The Marketing Book 5th Edition

More Specialized / Tailored Need

More Standardized Need

Customer

in Control

Customer

Delegate

Specialist Just So

Look

After Me

Price

Buster

Service

Shopper

Security

Seeker

Price/

Speed

Source: Forster (1997).

Market segmentation 279

market that the product or service is to occupy.
In doing this, the company is stating to custom-
ers what the product or service means and how
it differs from current and potential competing
products or services.
Positioning is therefore the process of
designing an image and value so that con-
sumers within the target segment understand
what the company or brand stands for in
relation to its competitors. In doing this, the
organization is sending a message to con-
sumers and trying to establish a competitive
advantage that it hopes will appeal to custom-
ers in the target segment. In essence, therefore,
the marketing mix can be seen as the tactical
details of the organization’s positioning strat-
egy. Where, for example, the organization is
pursuing a high-quality position, this needs to
be reflected not just in the quality of the
product or service, but in every element of the
mix, including price, the pattern of distribution,
the style of advertising and the after-sales
service. Without this consistency, the believ-

ability of the positioning strategy reduces

dramatically.

Multidimensional scaling and correspond-

ence analysis can be used to build perceptual

maps. These procedures involve algorithms

that start with measures of similarity between

pairs of products and try to find a geometric

representation of the brands in the product

category. These techniques position products

that are perceived as similar close to one

another and locate dissimilar products far

apart. Dimensions of perceptual maps are not

named by the multidimensional scaling pro-

grammes. Researchers have to interpret the

dimensions themselves based on the geometric

representation. Additional information may be

gathered from consumers to name the dimen-

sions. The attributes that are the most impor-

tant in consumers’ perceptions of a product

category can be determined from survey

research.

In this way, positioning is not actually

something that is done to the product, rather it

Figure 10.8 Travel agencies: service needs