Individual marketing: mass customization  Selecting the best strategy o Depends on:  Company resources  Degree of product variability  Product’s life-cycle stage  Market variability  Competitors’ marketing strategies LO4: Discuss how companies differentiate and position their products for maximum competitive advantage  Product position: the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes – the place the product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products  Positioning maps: show consumer perceptions of their brands versus competing products on important buying dimensions  Choosing a differentiation and positioning strategy

o 3 steps:  Identify a set of differentiating competitive advantages upon which to build a position  Competitive advantage: an advantage over competitors gained by offering greater customer value, either through lower prices or by providing more benefits that justify higher prices  Can differentiate along the lines of product, services channels, people, or image  Choose the right competitive advantages  How many differences to promote  Which differences to promote o Important o Distinctive o Superior o Communicable o Pre-emptive o Affordable o Profitable  Select an overall positioning strategy  Value proposition: the full mix of benefits upon which the brand is differentiated and positioned  Develop a positioning statement  Summarizes company or brand positioning  Form: To (target segment and need) our (brand) is (concept) that (point of difference)  Communicating and delivering the chosen position o Designing the marketing mix involves working out the tactical details of the positioning strategy Chapter 8: Developing and Managing Products and Services LO1: Define product and describe and classify different types of product offerings