Unit-2

Consumer Behavior And Marketing segmentation

consumer behaviour entails "all activities associated with the purchase, use and
disposal of goods and services, including the consumer's emotional, mental and
behavioural responses that precede or follow these activities.
The term consumer can refer to individual consumers as well as organisational
consumers, and more specifically, "an end user, and not necessarily a purchaser, in the
distribution chain of a good or service.

Nature of Consumer Behavior:

1. Influenced by various factors:

a. Marketing factors such as product design, price, promotion, packaging,

positioning and dis¬tribution.

b. Personal factors such as age, gender, education and income level.

c. Psychological factors such as buying motives, perception of the product and

attitudes towards the product.

d. Situational factors such as physical surroundings at the time of purchase, social

surroundings and time factor.

e. Social factors such as social status, reference groups and family.

f. Cultural factors, such as religion, social class—caste and sub-castes.

2. Undergoes a constant change:

Consumer behaviour is not static. It undergoes a change over a period of time
depending on the nature of products. For example, kids prefer colourful and fancy
footwear, but as they grow up as teenagers and young adults, they prefer trendy
footwear, and as middle-aged and senior citizens they prefer more sober footwear. The
change in buying behaviour may take place due to several other factors such as
increase in income level, education level and marketing factors.

3. Varies from consumer to consumer:

All consumers do not behave in the same manner. Differ¬ent consumers behave
differently. The differences in consumer behaviour are due to individual factors such as
the nature of the consumers, lifestyle and culture. For example, some consumers are
technoholics. They go on a shopping and spend beyond their means.
 They borrow money from friends, relatives, banks, and at times even adopt
unethical means to spend on shopping of advance technologies. But there are other
consumers who, despite having surplus money, do not go even for the regular
purchases and avoid use and purchase of advance technologies.

4. Varies from region to region and country to county:

The consumer behaviour varies across states, regions and countries.
For example, the behaviour of the urban consumers is different from that of the rural
consumers. A good number of rural consumers are conservative in their buying
behaviours.

IMPORTANCE
The importance of consumer behaviour in marketing management is also known as
the significance of consumer behaviour. It includes various points such as:
1. To design production policies,
2. Know the effect of price on buying,
3. Exploit the market opportunities,
4. Design marketing mix,
5. Implement STP strategies,
6. Helps in understanding diversified preference,
7. Understanding of various roles played by consumer,
8. Results in consumer satisfaction.
1.To design production policies-
This is the first importance of consumer behavior and it means that all the
production policies have designed taking into consideration the consumer preference
so that product can be successful in the market.
In every business, the main motive is to enhance the production and as well as
sales of the company and to do all these, any company or business has to win the trust
of its customers and studying about their tastes, likings, and preferences.
2. Know the effect of price on buying-
This is the second consumer behaviour importance and it means that consumer
behavior can help in understanding the effect of price on buying. Whenever the price is
moderate on cheap more and more customer will buy the product.
After the time of production, there comes a time in which the company has to
decide what the price of our product will be because it helps to divide the categories of
the customer and also helps to attain more sales.
3.Exploit the market opportunities
This is the third importance or significance of consumer behavior and it means
that the change in consumer preference can be a good opportunity for the mark to bring
something which cannot as a revaluation in the market.
For Example– When palm pops introduced in the market, it was successful due to the
stylish and sleek design.
4. Design marketing mix-
 This is the fourth importance of consumer behavior and it means that consumer
behavior is very much vital in designing and approaching marketing mix to be chosen
(product, price, place, and promotion).
The product should be valuable, the price should be moderate, place distribution
should be intensive and an appropriate. Promotion mechanism should be there.
5. Implement STP Strategies-
This is the fifth importance of consumer behaviour and it means that the
segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies are implemented by understanding
the behaviour of consumers towards the various brands.
The products are targeted grouping the customers having common taste and
preference and finally positioned in the market. Thus, building a positive image of the
product of a company related to the competitors and as well as help to beat them also.
6. Helps in understanding diversified preferences-
This is the sixth importance of consumer behaviour and it means that the
consumer preferences are diversified in nature and their keep on changing over a
particular period of time. Nowadays consumers are more value conscious and they
want to extract the maximum benefits from a particular product of a brand.
7. Understanding of various roles played by consumers-
This is the seventh importance and it means that there are various roles played by
the consumers in the consumer decision-making process. These roles are initiators,
influencers, decider, users, buyers, and gatekeeper. The steps of the consumer decision-
making process can be described are as follows:-
1. Need Recognition,
2. Information Search,
3. Evaluation of Alternatives,
4. Purchase Decisions,
5. Post Purchase Behaviour.
8. Results in customers satisfaction-
This is the eighth importance of consumer behaviour and it means when the
designed product is matching the expectations of the customer than they result in
customer satisfaction. In case the product is exceeding the expectations of the
customer then its result in customer delight.
In an organization, there are various departments like purchase, personnel,
finance, production, marketing and all departments have a motive to satisfy the
customer needs and wants.
Consumer buying decision process
Decision-making is a cognitive process that results in the selection of a course of
action among several alternatives. It involves the consideration of risks and rewards
associated with each possible choice. Ultimately, the decision-making process is
influenced by one's goals, values, and beliefs.
When a consumer is faced with a purchase decision, they typically go through
five stages:
· Recognition of needs and wants
· Information search
· Evaluation of alternatives
· Purchasing
· Post-purchase evaluation
1. Recognition of Needs and Wants
Ultimately, a sale occurs when the customer finds an opportunity to solve a
problem they are experiencing with a product or service. Customers rarely purchase
products and services just for the sake of buying them; they purchase things because it
solves a problem and helps them reach what they want to achieve.
2. Information Search
Once a customer recognizes their problem, the search for a suitable solution
begins. They know there is an issue and are looking for someone or something to help
them fix it. To reach them at this stage, focus on creating valuable information that the
potential customer can use to make an informed decision about the products or
services you offer. Let customers know you offer services they haven’t considered
before and appeal to people who may search independently.
.3. Evaluation of Alternatives
At the end of this stage of the consumer decision process, the consumer will
probably know which product will solve their problem, but before making a commitment,
they’ll compare their potential product or service of choice against alternatives. This is
normally done by evaluating it against alternatives based on quality, price, popularity,
and reviews.
4. Purchasing
The fourth stage of the decision-making process is the purchasing stage. This is
when the consumer decides which product or service to buy. Specifically, the factors
that affect the purchasing stage include:
 Need for the product
 Perceived benefits of the product
 Perceived risks of the product
 Ability to pay for the product
 Any social influences that may affect the consumer’s decision
If all goes to plan and your marketing efforts pay off, the consumer makes their final
decision and purchases the product or service.
5. Post-Purchase Evaluation
The last stage of the consumer buying cycle is the post-purchase evaluation.
After purchasing the product, the customer weighs up their purchase and compares it
to their overall expectations. This either leads to satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
When a customer is satisfied with a purchase, their actions typically reflect this
satisfaction. They may:
 Choose to return to the business for future transactions
 Recommend the company to friends or family
 Provide positive feedback
Factors influencing consumer buying behavior
Here are 5 major factors that influence consumer behavior:
1. Psychological Factors
2. Social Factors
3. Cultural Factors
4. Personal Factors
5. Economic Factors

1. Psychological Factors
Human psychology is a major determinant of consumer behavior. These factors
are difficult to measure but are powerful enough to influence a buying decision.
Some of the important psychological factors are:

i. Motivation
When a person is motivated enough, it influences the buying behavior of the
person. A person has many needs such as social needs, basic needs, security needs,
esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Out of all these needs, the basic needs and
security needs take a position above all other needs. Hence basic needs and security
needs have the power to motivate a consumer to buy products and services.
ii. Perception
Consumer perception is a major factor that influences consumer behavior.
Customer perception is a process where a customer collects information about a
product and interprets the information to make a meaningful image of a particular
product.
. iii. Learning
When a person buys a product, he/she gets to learn something more about the
product. Learning comes over a period of time through experience. A consumer’s
learning depends on skills and knowledge. While skill can be gained through practice,
knowledge can be acquired only through experience.
.iv. Attitudes and Beliefs
Consumers have certain attitudes and beliefs which influence the buying
decisions of a consumer. Based on this attitude, the consumer behaves in a particular
way towards a product..
2. Social Factors
Humans are social beings and they live around many people who influence their
buying behavior. Humans try to imitate other humans and also wish to be socially
accepted in the society. Hence their buying behavior is influenced by other people
around them. These factors are considered as social factors. Some of the social factors
are:
i. Family
Family plays a significant role in shaping the buying behavior of a person. A
person develops preferences from his childhood by watching family buy products and
continues to buy the same products even when they grow up.
ii. Reference Groups
A reference group is a group of people with whom a person associates himself.
Generally, all the people in the reference group have common buying behavior and
influence each other.
iii. Roles and status
A person is influenced by the role that he holds in the society. If a person is in a
high position, his buying behavior will be influenced largely by his status. A person who
is a Chief Executive Officer in a company will buy according to his status while a staff or
an employee of the same company will have different buying pattern.
3. Cultural factors
A group of people is associated with a set of values and ideologies that belong to
a particular community. When a person comes from a particular community, his/her
behavior is highly influenced by the culture relating to that particular community. Some
of the cultural factors are:
i. Culture
Cultural Factors have a strong influence on consumer buying behavior. Cultural
Factors include the basic values, needs, wants, preferences, perceptions, and behaviors
that are observed and learned by a consumer from their near family members and other
important people around them.
ii. Subculture
Within a cultural group, there exists many subcultures. These subcultural groups
share the same set of beliefs and values. Subcultures can consist of people from
different religion, caste, geographies and nationalities. These subcultures by itself form
a customer segment.
iii. Social Class
Each and every society across the globe has the form of social class. The social
class is not just determined by the income, but also other factors such as the
occupation, family background, education and residence location. Social class is
important to predict the consumer behavior.
4. Personal Factors
 Factors that are personal to the consumers influence their buying behavior.
These personal factors differ from person to person, thereby producing different
perceptions and consumer behavior.
Some of the personal factors are:
i. Age
Age is a major factor that influences buying behavior. The buying choices of
youth differ from that of middle-aged people. Elderly people have a totally different
buying behavior. Teenagers will be more interested in buying colorful clothes and
beauty products. Middle-aged are focused on house, property and vehicle for the family.
ii. Income
Income has the ability to influence the buying behavior of a person. Higher
income gives higher purchasing power to consumers. When a consumer has higher
disposable income, it gives more opportunity for the consumer to spend on luxurious
products. Whereas low-income or middle-income group consumers spend most of their
income on basic needs such as groceries and clothes.
iii. Occupation
Occupation of a consumer influences the buying behavior. A person tends to buy
things that are appropriate to this/her profession. For example, a doctor would buy
clothes according to this profession while a professor will have different buying pattern.
iv. Lifestyle
Lifestyle is an attitude, and a way in which an individual stay in the society. The
buying behavior is highly influenced by the lifestyle of a consumer. For example when a
consumer leads a healthy lifestyle, then the products he buys will relate to healthy
alternatives to junk food.
5. Economic Factors
The consumer buying habits and decisions greatly depend on the economic
situation of a country or a market. When a nation is prosperous, the economy is strong,
which leads to the greater money supply in the market and higher purchasing power for
consumers. When consumers experience a positive economic environment, they are
more confident to spend on buying products.
:i. Personal Income
When a person has a higher disposable income, the purchasing power increases
simultaneously. Disposable income refers to the money that is left after spending
towards the basic needs of a person.
When there is an increase in disposable income, it leads to higher expenditure on
various items. But when the disposable income reduces, parallelly the spending on
multiple items also reduced.
ii. Family Income
Family income is the total income from all the members of a family. When more
people are earning in the family, there is more income available for shopping basic
needs and luxuries. Higher family income influences the people in the family to buy
more. When there is a surplus income available for the family, the tendency is to buy
more luxury items which otherwise a person might not have been able to buy.
iii. Consumer Credit
When a consumer is offered easy credit to purchase goods, it promotes higher
spending. Sellers are making it easy for the consumers to avail credit in the form of
credit cards, easy installments, bank loans, hire purchase, and many such other credit
options. When there is higher credit available to consumers, the purchase of comfort
and luxury items increases.
iv. Liquid Assets
Consumers who have liquid assets tend to spend more on comfort and luxuries.
Liquid assets are those assets, which can be converted into cash very easily. Cash in
hand, bank savings and securities are some examples of liquid assets. When a
consumer has higher liquid assets, it gives him more confidence to buy luxury goods.
v. Savings
A consumer is highly influenced by the amount of savings he/she wishes to set
aside from his income. If a consumer decided to save more, then his expenditure on
buying reduces. Whereas if a consumer is interested in saving more, then most of his
income will go towards buying products.

MARKET SEGMENTATION
MEANING
In marketing, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer
or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into
sub-groups of consumers (known as segments) based on shared characteristics.
DEFINITION
As per SJ.Skinner, “Market segmentation is the process of dividing a total
market into groups of consumers who have relatively similar product needs.”
Some of the importance of market segmentation are described below:
1. Co-Ordination of Product and Marketing Appeals – As market segmentation
presents an opportunity to understand the nature of the market, the seller can
adjust his thrust to attract the maximum number of customers by various publicity
media and appeals.
2. Better Position to Spot Marketing Opportunities – As the producer can make a
fair estimate of the volume of his sale and the possibilities of furthering his sales in
the regions where response of the customers is poor.

3. Allocation of Marketing Budget – It is on the basis of market segmentation that

marketing budget is adjusted for a particular region or locality. Specific budget can
be allocated according to different market segments.
4. Meeting the Competition Effectively – It helps the producer to face the
competition of his rivals effectively. The producer can adopt different strategies for
different markets taking into account the rival’s strategies.
5. Effective Marketing Programme – It helps the producer to adopt an effective
marketing programme and serve the consumer better at comparatively lower cost.
Diverse marketing programmes can be attached for various segments.
6. Evaluation of Marketing Activities – Market segmentation helps the manufacturer
to find out and compare the marketing potentialities of the products. It helps to
adjust production and using his resources in the most profitable manner. As soon
as the product becomes obsolete, the product line could be diversified or
discontinued.
BASES OF MARKET SEGMENTATION.
The bases for market segmentation can be broadly classified into following
groups:
1. Customer based segmentation
2. Product related segmentation
3. Competition related segmentation.
1. Customer Based Segmentation:
Customer based segmentation further classifies as follows:
a. Geographic Location of Customers:
The starting point of all market segmentation is the geographic location of
customers. It helps the firm in planning the marketing offer. The common method is
to classify according to rural and urban, metro or non-metro markets. There are also
other classifications like district and block markets. We all know that here was the
perception that the rural markets are different from urban markets and naturally the
product promotion, pricing and distribution were accordingly designed to meet
those markets.
But now with the development of technology and the advent of various modes of
communication like TV, the customers in the rural areas are much exposed and are
more aware of the availability market. Today the rural customer buys the same
branded product which is purchased by urban customer.
b. Demographic Characteristics:
Factors like age, sex, income, occupation, family size, education; marital status is
used singly or in combination to segment the market.
i. Age:
Age is one of the most important factors for segmenting the market. The market
the producer should know for what age group his product could be most suited so
that he can plan his pricing policy, advertisement policy, marketing policy and
strategy accordingly.
For example, Cloth market or Garment market may be segmented on this basis of
age as –
Children b/w the age group of 3-12yrs
Children b/w the age group of 13-15yrs
Teenagers’ b/w the age group of 16-20yrs
Adults’ b/w the age group of 21-30yrs and so on
ii. Income:
The manufacturer should also bear in mind while preparing his marketing policy, the
income of the prospective buyers of his product. Consumer’s needs, behaviour,
persuasion etc. differ in different income groups. For example, people in high-
income group prefer quality of goods, design, fashion-oriented products, etc. hence
they can be motivated on these factors. People in low-income group attract towards
low price.
iii. Sex:
Marketers may also be divided on the basis of sex i.e., male and female. Some
products are exclusively produced for women while some others are for men. For
example, Lip Stick is meant for a woman and on the other hand Shaving cream is
only meant for men.
iv. Occupation:
Occupation is also another variable in segmenting the market. An individual’s
employment does definitely affect the consumption; different categories of
segments can be identified like doctors, consultants, entrepreneurs, lecturers etc.
v. Education:
Education of the consumer also affects the preference and taste. The choice of
literate person would obviously differ from that of an illiterate, as a literate he would
be having a lot of exposure to the outside worlds where as an illiterate although
exist the same environment would lack the ability to understand, when we look at all
these aspects it is easy to indicate that education plays an important role in the life
of an individual as it creates awareness about the environment, the availability of
different products in the market and awareness about their rights.
Accordingly based on education, the Indian Market can be segmented as illiterates,
literates-high school, college and university educated
vi. Marital Status:
Marital status is another demographics variable used. The behavioral of single and
married people differs. Married people are more conservative than unmarried
people.
vii. Family Size and Structure:
Markets may also be segmented on the basis of size of family Refrigerators and
cookers are produced in different sizes to suit the needs of families of different
sizes.
c. Psychographics Variables:
No two consumers act in the same manner though they two may be of the same
age, from the same profession, same education and have same income. Each of the
customers may have different attitudes because of personality and life-style
differences. Markets are using psychographics variables to segment their market.
For example, Citibank, Diners card, Titan Watch, Savvy has used Psychographics
variables to segment its market and distance itself from all others, including Femina.
Savvy Women is identified as the highly liberated independent strong women, who
have a definite plan in the society and to whom career would be extremely
important.
d. Buyer Readiness:
Buyers are at different stages of readiness. People may be unaware, people who are
aware but are not interested, people who are interested and desires to buy and
those who will buy the product. The relative proportion of buyers at different stages
will affect the marketer’s tasks.
2. Product Related Segmentation:
Different customers use the same product in different situations for example;
Rasna – for parties, unexpected guests, and a drink for quenching thirst etc. A
market makes the product versatile so that it can be used in different situation. A
consumer may buy different brands of the same product for different situations for
e.g., saree for kitty party, work place.
Thus depending upon the situation, a product or a brand may be selected by the
customers. Knowing these situations marketer can plan the positioning strategy.
Another product related variable is the benefit segmentation. The marketer
identifies benefits that the customer looks for when buying a product.
3. Competition Based Segmentation:
The success in marketing depends on the number of loyal customers. Customer
loyalty therefore is an important factor to determine the competitive position of the
firm.
On the basis of brand loyalty further the market could be classified as:
i. Hard core loyal – These are the customers who buy the same brand, for examples
Newspaper readers, tea drinkers etc.
ii. Soft-core loyal – Customers who are loyal to two or three brands in a product
group, for e.g., Housewife buying toilet soap (Lux, Cinthol, Pears). The marketers
have to watch such customers and shift them to the core loyal.
iii. Switchers – Customers who never stick to a brand. This is a slipping market
segment for the marketer. The marketer has to find out why customers keep
switching from brand to brand and from the existing to the competing brand. This
can help the firm to strengthen its competitive position in the market. The marketer
should also take into amount factors like price, non-availability of brands, indifferent
habit etc.
TARGET MARKET SELECTION
A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of
customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its
marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a
product or service.
A target market is a group of customers (individuals, households or organisations), for
which an organisation designs, implements and maintains a marketing mix suitable for
the needs and preferences of that group
In terms of evaluating markets, three core considerations are essential:[13]
 Segment size and growth
 Segment structural attractiveness
 Compatibility with company objectives and resources.
However, these considerations are somewhat subjective and call for high levels of
managerial judgement. Accordingly, analysts have turned to more objective measures
of segment attractiveness. Historically a number of different approaches have been
used to select target markets. These include:[14]
Distance Criterion: Under this approach, the business attempts to define the
primary geographic catchment area for the business by identifying people who
live within a predetermined distance of the business. For a retailer or service-
provider the distance might be around 5 km; for domestic tourist destination, the
distance might be 300km. This method is used extensively in retailing.
Sales Criterion: Using this method, the business allocates its resources to target
markets based on historical sales patterns. This method is especially useful
when used in conjunction with sales conversion rates. This method is used in
retail. A disadvantage of the method is that it assumes past sales will remain
constant and fails to account for incremental market potential.
Interest Survey Methods: This method is used to identify new business potential.
Primary research, typically in the form of surveys, identifies people who have not
purchased a product or service, but have positive attitudes and exhibit some
interest in making a purchase in the short-term. Although this method overcomes
some of the disadvantages of other methods, it is expensive even when
syndicated research is used.
Chain ratio and indexing methods: This method is used in marketing of branded
goods and retail. It involves ranking alternative market segments based on
current indices. Widely used indices are the Category Index and Brand Index. The
Category Index measures overall patterns within the product category while the
Brand Index calculates a given brand's performance within the category. By
dividing the Category Index by the Brand Index, a measure of market potential
can be obtained.

POSITIONING CONCEPT

Definition: Positioning defines where your product (item or service) stands in

relation to others offering similar products and services in the marketplace as
well as the mind of the consumer.
IMPORTANCES OF POSITIONING

1. Positioning as the interface between brand identity and brand image

Brand identity in the marketplace depends on the positioning. Customers’
perception of the brand develops only when the Market Positioning is proper.

2. Positioning as a source of competitive advantage

Better marketing positioning will give the company a competitive advantage over
other firms on the market.

3. Market Differentiation with Positioning – Positioning breaks the clutter of

noise
The are plenty of products, and the number of firms delivering them is several.
Positioning will help a firm to stand out in the crowd of sellers.

A clear Brand Position enables you to efficiently and effectively communicate

and reach your target audience. Clear market positioning makes the brand and
its product visible and attractive to customers.

4. Positioning Makes Buy Easy for Customers

Consumers want easy solutions and options to make purchase decisions. And
positioning triggers an emotional response from your target audiences, giving
them a quick way to trust you, increase customers’ interest level, and increase
 sales numbers.
Positioning
Brand positioning is the process of positioning your brand in the mind of your
customers. More than a tagline or a fancy logo, brand positioning is the strategy used to
set your business apart from the rest.
Effective brand positioning happens when a brand is perceived as favorable,
valuable, and credible to the consumer. The sum of those three becomes unique to your
business, and as a result, your customers carve out a place for you in their minds.
This is important because being "different" from the competition isn’t enough to
win in the market. Take it from brand positioning expert Will Barron at Salesman.org —
he says, "You only get the opportunity to position your brand when you’re doing
something remarkable. Anything else and it’s just comparison."
Importants
You have a reputation whether you cultivate it or not, so you might as well create
a brand positioning plan that can help you take control of your reputation and brand
image.
More than a century ago, a soda company decided to offer a never-before-seen
product: the first-ever cola drink. In doing so, it successfully positioned itself as the
original. Now, Coca-Cola benefits from millions of sales around the world and is a
household staple. It's positioned in our minds as the gold standard of soda.
Brand positioning allows a company to differentiate itself from competitors. This
differentiation helps a business increase brand awareness, communicate value, and
justify pricing — all of which impact its bottom line.
But not all brand positioning strategies are the same or have the same objective.
Depending on the nature of your offering and industry, your positioning and messaging
will vary. Let’s go over a few common positioning strategies that can help you get
started.
Types of Brand Positioning Strategies
. Customer Service Positioning Strategy
. Convenience-Based Positioning Strategy
. Price-Based Positioning Strategy
. Quality-Based Positioning Strategy
. Differentiation Strategy
. Social Media Positioning Strategy
. Other Positioning Strategies

When you’re deciding how to position your brand in the marketplace, you have several
options to choose from. You want to tailor your strategy to highlight your product’s
competitive advantage and point out your competition’s shortcomings.
Below are a few popular positioning strategies that you can use to differentiate your
brand in the market.
1. Customer Service Positioning Strategy
There’s a pretty good chance you've selected a retailer, restaurant, or another service
provider because of its customer service at least once.
Companies in verticals that are known for inattentive support benefit from highlighting
their friendly customer service to differentiate themselves. Other companies — with
products that are particularly complicated — can highlight their strong support systems
to attract new customers.
The most tangible benefit of this strategy is that great customer service can help justify
a higher price point. Apple’s products, for example, come at a high premium, but its
support staff is friendly and quick to respond.
These service interactions also are an integral part of the flywheel — an initially unhappy
customer may turn into a promoter if they have a great service experience.
Be diligent with this strategy. If you advertise exceptional customer service but don’t
deliver, you’ll invite bad reviews, angry tirades over phone and email, callouts on social
media, and even Better Business Bureau complaints.

Pro Tip: Be sure to equip your team with the right customer service software to deliver
on your promise.
2. Convenience-Based Positioning Strategy
A convenience-based positioning strategy highlights why a company’s product or
service is more convenient to use than the competition’s. This convenience can be
based on factors like location, ease-of-use, wide accessibility, multiple platform support..
The convenience may also be because of the product’s design. For example, Swiffer
advertises its WetJet product as a convenient alternative to a traditional mop because
of its disposable mopping pads.
Positioning your product or service as the most convenient will automatically attract
busy consumers. And like the previous strategy, it can also justify a higher price point.
For example, a Swiffer WetJet is $26, whereas an O-Cedar mop is $10.
But in some cases, offering convenience can be costly. For instance, if you're in the B2B
SaaS space, and you offer your product across multiple operating systems, you'll likely
need a strong, consistently available development team to deliver on your promise.
Those developers would need to be on call to resolve bugs and other issues for this
positioning strategy to work — and the costs to support them might get out of hand.
The last item you’d need to check is whether your product is truly convenient. The
WetJet mop, for example, could potentially be inconvenient because customers
constantly have to go to the store to buy refills. If you sold a similar product, you might
want to offer automatic refill programs or subscriptions to fulfill the expectations your
customers have of convenience.
3. Price-Based Positioning Strategy
A company uses a price-based position strategy to present its product or service as the
most affordable option. When you position your product as the cheapest on the market,
you can generate a large customer base because no one likes to spend more than they
have to. Offering the lowest price is an easy way to get prospects to convert.
But this strategy comes with its share of risks and drawbacks — namely, giving
prospects the impression of lower production quality.
You might also run into economic issues that can hinder your brand positioning over
time — like Subway’s $5 footlong that couldn’t survive inflation. Price-based positioning
can also initiate a price war, though that mainly applies to certain industries such as air
travel.
4. Quality-Based Positioning Strategy
Companies implement this strategy when they want to emphasize the quality of their
product —quality that often comes at a premium cost.
The quality of a product can be shown through exceptional craftsmanship, small-batch
production, high-quality materials, and even sustainable practices that make it more
expensive to produce. The quality of service can be shown through evidence of
exceptional end results, high ROI, and glowing customer testimonials.
Budget-conscious shoppers may bypass your brand in favor of a cheaper alternative.
But this is where buyer personas would come into play. The income and shopping
habits of your target customers would determine whether emphasizing quality (with a
higher premium) is the right approach for your brand.
5. Differentiation Strategy
A differentiation positioning strategy relies on a product’s uniqueness or innovative
qualities in comparison to the traditional competition. Tesla is a great example.
Before the Tesla vehicles existed, there hadn’t been an attractive, fully electric vehicle
available for purchase. Now, it's the leading tech company pioneering self-driving cars
and AI robots.
If you implement this strategy, consumers who value innovation will be attracted to your
brand and product. The one potential limitation is that the public could be discouraged
by the lack of history of use. If your product is completely new, consider providing the
research and testing that went into its creation. Often, innovation-driven consumers like
to know how the new technology or product works.
6. Social Media Positioning Strategy
This type of positioning is unique because it’s focused on a set of channels rather than
a stand-alone tactic. And the channels your brand uses (and doesn’t use) say just as
much as your messaging does.
Believe it or not, your brand doesn’t have to show up across each platform. When using
this strategy, the key is to choose the channels your target market uses the most. The
factors to consider when choosing a social media platform for your brand strategy are:
 Where your target audience spends leisure time
 Where your target audience spends money
 Where your target audience looks for information and advice
There’s a chance these three areas could be found on one social platform, but they
might be spread across several of them. Once you narrow down where your brand
should show up, you can craft your messaging to meet the customer where they are.
7. Other Positioning Strategies
These aren’t the only strategies out there. You can position your brand as the leader, the
first of its kind (the original), or the most popular. You can also position your product as
the solution to a pervasive problem.
Another approach is to directly compare your brand to your competitors. In this strategy,
you’d directly call out your competition in your ad campaigns and highlight your
product’s advantages over theirs.
When crafting your position, be sure to take a close look at your target buyers and their
behaviors. Whether they prefer to save, spend money on quality, or have the latest and
newest gadget will determine how you position your brand.
Now that you have an idea of the few approaches you can take, it’s time to create a
positioning plan that establishes your brand as the friendliest, the most convenient, the
cheapest, or simply the best choice compared to other brands.
Marketing mix (4 Ps)

Main article: Marketing mix

Once the segmentation has been carried out, target markets selected and the
positioning strategy developed, the marketer can begin to shape the marketing mix (or
marketing program) around the needs, wants and motivations of the target audience.[18]
The traditional marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing decision, namely:
product, price, promotion, and place.[19] When implemented successfully, these activities
should deliver a firm's products or services to target consumers in a cost efficient
manner. The four core marketing activities include: product, price, place and
promotion.[20]
Product
A ‘Product’ is "something or anything that can be offered to the customers for attention,
acquisition, or consumption and satisfies some want or need." (Riaz & Tanveer (n.d);
Goi (2011) and Muala & Qurneh (2012)). The product is the primary means of
demonstrating how a company differentiates itself from competitive market offerings.
The differences can include quality, reputation, product benefits, product features, brand
name or packaging.
Price
Price provides customers with an objective measure of value.(Virvilaite et al., 2009;
Nakhleh, 2012). Price can be an important signal of product quality. Prices can also
attract specific market segments. For instance, premium pricing is used when a more
affluent segment is the target, but a lower-priced strategy might be used when price-
conscious consumers are the target. Price can also be used tactically, as a means to
advertise, short stints of lower prices increase sales for a variety of reasons such as to
shift product over-runs or out of season goods.
Place
Place refers to the availability of the product to the targeted customers (Riaz & Tanveer,
n.d). So a product or company does not have to be close to where its customer base is
but instead they just have to make their product as available as possible. For maximum
efficiency, distribution channels must identify where the target market are most likely to
make purchases or access the product. Distribution (or place) may also need to
consider the needs of special-interest segments such as the elderly or those who are
confined to wheelchairs. For instance, businesses may need to provide ramps for
wheelchair access or baby change rooms for mothers.
Promotion
Promotion refers to "the marketing communication used to make the offer known to
potential customers and persuade them to investigate it further".[29] May comprise
elements such as: advertising, PR, direct marketing and sales promotion. Target
marketing allows the marketer or sales team to customize their message to the
targeted group of consumers in a focused manner. Research has shown that racial
similarity, role congruence, labeling intensity of ethnic identification, shared knowledge
and ethnic salience all promote positive effects on the target market. Research has
generally shown that target marketing strategies are constructed from consumer
inferences of similarities between some aspects of the advertisement (e.g., source
pictured, language used, lifestyle represented) and characteristics of the consumer (e.g.
reality or desire of having the represented style). Consumers are persuaded by the
characteristics in the advertisement and those of the consumer.[30]