Source a note of consumer market segmentation harvard

Source: A Note of Consumer Market Segmentation, Harvard Business School

Positioning: Key Considerations

Competitive frame of reference (FOR)

Establishing category membership; defining the target market and
competition

Points of difference (POD) (i.e., differentiation)

Attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate positively with
a brand, and believe they cannot find with a competitive brand

Points of parity (POP)

Associations by consumers that are shared with other brands

May not be reason to choose a brand, but absence can be reason to
drop a brand

Important to nullify competition by matching POP’s, e.g., late
market entrants try to make competitor's POD into a POP for the
category, and then introduce a new POD to gain leadership


A clear differentiation point is key

Clearly linked to who you are for…(and thus
delineated from who you are not for)

Offer points of differentiation that are valuable
to your target consumers

Positioning may evolve over time
Positioning: Key Considerations

Positioning Tool

Perceptual map

A positioning tool that helps define a brand’s position relative
to competitors

Conveys product information on a few key dimensions

Represents the position of your product in consumers ’ mind
relative to competitors

Artificial
Natural
Unhealthy
Beneficial
Beverage
Sprite /7-up
Coke
Coffee
Tea
Juice
Water
Milk
Ginger Ale
Pepsi
Fanta

Looking Ahead:
Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning

Case Preparation: Jones Blair
1.
How would you characterize the industry Jones Blair is in?
2.
How should Jones Blair’s market area be segmented? What are
the characteristics of each of these segments?
3.
Which segment(s) should Jones Blair pursue? Why?
4.
Among the four different plans proposed by the different VPs,
what strategy should Jones Blair adopt?
Note: In addition to qualitative assessment, you might also want to do
some calculations. (Hint: Contribution Margin = Unit Contribution/Price)