Arriving At Your Market
Positioning
Use-it Cases
For Developing Your Market Strategy
For Communication
When you want to think through critical aspects of your market that will lead
to an effective positioning in your chosen market.
When you want to show that your business has a solid strategy for
penetrating and positioning in your market.
When you want to develop a well-rounded market strategy that can be
When you want to show how your relationship to your competitors will
evolve.
ToolTips
refined prior to writing a business plan.
Description:
This method helps you think through the Strategic Question: How are you going to be compared to your competitors and how will you win? The resulting picture
will depict Your market Positioning Axes
Approach:
This method consists of three tools. The first two are used to discover the appropriate information that you need to develop the firnal market strategy diagram
that will depict your Market Positioning Diagram. If you have a good understanding of your industry and market, you may want to develop the Market Position
Diagram without going through the other two tools. Another option is to complete the Market Positioning Diagram first with the best information that you
know, then redo or adjust your results after completing the other two tools.
Tools:
a) Market Forces Diagram: A way to think through the positive and negative forces at work in your industry that will impact your business.
b) Competitor Landscape: A way to think through who your competitors are, what their value proposition is and how you compete to win.
c) Market Positioning Diagram: A picture that depicts where you are going to be compared to your competitors and your strategic direction in your chosen
markets.
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Arriving At Your Market
Positioning
Tool 1: Market Forces Analysis
Tool 3: Market Positioning Diagram
Tool 2: Competitive Landscape Analysis
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Market Positioning Diagram
Use-it Cases
For Strategic Planning
For Communication
When you want to map out your market, competitors and determine your
strategic positioning goals
When you want to quickly communicate your market strategy.
When you need to identify the interim steps to get to your ideal position.
Customize this chart for your investor pitch.
ToolTips
• To develop this diagram you need to understand your market, your competitors and how you will differentiate yourself in the market.
• Your first step is to think about your company’s core differentiators then boiling it down to TWO strategic dimensions. Remember: “Low Cost – High Quality”
is a death sentence!
o Your positioning strategy stems from the internal strengths and resources of your company, but you need to also consider the trends that are impacting
the market long term.
o If you need to better understand what is going on in your market, the “Market Forces” tool in this series and your own research will help you.
• Use these strategic dimensions to develop your ideal position or the extreme positive position on the X and Y axis.
o Think now about the opposite of these dimensions and use them as the negative extreme (Although they are opposite they are not necessarily bad.
You’ll need these to help position your competitors. i.e. If one dimension is providing a completely automated self-service venue for your customers
the opposite would be providing traditional phone and documented customer service.
• Next , think of one or two critical points that you want to reach on the way to your positioning. The first may be where you are right now, but the final one
should represent criteria that let you know you literally “Have Arrived!” so you can plan your next position.
• The next essential step is to research your competitors to understand how they line up on this axis. If you need to better understand your competitors, the
“Competitive Landscape” tool in this series will help you .
o Your top two or three direct competitors will be ones that are successful in serving the market with a similar strategy. These are the folks you will run
into in the lobbies of your potential customers.
o Your other competitors could fall anywhere with respect to the axis, but your direct competitors should be positioned in your first (top right) quadrant.
Case Study: Luminate Technologies
Luminate Technologies is developing intelligent buying guides (personalized product advisors) to enable a new generation of business to consumer web
sites and in-store kiosks. Luminate’s approach is fundamentally different to using the search and browse features on a Web site. Search and browse are
both time consuming and leave the burden of finding the best product squarely on the customer – resulting in an inferior experience and lower conversion
of visits to sales. Among eCommerce market research companies, Jupiter Research –an online market research company – has identified Buying Guides as
a feature that would offer an online merchant a significant competitive advantage. Our technology will do the foot-work for consumers looking to buy 3
products and services, using Luminate’s state-of-the-art semantic web and artificial intelligence technologies.
Market
Positioning Diagram
Diagram
Market Positioning
Most Popular
store search –
instore and online
Most Popular
online search -all
products
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Your Market Positioning Diagram
One winning
Dimension
Potential
Competitor
Critical
Point 2
Critical
Point 1
Compe
titor 1
Opposing
Dimension 2
Your
Comp
any
You’ve
Arrived!
Compe
titor 1
Second
winning
Dimension
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Opposing
Dimension 1
Potential
Competitor
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