Back to index

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

Tags: #business #marketing #strategy #communication #branding

Authors: Al Ries, Jack Trout

Overview

In our overcommunicated society, getting your message heard is more challenging than ever. The human mind has become a fortress, bombarded with countless messages each day. To penetrate this fortress, you need a new approach to communication - one based on the concept of positioning.

Positioning is not about manipulating the product; it’s about manipulating the mind of the prospect. It’s about finding a unique and valuable position in the mind that clearly differentiates your product, service, or idea from the competition. This book outlines the principles and strategies of positioning, providing a practical framework for cutting through the noise and making a lasting impression.

We explore the evolution of marketing from the product era to the image era and finally to the positioning era, demonstrating why traditional advertising methods often fail in today’s overcrowded marketplace. Through numerous examples, we illustrate how companies can successfully position themselves by leveraging their strengths, exploiting competitor weaknesses, and, most importantly, understanding the psychology of the consumer.

We reveal the power of names, the pitfalls of line extension, and the importance of consistency in building a strong and enduring position. We also demonstrate how the principles of positioning can be applied to a wide range of situations, from marketing products and services to building corporate identities and even advancing your own career. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to master the art of communication in the modern world.

Book Outline

1. What Positioning Is All About

In today’s overcommunicated world, simply creating a great product is not enough. To succeed, you must effectively position your product in the mind of the prospect. Positioning is about shaping perceptions and creating a clear, simple, and memorable impression that cuts through the noise.

Key concept: Positioning is the first body of thought that comes to grips with the difficult problem of getting heard in our overcommunicated society.

2. The Assault on the Mind

We are bombarded with a constant barrage of messages, making it difficult for any single message to stand out. This ‘sensory overload’ forces the human mind to simplify and filter information, often rejecting anything that doesn’t match existing knowledge or experience.

Key concept: The per-capita consumption of advertising in America is $376 per year

3. Getting Into the Mind

Being first to establish a clear position in the prospect’s mind offers a significant advantage. This ‘first mover advantage’ makes it much harder for competitors to dislodge you. If you can’t be first, you must find a way to position yourself against the existing leader or find an unoccupied space in the market.

Key concept: The easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first. If you can’t be first, then you must find a way to position yourself against the product, the politician, the person who did get there first

4. Those Little Ladders in Your Head

People categorize products and brands in their minds, much like a ladder with the leading brand occupying the top rung. Understanding this mental hierarchy is essential for effective positioning. To improve your standing, you must either dislodge the brand above or find a way to relate to it.

Key concept: To cope with our overcommunicated society, people have learned to rank products on mental ladders.

5. You Can’t Get There from Here

Challenging a firmly established leader head-on is a recipe for disaster. Companies like IBM in computers and Xerox in copiers have built such strong positions that attempting to directly compete with them is futile. You must find a different, unoccupied position to claim.

Key concept: Many companies have ignored this basic positioning principle and have suffered the consequences.

6. Positioning of a Leader

Market leaders should focus on reinforcing their existing position rather than constantly boasting about being No. 1. This involves emphasizing the value of the product category itself, covering new product developments by introducing their own versions, and using broader names that allow for future expansion.

Key concept: To be a leader you have to be first to get into the mind of the prospect—and then follow the strategies for staying there.

7. Positioning of a Follower

Followers cannot succeed by simply copying the leader. They must find an unoccupied space in the market, a ‘creneau’, to differentiate themselves. This might involve focusing on a specific niche, a unique feature, or a different price point.

Key concept: An also-ran must find a ‘creneau’ or hole in the mind not occupied by someone else.

8. Repositioning the Competition

When no unoccupied space exists, you must create one by repositioning the competition. This involves highlighting weaknesses or negative perceptions associated with leading brands to make room for your own product. Tylenol, for instance, effectively repositioned aspirin by emphasizing its potential side effects.

Key concept: If there are no “creneaus” left, you have to create one by repositioning the competition.

9. The Power of the Name

The product’s name is a crucial element of positioning. It should be memorable, easy to understand, and convey the product’s primary benefit or position. Avoid generic-sounding names and instead opt for names that are unique and suggestive of the product’s benefits or qualities.

Key concept: The name alone has enormous power in an overcommunicated society

10. The No-Name Trap

Using initials instead of full names is often a mistake. Initials lack the memorability and descriptive power of full names. While established companies like IBM can get away with initials because of their existing fame, using initials for lesser-known companies will only hinder their ability to build a strong position.

Key concept: Companies with long, complex names have tried to shorten them by using initials. This strategy seldom works

12. The Line-Extension Trap

Extending a well-known brand name to new products, while seemingly logical, often backfires. It weakens the original brand’s position and confuses the consumer. Each product needs a unique position and a unique name to succeed.

Key concept: Line extension has become the marketing sickness of the past decade.

13. When Line Extension Can Work

While generally not advisable, line extension can work under specific conditions. These include situations where the new product is a natural extension of the existing brand, the new product is not expected to achieve significant volume, and the company is not attempting to build a strong, independent position for the new product.

Key concept: There are cases, however, of successful line extension (GE, for example). A discussion of when to use the house name and when to use a new name

23. Positioning Yourself and Your Career

Positioning principles can be applied to managing your career. You must define yourself clearly, specializing in a specific area rather than trying to be a generalist. Find a successful company, a successful boss, and a compelling idea to align yourself with. Success comes from leveraging the power of others, not solely from individual effort.

Key concept: You can benefit by using positioning strategy to advance your own career. Key principle: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Find a horse to ride

24. Positioning Your Business

To develop a successful positioning strategy for your business, start by honestly assessing your current position in the market. Determine the ideal position you want to own and identify the competitors you need to overcome. Ensure you have adequate resources to support your strategy, develop a long-term vision, and maintain consistency in your messaging.

Key concept: To get started on a positioning program, there are six questions you can ask yourself

25. Playing the Positioning Game

Positioning requires a specific mental attitude. Focus on the perceptions of the prospect, not the internal realities of your company or product. Be bold and courageous, willing to challenge conventional wisdom. And above all, be patient. Positioning is a long-term game that requires consistency and commitment.

Key concept: To be successful at positioning, you have to have the right mental attitude. You have to become an outside-in thinker rather than an inside-out thinker. This requires patience, courage, and strength of character

Essential Questions

1. What is positioning and why is it crucial in today’s overcommunicated society?

Positioning is not about creating something new and different, but about manipulating existing perceptions in the prospect’s mind. In today’s cluttered market, consumers simplify their decision-making by ranking products on ‘mental ladders.’ Being first to establish a clear, memorable position offers a significant advantage. If not first, one must find a differentiating factor or reposition the competition by highlighting their weaknesses.

2. How does the overabundance of information affect communication, and what is the best approach to combat this?

The human mind, bombarded by messages, has become a ‘dripping sponge,’ unable to absorb more information without displacing existing knowledge. This ‘sensory overload’ necessitates an oversimplified message that cuts through the noise. Success comes from simplifying, focusing on a narrow target, and repeating the message consistently over time.

3. What are the key strategies for maintaining a leadership position in the market?

Market leaders benefit from the ‘law of primacy’ - the first brand to occupy a position in the mind enjoys a significant advantage. Their strategies should involve reinforcing their existing position, not bragging about being No. 1. They should cover new product developments and consider broader brand names for future expansion.

4. How can a follower brand effectively position itself against established market leaders?

Followers cannot win by mimicking leaders. They must carve out a distinct ‘creneau,’ an unoccupied space in the market, to differentiate themselves. This might involve focusing on a specific niche, price point, or benefit that the leader has overlooked or neglected.

5. Why is line extension often a trap, and when can it be a viable strategy?

Line extension, while tempting, often weakens the original brand’s position and confuses the consumer. Each product requires its own unique position and name to stand out. Successfully leveraging a brand name for a new product requires carefully considering factors like expected volume, competition, and the new product’s significance.

Key Takeaways

1. Specialization is key to effective positioning.

Trying to be everything to everyone results in a weak and unmemorable position. By focusing on a specific creneau, you can differentiate your product and make it stand out in a crowded market. This involves making tough choices and sacrificing potential markets to appeal strongly to a specific target audience.

Practical Application:

An AI product engineer developing a new speech recognition model could position it as the ‘most privacy-focused’ solution, emphasizing data security and user control over their voice data. This would differentiate it from competitors who prioritize features over privacy concerns.

2. Understand the competitive landscape.

Before launching a product, you must understand the existing landscape of the market and the positions occupied by competitors. This involves identifying unoccupied positions or opportunities to reposition existing players, similar to how Tylenol successfully repositioned Aspirin.

Practical Application:

A tech startup could conduct thorough market research to understand the existing landscape of AI-powered chatbot solutions. This would help identify unoccupied positions, such as chatbots designed specifically for mental health support or educational tutoring, allowing them to avoid direct competition with established players.

3. Leverage your existing strengths.

Don’t abandon your strengths. Instead, build upon your existing expertise and find ways to leverage it into new markets. This approach allows you to capitalize on your strengths while expanding into new territory.

Practical Application:

An AI company could leverage their expertise in computer vision by developing a ‘laser-based document scanner’ and positioning it as the most advanced and accurate solution in the market. This builds on their existing expertise and differentiates their product from traditional scanners.

4. Simplicity is crucial in communication.

With the overwhelming volume of information today, simplicity is key to getting your message heard. Cut through the clutter by focusing on a single, clear message and expressing it in a simple, straightforward way.

Practical Application:

When launching a new AI-powered productivity tool, avoid complex technical jargon and focus on communicating the key benefits in a clear and concise way. Use simple language and visuals to explain how the tool saves time, reduces errors, and improves efficiency, making it easy for users to grasp the value proposition.

5. Positioning is an ongoing process.

Positioning is a long-term game. Once you’ve established a position, you must constantly reinforce it and protect it from competitors. This involves ongoing investment, adaptation to changing market conditions, and a commitment to staying ahead of the curve.

Practical Application:

An AI company focused on natural language processing (NLP) should consistently invest in research and development to maintain their leadership position. They should embrace new advancements in language models, develop novel applications of NLP, and actively participate in the AI community to stay ahead of the curve.

Suggested Deep Dive

Chapter: Chapter 8: Repositioning the Competition

This chapter offers valuable insights for AI product engineers on how to position their products in a market dominated by established players. It teaches how to strategically highlight competitor weaknesses and carve out a unique space for a new product.

Memorable Quotes

Chapter 1: What Positioning is All About. 2

Positioning is the first body of thought that comes to grips with the difficult problem of getting heard in our overcommunicated society.

Introduction. 14

Positioning is a concept that has changed the nature of advertising, a concept so simple, people have difficulty understanding how powerful it is.

Chapter 3: Getting Into the Mind. 28

The first thing you need to ‘fix your message indelibly in the mind’ is not a message at all. It’s a mind. An innocent mind. A mind that has not been burnished by someone else’s brand.

Chapter 5: You Can’t Get There from Here. 38

In advertising, it’s best to have the best product in your particular field. But it’s even better to be first.

Chapter 8: Repositioning the Competition. 61

In other words, to move a new idea or product into the mind, you must first move an old one out.

Comparative Analysis

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind stands out as a seminal work in the field of marketing, especially when compared to other classics like Philip Kotler’s Marketing Management and Seth Godin’s Purple Cow. While Kotler provides a comprehensive overview of marketing principles and Godin emphasizes the importance of creating remarkable products, Ries and Trout focus on the battle for the consumer’s mind in an overcommunicated world. They argue that traditional marketing strategies based on product features and benefits are no longer effective, and that companies must instead focus on creating a clear and concise position for their product in the mind of the consumer. This emphasis on simplicity and clarity resonates with Godin’s concept of being remarkable, but goes further by providing a strategic framework for achieving that goal. Positioning also offers a more focused and practical approach to communication than Kotler’s broader framework, making it a valuable tool for marketers and business leaders seeking to cut through the noise and establish a lasting presence in the market.

Reflection

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, while a seminal work in marketing, requires a discerning lens when applied to today’s landscape. The book’s core principles - focusing on the consumer’s mind, creating a simple and memorable message, and being first - remain relevant. However, the book’s focus on traditional media like TV and print requires adaptation for the digital age. While ‘being first’ remains important, the concept of ‘being best’ or ‘being most relevant’ has arguably become equally crucial in the age of online reviews and user-generated content. Additionally, the book’s emphasis on ‘one message’ may be less applicable in today’s multi-channel environment where tailored messaging for different segments and platforms is often necessary. Despite these caveats, the core ideas of positioning remain highly influential and valuable for anyone seeking to communicate effectively in today’s increasingly complex and fragmented information environment. It serves as a reminder that understanding the psychology of the consumer and crafting a clear and concise message remains the foundation of successful communication.

Flashcards

What is positioning?

Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.

What is the ‘law of primacy’ in marketing?

Being the first to establish a position in the prospect’s mind.

What is a ‘creneau’?

An unoccupied space in the market that a follower brand can claim.

What is the main strategy behind repositioning the competition?

Highlighting weaknesses or negative perceptions associated with competitors.

What is line extension?

Extending a brand name to new products, often weakening the original brand’s position.

What is ‘outside-in’ thinking?

Focus on the prospect’s needs and perceptions, not your company’s internal perspective.

What types of ideas work best in an overcommunicated society?

Simple and obvious ideas that cut through the noise and resonate with consumers.