How To Tuesday: How to Reposition Your Brand
Written on January 12, 2010 by Susan Payton
I just finished reading Jack Trout’s book, Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis. As many of you will be looking to reposition your brands in 2010, I thought it apropo for today’s topic.
First off, the book provides some great examples of successes and failures in repositioning that we can all relate to. Apple. Kodak. Ford. Because it’s a recent book, it talks about the necessity many companies are facing to reposition or die. If making the same thing and marketing it the same way for the past 30 years isn’t working for you anymore, read on.
Trout talks about price, and how it’s hardly ever a good way to reposition yourself. People who shop based on price are never loyal, but those that shop based on experience or differentiation are. Which would you rather capture?
He also talks about the fact that repositioning takes time. It’s an effort across your company and one that will be rewarded if you put the work into it. I love that he says “advertising second,” meaning you should take up any and all PR opportunities before you invest a dime in advertising. Amen, brother. He says, “PR plants the seed. Advertising harvests the crop.”
If you want to shift your focus for your company, get this book. It’s a great read.
My Favorite Quotes
- “Price is often the enemy of differentiation.”
- “Big isn’t more efficient.”
- “Don’t solve a nonexistent problem.”
- “Don’t mess with tradition.”
- “It must be better.”
