Question

discuss the possible threats of changing positioning strategies of the same brand to its target market. support your answer with examples

Answer 1

Repositioning involves changing the market’s perceptions of an offering so that it can compete more effectively in its present market or in other target segments. After they are initially introduced to the market, products, services, and brands are constantly being repositioned as a result of changes in competitive and market situations. Generally it is good to consider repositioning when you see the need or opportunity to improve demand for the offering. Perhaps sales have slowed down, your target segment is getting smaller, or you’ve developed a new innovation you’d like to introduce to the product.

The repositioning process is very similar to the original positioning process, but it has a different starting point. The original positioning process focuses on creating a new position or market niche for an offering that wasn’t there previously. The repositioning process, on the other hand, evaluates the established position of a product, service, or brand and focuses on how to alter the positioning–and, with positioning, market perceptions–in order to improve competitiveness.

Repositioning Risks and Pitfalls:-

While repositioning is quite common, it carries risks and complexities that marketers must consider. Repositioning happens after initial market perceptions have already been established. Effective repositioning isn’t just creating something new. Instead, it is trying to preserve what is good from the existing market positions and build or shift thinking toward something new. Repositioning offers the opportunity to make something new and better than what you had previously, but it also has the potential to undermine or weaken market perceptions.

As you consider repositioning opportunities, try to avoid the following common pitfalls:

• Insufficient research: Marketing research should inform your choices about how to shift positioning in order to improve market perceptions of your product, service, or brand. You should also conduct research to help you understand how your target segment will react to the repositioning, so you’re not caught off guard by adverse reactions.
• A bridge too far: It can be tempting to get wild and crazy with repositioning, especially if you’re trying to freshen things up. While this strategy can work, sometimes marketers go so far in the new direction that customers no longer believe the claims. Their perceptions of the offering can’t accommodate the new message or image, and the offering loses credibility.
• Underestimating “back to basics”: Sometimes repositioning is undertaken because the target segment isn’t sure what a product, service, or brand stands for. Instead of trying to infuse more new ideas and new meaning, marketers are sometimes better served by stripping positioning down to its bare essentials of competitive advantage, benefit, and message. Reinforcing the simple “basics” can be very powerful: this is what customers usually care about most.
• Overpromising: When faced with strong competitive threats, it can be easy for repositioning to overpromise benefits that a product, service, or brand is really ready to deliver. This can be disastrous because it creates customer expectations that the organization cannot live up to. Rarely does this end well.
• Confusing positioning: Repositioning can introduce confusion between the old positioning and the new, especially if they seem to contradict each other. Repositioning needs to offer a clear message for customers; otherwise they are not sure what to believe.

Example:-

The example of United Airlines and its “Rising” campaign. For decades, United positioned itself as a passenger-center carrier providing great service embodied in the iconic tagline “Fly the Friendly Skies.” Seeking a change in the late 1990s, United introduced a new positioning approach it called “Rising.” Their strategy was to to highlight common frustrations with air travel and make bold promises about how United Airlines provided a different, better level of service. However, the airline was unable to operationalize the changes needed to live up to these promises. The company abandoned the campaign after just two years because the positioning–and the airline–had lost credibility with the customer.