The Hindu Business Line : Ruling the mind-space

"THERE are no facts. There are no best products. All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or the prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion." So say Al Ries and Jack Trout in The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993).

A market is an aggregate of people who need products in a class and have the ability, willingness and authority to purchase them. Positioning is about your product occupying a place in the consumer's mind relative to competing items. It can be done on the basis of price, quality, service, distribution and packaging.

To establish one's position in the market, one needs to identify and communicate a concise personality profile of one's product that is most compelling. Its benefits must be highlighted in a way that the customer can immediately answer the `why-should-I-buy-this-product' question.

The most important aspect of positioning is to discover the USP of your product and how would you communicate all this to the target audience.

Positioning helps carve out an image for a product, not only in the physical market but also in the minds of the consumers. Though a perceptual achievement, it is still significant, even in today's competitive marketing scene.

An exhaustive market analysis helps one gauge the customer's psyche and bent of mind, which changes from person to person. Market research is, thus, a crucial prerequisite to positioning a product in the cutomer's mind.

The positioning strategy needs to be built on specific product features, benefits, needs and solutions, specific user categories, characteristics of other products and cultural tastes and inclinations. Once the perceptual mapping has been done in the target market area, surveys are conducted and statistical conclusions reached to substantiate the results of market characteristics.

Positioning does not always mean you hold the Number One position, it means at least being capable of owning some space in the consumer mind. If you are not on the recall ladder, then create a position for yourself. Try to strengthen the current position you are in, to grab an unoccupied position and reposition the competition. Aim at achieving the largest segment in the consumer's mind, and get noticed regularly.

Qualitative research such as interviews with a small number of people, or more reliable (but expensive) quantitative research, can be done to determine how buyers and end-users understand and value your business vis-à-vis competitors. Such research can help generate a unique selling proposition for the business and create effective advertising and promotion.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that perception, the mind-space you have garnered for your product, and the consumer's opinion; these are the factors that decide who a leader is — a leader not necessarily on the fiscal graph but in the minds and hearts of the audience, the position of a perceptual leader!

(The author is Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Goodlass Nerolac Paints Limited.)

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