If You Are Confused About The Concept Of brand Positioning

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The Surface Meanings of Positioning

This health care product lost the market share because it didnt find the correct position and failed to win the consumers favor.

Working in the office, you should know your position clearly to win the praise of your colleagues and get a promotion.

This company positioned itself to be a third-party hotel which only provides top grade services and thus got remarkable profits over time.

The definition of positioning is accepted and used widely. However, if we do a sample survey of business managers and marketing personnel, and people working in market consulting services and the advertising industry for their understanding of “positioning “, I believe you will get a variety of answers. It seems that even many professional people, just simply accepted and memorized the term “positioning”, and use it in some specific situations! Few people truly consider “positioning” as a tool and how to put it in to practice.

If “positioning” is indeed effective, at least we need to understand the concept, master the methods, and put theories into practice. We can not just purely discuss about what “positioning” is and treat it as a fashionable term to enrich our vocabulary.

Now, lets look into “positioning”.

Different positioning

Advertising Age, an authoritative advertising magazine in the United States, published Positioning Era in 1972 written by Al Ries and Jack Trout, which declared the birth of positioning.

Al Ries and Jack Trout thought that “positioning” is a method of occupying a market position in the minds of the target audiences. Therefore, they use the present continuous tense “Positioning” to express the process. Any country, company, organization, individual, product or service could use this method to occupy a position in the minds of consumers.

The “positioning” that Al Ries and Jack Trout mentioned actually refers to in-depth study of the target audience from the perspective of the audience themselves in order to choose information to distribute effectively and guarantee a means for consistent communications. This will create a method which impresses consumers and gets them memorize the company in a certain way. Using common language to express these ideas we can name it: the what to say approach.

The principle of positioning brought forward a new era. With this concept widely known and accepted by the mass, marketing experts also tried to connect this principle with the existing marketing theory systems. Thus, we have the classic “S-T-P” steps, S stands for segmentation; T for targeting and P for positioning which is something that occupies a certain place in the minds of the consumers with its unique designs in supplies. (Philip Kolter, Marketing Management 10th edition). Please note that “positioning” here has surpassed its original meaning, it is not just a means of communication, but also holds meaning of unique design in supply.” In other words, the meaning of “positioning” lies in how to design the products, how to price them and what special services should be provided. Obviously, providing uniqueness in supply has actually become the key work of marketing! Therefore, “positioning” changed from a means of communication to the core point of marketing. Marketing experts have completely accepted the term “positioning” and admits the positive influence of adding “positioning” to Marketing Theories, and thus, its meaning have been enriched. Frankly speaking, from the perspective of marketing experts, “positioning” is not just matter of “what we should say”; it has become “what we should sell”.

When marketing experts promote the “S-T-P” method, strategic positioning” becomes the focus of discussion. Michael Porter’s On Competition said that: The essence of the business strategy is “positioning.” In his book, he pointed out: Enterprises can position themselves based on the types of specific products. Just as Galanz’s strategy has focused on the production and development of microwave ovens; enterprises can also position themselves based on all the needs or most needs of specific customers or as how IKEA positioned itself by providing a complete series of household products to young people, who care mainly about price, like to change styles all the time, and do not need services.

After determining a “positioning” strategy, a set of carefully selected activities can be carried out accordingly to strengthen the uniqueness value to their consumers. Take the Southwest Airlines for example, its “positioning” strategy is to provide serve- specific air routes and low-cost and convenient services, in this way, it can reduce boarding time, forgo providing any unnecessary VIP cabin services and only purchase Boeing 737 aircraft in order to enhance the efficiency of maintenance and strengthen its competitive advantages. These simplified activities are carried out based on the strategic “positioning” plan, and has helped to continuously consolidate their market “positioning”, so that other airlines can not compete with them at all.

From the perspective of Michael Porte, “positioning” has got even a richer meaning. The “positioning” of enterprises is what we should do and this is the essence of business management strategy and also the origin of competitive advantages.

There are three different levels of application of “positioning”. They are enterprise strategy level, marketing level and communication level respectively (see picture 1). Confusion often occurs because of the definitions of these three levels of “positioning” are actually different, but all of them are wide-spread and accepted. When we are able to examine “positioning” from different levels, then we can confirm in which level to use “positioning” correctly so that we can avoid confusion about its definition.

It is worth mentioning that the three levels of “positioning” dont contradict each other, on the contrary, the unification of the three levels can form a strong competitive advantage.

For example, Volvo focuses on producing safe cars, the “positioning” of which is in the enterprise level and also in marketing level, this is consistently shown in the process of their communications. So in the minds of consumers, Volvo occupies a market position of safety.

The ideal state of the three levels of “positioning” is a united one. Southwest Airlines, IKEA and Harley Motorcycles are some of the best examples of unity among the three levels of positioning. Strategic “positioning” is the core and direction of business management, so as to determine the direction of the products and services development, and further establish its unique position in the minds of target consumers through communications. We can see that such enterprises are strong powers in their markets.

Positioning and Brands

Clients often need an advertising company to provide positioning services for a certain brands. However, because Al Ries and Jack Trout didnt attempt to construct a theoretical system, nor there is clear definition about the relationship between “branding” and “positioning”. Therefore, the following situations are likely to occur: the clients who believe in the positioning theory claim that they need brand positioning for their shampoo products, for instance, but actually, they do not know what kind of materials concerning the brand the advertising company will submit. Proceeding from the view of business, the advertising company is willing to provide this service for the client, yet due to lack of theoretical basis and standards, clients can not actually identify the quality of the proposal submitted by the advertising company. The two sides will not be able to have in-depth negotiations or revisions on the proposal.

We should change this situation by creating a clear definition; otherwise this problem will seriously affect daily work progress and market results for many enterprises. Like the invention of the light bulb is based on the discovery of electricity, the “positioning” of a brand comes from the unity between “positioning” and “branding”, it is closest to Al Ries and Jacks classic theory on positioning–the positioning of communication, which is the first of the three levels of positioning in theory and practice mentioned above.

“Branding” is the general awareness of consumers on specific organizations, products, services, and the differences among them (Please refer to my article If You Are Confused About the Concept of Branding, and Graphic II in this article to familiarize yourself with the concept of branding). “Positioning” is the process of occupying a position in consumers minds. Therefore, we can consider “branding” as a result, and “positioning” as an approach.

Graphic II
Distinguished-What the brand represents?
Entity-What the brand stands for?
Awareness-to who the brand is meaningful for?

Giving positioning to a brand is to rebuild consumers awareness through the means of communication, which is actually a process of establishing a position or adjusting the present position. When this is completed, in the minds of consumers, a brand will be established or the awareness about a certain symbol has fundamentally changed.

If “positioning” is an approach, then from the perspective of overall brand management, what is the relevance of positioning itself? We know that the core means of brand management is to establish the “symbol system” in the minds of target consumers which is, in fact, to manage the communications and the differences mentioned in the materials provided to further manage the awareness of the target consumers. For this aspect of brand management a relatively complete methodology system exists; David Aakers brand recognition system.” In this system, as a process, brand management is divided into four steps:

Graphic III
1. Establishing brand awareness
2. Brand positioning
3. Communication
4. Following and checking the effects of communication activities and continue to improve them.

In these four steps, the main task of brand positioning is to have the brand recognition content and brand value orientation communications initiatively communicate with the target consumers.

Perhaps we can use peoples thoughts as an example to help us understand David Aakers insightful view. View points of Brand recognition is how a man sees himself, brand positioning is how this person describes himself and brand awareness is how others look at this person.

It is very simple; the essence of brand management is to combine other peoples opinions about you and your own opinion about yourself through various means. Brand positioning, however, is to let others remember your methods in this complex and saturated competitive environment (Graphic IV shows the relationship among brand identification, positioning and awareness).

Conclusion

This article aims to dissipate the fog of the concept and directly reveal the core concept.

Many people are confused about positioning, the reason is that the concept of positioning originated only from communication, but it has been further developed to the following three levels: strategy, marketing and communication.

Many people are confused about the relationship between branding and positioning as well, it is because they confuse branding itself with brand development and management measures.

The problem that we are facing is not the lack of theories, but actually having too many theories on this topic. Lets learn how to distinguish and select proper theories, not only select them but truly, systemically and creatively devote ourselves to implementing the theories we believe in. If these things are accomplished it will be more likely for enterprises and individuals to continuously achieve success in the more and more mature and fierce market competition in China as well as the global market.

How To Start Your Own Business Wholesale Cufflink

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Well, here you are. You have taken the first step in owning your own business. Congratulations! I would also like to thank you for purchasing this directory that will catapult your business with the necessary products, that are both fun and functional like fashion cufflink.

Being your own boss is fun. But it is also a lot of hard work. You get to call the shots. You decide how things will be run and when. Starting your own wholesale cufflinks business is a dream come true for a lot of people. You don’t need a big brick and mortar store anymore with the internet being so widely used.

However, a cufflink business plan is still a top priority. It doesn’t have to be real elaborate. Just something that will keep you focused on your goals. Maybe you want to stay home with the kids, and have a little side business that doesn’t require you to go out of your home each day to an office. Maybe selling products for an animal rescue group to get the needed money for the day to day expenses in saving lives, is what you want to do. Or maybe you have a special dog club that needs funds for all those activities.

Whatever it is, a business plan will still help you. Don’t neglect this part of the business. It all starts with an idea. Then keep adding to that. Get help
when you need it. When you feel like you are stagnating, it is probably becausc you arc not sure how to handle something. Remember, you are the boss, and even the boss can ask for help.

When I decided to compile and put these directories into distribution I decided how the layout would be. I wanted the type to be large, as 1 personally hate reading 10 point type, it is just too small. All the details fell to me. Did 1 ask for input when I got stuck? You bet!

I didn”t always follow others advice, but it got me thinking and I stayed on task.

Sometimes just leaving a project for a few hours and coming back to it later can give you a fresh perspective.

Try to think of the whole cufflink idea as fun. Yes, there will be things you don”t know how to do. So what. You can learn to do them. It all takes time. In fact, sometimes, thinking things over can help you eliminate a lot of problems. Don’t feel like you need to have the whole business up and running today. Set yourself some small goals to work toward, and use that as your guide.

Before long, everything will be finished and your business will be ready for its first customer. When that day comes, celebrate!

Getting Organized

The best time to get your office organized is right now, before you even start your business.

It makes your productively so much more efficient when things are organized. So I encourage you to get in the habit and start now.

The directory lists only one vendor per page. The reason is so that all orders and notes pertaining to that vendor can be recorded easily. It has a space for who you talked to at that company.

There is also a chart where you can list your orders with each vendor. How you paid for the order, and when it was received. Plus any special notes that you will find helpful. There is also a Master Copy included, that you can photo copy and continue the process once you fill the original chart. As time goes on, these charts will prove very valuable to you for comparing costs, not only for products but also for shipping costs, delays, back orders, how returns are handled, etc. But only if you take the time to fill them out.

File folders will also prove to be very helpful. Make a folder for each vendor and put your invoices into each one. Although most of these vendors are listed on the internet and have a website, some of them may also have a print catalog. If they do have a catalog, I encourage you to order one. These catalogs are useful in comparing products and you can do that while enjoying the fresh outdoors. No need to stay inside on those wonderful days.

After all, you are now your own boss and can do as you like. Put these catalogs into each folder as well.

This is also a good time to decide if any outsourcing will be done.

If you don’t like to do something, and you find that you put it on the back burner and it never gets done, those are the things to outsource. Maybe it”s taxes. Get an accountant to do that. Maybe it’s web design. Although that can be outsourced as well, you will benefit if you get some knowledge in how your website is set-up and how to make changes on it.

Having a separate checking account for your business is a good idea. Do it right from the start. If you are planning on using a credit or debit card, try to only use one. It makes keeping track of finances so much easier.

Also, be sure to follow all guidelines for resale numbers, wholesale business licenses, etc. Run your business like a professional.

Most of your shipping supplies can be obtained right from the post office. When shipping an order to your customer, putting a delivery confirmation on the box will insure that your package is tracked, right up to delivery.

Be sure to use insurance when shipping breakable products. Even with packaging well, breakage may occur. Follow through with your customer to remedy the situation and your customer will be happy with your “service after the sale”. A happy life-long customer is an asset to your business.

Sending updates to your customers, directing them back to your web-site on new arrivals, special offers, close-outs and upcoming holidays, will increase your bottom line. Make a habit of marketing your business. Set aside some time each week to think about advertising your business. Then do it.

To be successful, you need customers. Happy customers will spread the word about your business. Have a link on your website that they can send an announcement to a friend saying, “I thought you would like this site”. Wholesale Fashion Cufflink

Choosing Outsourced Accounting Services For Your Business

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If you are considering outsourced accounting services, then youve likely arrived at the conclusion that, as a business owner, your time is much better spent growing your business, not fussing with the books. It takes many business owners a long time to come to this conclusion, which can be detrimental to their business. In an effort to conserve finances, owners often bury themselves in excess work that they arent qualified to do. Outsourcing work is a good way to solve this problem.

Why outsource?

When it comes to accounting, outsourced accounting services are the perfect compromise. Many small to medium sized businesses dont have the financial resources to hire a full-time accounting professional to balance their books monthly and file their taxes. In fact, depending on your business, your books may need to be balanced more often and you may also need financial reports and payroll production. Outsourced accounting services allow you to hand this work off to an expert who only works when you need them to, and therefore, you only pay when them when they do the work you assign. No salary.

What are the other benefits?

Your time is crucial to your business. It is up to you to network, find new investors, develop new products and worry about your businesss presence both online and in the real world. When do you really have time to go through receipts or worry about payroll deadlines? You cannot handle every aspect of your business, and while you may think that by doing it yourself you are saving money, the truth is that if you make a mistake, it can cost you money. Outsourced accounting services are the solution you need. Not only will you lose money if you mess up your businesss taxes, but what if you short change an employee? Or miss a payroll deadline? How can you handle the corporate side of your business if youre buried in the books all day?

Its not all about accounting

There are many tasks you can outsource for your business. You can also outsource things like CFO services. The financial side of your business is what fuels your business. You want solid strategic planning and a defined direction for your business. Getting things like outsourced accounting services is just one way to delegate and organize your business plan for success. Outsourcing other aspects is also possible, and most time favorable. Third parties can also assist with raising capital funds and even advise you about how to plan for your businesses future.

Some may see outsourcing as a short cut, but if you are in a position where you are your only employee and your business is not big enough to justify hiring accounting staff, outsourced accounting services only make sense. Dont short-change your business and its success by trying to juggle everything on your own. You want qualified and experienced professionals helping you grow your business. Dont saddle yourself or an unqualified employee with the important accounting needs of your business. Outsource to professionals today.

Examples Of Hotel Management KPI That You Can Use

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There are literally thousands of hospitality business indicators that you can use right now. These indicators are commonly known as the hotel management KPI. When you have an effective KPI set for your hotel business, this removes the guesswork when it comes to managing the hotel business. What this does is that it checks the performance of your business through the numbers or the figures so that the managers will be able to use the data in telling what is really gong on within the hotel. Before you get around and research about the hotel management KPI, you should know the difference between that and the hotel KRIs. These two are often compared to each other but they are quite diverse. The hotel KRIs do not focus on the good side of the performance of the company; instead, you will obtain data about how risky your hotel activities are. Having said that, they are also very useful when it comes to tracking the health of your business.

Now, when looking for the best hotel management KPI for your business, you should not only focus on the entire organization because it would be very difficult to do so. You will need to divide the KPIs into different groups or classifications so that it will be easier for you to keep track of them. Among the types of KPIs that you can utilize are the KPIs for reception or front desk efficiency, housekeeping, kitchen, sales, restaurant, store, maintenance and purchasing among others.

Many hotels nowadays offer housekeeping services for their clients. If the hotel that you are managing provides such to your guests, it is essential that you keep track of its performance. This is because many clients are meticulous when it comes to the cleanliness of their surroundings especially their rooms. They are on a vacation so they expect themselves to be pampered and not to be responsible for the task of cleaning their rooms. You can measure the efficiency of your housekeeping services through KPIs such as the number of available staff members for cleaning, the feedback of customers based upon the housekeeping services they have acquired and the total amount of time required for cleaning among others.

Of course, you cannot deny the fact that it is important for you to know how well your business is responding when it comes to the sales department. Cash flow is very significant especially in this type of business. Your hospitality business indicators may vary here according to the different sales efforts that you put out. For instance, if you have a website, you can check the number or the percentage of inquiries that have turned into sales. You can also use KPIs that will tell you about the number of sales per head on your restaurant or your bar. You can also measure the gross profit on sales, the stock turnover, the carrying cost of the stock and the stock value.

Aside from the financials and the customer sales, it is important that you are well aware of how your employees are performing. Always ensure that you have a set of good hotel management KPI that will aid you in monitoring the behavior, the professionalism and the demeanor of your workers.

Finding The Best 800 Service Provider For Your Business

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Since toll free phone numbers have become an invaluable tool in business, it is of great importance that you can hire the services of a reputable 800 service provider to gain significant advantage in business. Being able to find a competent service provider will enable you to get the most out of your money. More importantly, this will allow you to achieve a better communication system.

The features and services offered by toll free service providers are almost identical with each other, although there would also be some features that can only be found in some toll free number service providers. The main difference between service providers is the communication cost that they charge and the maintenance fee needed to maintain the toll free number.

There are some service providers that charges per call while there are also others that bill you with a fixed monthly rate. The former way of billing does not only charge you per call but also bills per minute of that call. This would mean that you are already paying for even if the call is not connected yet, which is very disadvantageous for companies with limited budget. If their intended person is not able to respond to the calls at a quicker time, then the cost of the call will definitely be higher.

Paying for a flat monthly rate will enable you to manage your telecommunication costs more effectively. Communication charges of 800 service providers that charge a fixed rate will not change. It will always remain constant no matter how many times you utilize your communication system.

Even if you would receive more than double the incoming calls than that of your previous month, your telecommunication expense would still be the same. It also lets you prepare a fixed amount of money to pay for your telecommunication expense. Fixed monthly rates of toll free phone service providers would also allow you to pay in advance for the services that you will be getting.

The features and services offered by toll free number service providers should be your topmost priority when choosing one for your business. Auto attendant, business phone extension and call screening are just some of the most useful and beneficial telecommunication features and services. The auto attendant feature of 800 service providers will empower your business phone system to be accessible to customers, employees, business partners and supplies round the clock.

A round the clock communication system is possible with an automated attendant because it can perform its duties 24/7 without any breaks. Your telecommunication system will always be able to receive calls and messages no matter what time they are sent. Calls and messages that are made after office hours will be attended to by the auto attendant. Such a feature will eliminate the possibility of missing important business calls and messages.

The business phone extension feature will permit you to communicate with callers from outside of your office. These extensions can be assigned to your mobile phone and residence phone number to enable you to attend to callers when you are in the road or at home. A telecommunication feature like this will enable you to stay connected with your communication system.

The call screening feature supplied by toll free phone service providers will enable you to cut on your telecommunication expenses. Since a toll free number requires you to pay for all the incoming calls made to your company, a call that is not needed such a call from a telemarketer will cost you. In order to avoid of this problem, call screening are provided for you. Call screening supplies you with all the important information of the caller even before the call is connected.

Call screening then provides you with options such as answering, rejecting and forwarding the call. The information that you gain from call screening will enable you to distinguish business calls from unwanted ones. This feature of 800 service providers gives you the capability to permanently remove the problem of receiving unnecessary calls that are costly to your business.