Core Concepts of Marketing

166 CHAPTER 7 INTRODUCINGANDMANAGINGTHEPRODUCT

doestheproduct oc cupyin its market?), a rank(howdoes theproduct fareagainstitscom-

petitorsin variousevaluativedimensions?), a mentalattitude(what areconsumerattitudes?),

anda strategicprocess(whatac tivitie:;must beattemptedinordertocreatetheoptimal

productposition?).Thus, positioningis botha conceptanda process.Thepositioningprocess

producesa positionfor theproduct,justasthesegmentationprocessproduces alternative

marketsegments. Positioningcanbeappliedtoanytypeofpro ductat any stageofthelife-

cycle. Approac hesto positioningrangefromgatheringsophisticatedmarketresearchinfor-

mationonconsumers'preferencesan d perceptionso~brandstotheintuitionoftheproduct

man ager ora memberof hisstaff.

AakerandShansbysuggest several positioningstrategiesemployed bymarketers.A

productoridea canbepositioned^8

1. Byattributes- Crest isa cavityfighter

2. Byprice-Searsis t he"value" store

3. Bycompetitors-AvispositionsitselfagainstHertz

4. Byapplication--Gatoradeisforafterexercising


5. Byproductuser- Miller is fortheblue-collar,heavybeer drinker


6. By productclass- CarnationInstant Breakfastisa breakfast food


7. Byservic esprovided-CircuitCitybacksupallitsproducts
   Products and brandsareconstantlybeingrepositioned asa result of changesincom-
   petitiveandmarketsituations.Repositioninginvolves changingthemarket'spercept ions
   ofa product orbrandsothat theproductor brandcancompete moreeffectivelyinitspres-
   ent marketorinother marketsegments. Changingmarketperceptions mayrequirechanges
   inthe tangibleproduct orinitssellingprice.Often,however,thenewdifferentiationis accom-
   plishedthrough a ch an ge inthepromotionalmess age.Toevaluatethepositionan d to gen-
   eratediagnosticinformationaboutthefuturepositioningstrategies,itisnecessarytomonitor
   thepositionovertime. Aproduct position,likesportsheroes, maychangereadily;keep-
   ing trackandmakingnecessaryadjustmentsis veryimportant.

ProductLineDecisions Aproductlinecancontainoneproductorhundreds. The

numberofproductsin a productlinerefertoitsdepth,whilethenumberofseparate prod-

uct linesownedbya companyistheproductlinewidth.Severaldecisionsarerelatedto

theproductline.

There aretwobasic strategiesthatdealwithwhetherthecompanywillattemptto

carryeveryconceivableproductneededandwantedbytheconsu mer orwhetherth eywill

carryselecteditems.The formerisa full-linestrategywhilethelatteris calledalimited-

linestrategy. Fewfull-line manufacturersattempttoprovideitemsfo r everyconceivable

marketniche.Andfewlimited-line manufacturers wouldrefusetoaddanitemifthedemand

weregreatenough. Eachstrategyhas its advantages anddisadvantages.

Line extensionsstrategiesinvolveaddinggoodsrelatedtotheinitialproduct, whose

purchaseoruseis keyedto the product.Forexample, a co mputer compan y mayprovide

anextensiveselectionofsoftwareto beusedwithitsprimaryhardware.This strategynot

only increases sale s volume,it al sostrengthens themanufacturer's nameassociationwith

theownerofthebasicequipment,andoffers dealersa broaderline.Theseaddeditemstend

tobesimilartoexistingbrandswithnoinnovations.Theyalsohavecertainrisks. Oftenthe

companymaynothavea highlevelofexpeltise eitherproducingormarketingth eserelated

products. Excessivecosts,inferiorproducts,andth~lo:;sofgoodwillwith distributors and

customersare allposs ibledeleterious outcomes. Thereisalso astrongpossibilityth at such