example, when Swatch watches are mentioned, the image of colorful watches used as fashion accessories comes to life in the minds of most consumers. Similarly, safety when Volvo is mentioned and prestigious cars come to mind when Mercedes is mentioned. In short, positioning is the summary meanings that help to explain to the target audience what the business or the brand of the business is, what it does or when it should be used. If the brands belonging to the business or business manage to create similar, meaningful and valuable images, the brand loyalty of the consumers, the sales of the business and the competitive advantage will increase.

In order to determine a good positioning strategy, it is necessary to examine and determine the market positions of the existing competing businesses or brands operating in the targeted market segment and then to choose the most suitable location for the business.

Determining direct and indirect competitors and their market positions is a priority activity at this stage. Here, direct competitor refers to products that meet the same need as the business. For example, Coca-Cola's direct competitor is Pepsi. Both are similar products operating in the same category and meeting the same need. An indirect competitor refers to meeting the same type of need with a different product. For example, fruit juice producer meets the beverage needs of consumers with a different product. For this reason, Dimes is an indirect competitor for Coca-Cola. In this way, the company should determine the market positions of its direct and indirect competitors and choose the most meaningful position for itself.

In positioning analysis for large enterprises, it is common to use market research based positioning maps shown in Figure 8.5. Here, managers organize maps of positioning decisions based on the market research they make with the users of these products. Since this method is expensive for small businesses, these maps can be made in line with the information obtained based on expert opinions.