2 Positioning Part 1 The Marketing Seminar from Seth Godin

Summary

This script delves into the concept of positioning in marketing, as originally introduced by Jack Trout and later expanded upon. It explains how positioning is not about aggressive competition but about finding a niche in the consumer's mind by linking new ideas to familiar concepts. Using examples like Tesla, Volvo, and Duke University, the script illustrates how effective positioning helps consumers make sense of crowded markets by offering them a simple, relatable narrative. It emphasizes empathy in marketing, encouraging marketers to understand and cater to the existing beliefs and needs of their target audience, thereby finding a 'hole' to fill with their product or service.

Takeaways

• 📖 Jack Trout's 1969 article, later turned into a book with Al Ries, introduced the concept of 'Positioning', often misunderstood by marketers.
• 🤔 Positioning is misconceived as a battle to differentiate products to outcompete others, while it's actually about making a place in the consumer's crowded mind.
• 📚 The human brain is overwhelmed by ads and information, making it challenging to adopt new ideas without relating them to existing knowledge.
• 🖥 Examples like Tesla being an 'electric Mercedes' illustrate how positioning helps consumers relate new products to familiar concepts.
• 🚗 Volvo's positioning as 'the safest car' demonstrates how a clear, singular message can effectively differentiate a product in a crowded market.
• 💎 Empathy in marketing means serving the customer's need for shorthand to understand and categorize products, not just pushing differentiation.
• 📈 Positioning fills a 'slot' in the consumer's mind by aligning a product with pre-existing beliefs or knowledge, not by displacing competitors.
• 🔬 Photoshop's example shows positioning can be about offering variations (e.g., free, high-powered, simplified) that fit into what consumers already understand.
• 💻 Marketers need to understand their audience deeply to 'own' a position in the market by being 'like X but with Y difference'.
• 👨‍💻 The challenge for marketers is to identify and articulate the position their brand occupies in the minds of their consumers based on their preferences and choices.

Q & A

Who is credited with codifying the concept of positioning in marketing?

Jack Trout is credited with codifying the concept of positioning in marketing.

What book did Trout and Al Ries write that focuses on the concept of positioning?

Trout and Al Ries wrote the book 'Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind' focusing on the concept of positioning.

How is the brain's capacity for processing information compared to previous generations according to the script?

According to the script, your brain is 50 times more crowded than your parents' brains, and their brain was 50 times more crowded than their parents' brain, making you 2500 times more crowded than your grandparents.

What example is given to explain how people categorize new information?

The example given is Tesla, which is categorized as 'sort of an electric Mercedes', to explain how people categorize new information by relating it to something they already understand.

What marketing strategy did Volvo use to position itself, according to the script?

Volvo used the marketing strategy of positioning itself as the safest car, appealing to those who prioritize driving the safest car.

What does the script suggest is the essence of positioning in marketing?

The essence of positioning in marketing, according to the script, is finding a hook or a shorthand for an idea that the customer can easily process and remember.

How does the script differentiate between the traditional misunderstood version of positioning and its proposed understanding?

The traditional misunderstood version of positioning is about pushing one's point of view and differentiating products to box out competitors, whereas the proposed understanding focuses on serving the customer by providing them with a shorthand to easily understand and remember the product.

What role does empathy play in positioning according to the script?

Empathy plays a crucial role in positioning by helping marketers serve customers better by understanding their needs and providing them with a simple way to think about what is being offered.

What does the script imply about the relationship between positioning and product/service development?

The script implies that positioning is closely tied to product/service development, suggesting that marketers should develop products or services that fit into a currently open slot in the customers' minds.

How does the script suggest marketers should approach the challenge of positioning?

The script suggests that marketers should approach the challenge of positioning by being empathetic, knowledgeable about the customer's choices, and by finding a unique position that fills a specific need or gap in the market.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Positioning: Beyond Competition

This segment introduces the concept of 'Positioning' as originally defined by Jack Trout, highlighting its evolution from a misunderstood marketing tactic to a strategic approach aimed at finding a unique place in the consumer's mind. The explanation delves into the human brain's capacity to recognize and remember thousands of brands amidst a barrage of advertisements, emphasizing the challenge of introducing new ideas. The essence of positioning is depicted as the art of relating new concepts to familiar ones, thereby making them understandable and memorable. Examples include comparing Tesla to an electric Mercedes and Volvo's successful positioning as the safest car choice. The narrative criticizes the conventional competitive approach to positioning, advocating instead for empathy towards the customer's need for cognitive shortcuts to navigate an overloaded market.

05:01

🎯 Positioning as a Strategic Tool for Marketers

The second paragraph builds on the foundation of positioning, emphasizing its role in marketing strategy as a means to connect with the target audience's pre-existing beliefs and knowledge. The narrative provides practical examples, such as positioning a product as a free alternative to Photoshop, to demonstrate how positioning helps marketers fill a specific niche in the consumer's mind. It also discusses the broader implications of positioning, like defining Duke University's identity in the educational space. The ultimate message is that effective marketing strategy and positioning involve understanding and empathizing with the consumer's perspective, thereby finding a unique 'slot' or position that the product or service can fill. The segment concludes by challenging the audience to reflect on their own experiences with brands and how positioning influenced their decisions, underscoring the pervasive impact of positioning in consumer choice.

Keywords

💡Positioning

Positioning in marketing refers to the strategy of establishing a brand or product in the consumer's mind over competitors, often by associating it with certain qualities or characteristics. In the script, positioning is described as a way to find a 'hook' for an idea in a crowded market. For instance, positioning Tesla as an 'electric Mercedes' provides a familiar context for consumers, helping them understand what Tesla represents in relation to known concepts.

💡Jack Trout

Jack Trout is mentioned as one of the pioneers in the concept of positioning in marketing. He, along with Al Ries, wrote the book 'Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind', which is a seminal work in the field of marketing and branding. The script refers to Trout to underscore the origins and importance of the positioning concept in marketing strategy.

💡Brain Overload

Brain Overload refers to the phenomenon where consumers are bombarded with so much information and so many choices that it becomes difficult to process new information or make decisions. The script mentions this to illustrate the challenges faced by marketers in getting their message heard and understood in an information-saturated environment.

💡Empathy in Marketing

Empathy in marketing means understanding and addressing the real needs and desires of the target audience, rather than just pushing a product. In the script, empathy is emphasized as a crucial component of effective positioning, where the focus is on serving the customer and fitting a product or service into their existing understanding and needs.

💡Volvo

Volvo is used in the script as an example of successful positioning. By branding itself as the 'safest car', Volvo successfully found a unique position in the market, appealing to consumers who prioritize safety over other features. This demonstrates how a clear and focused positioning can effectively differentiate a brand in a crowded market.

💡Differentiation

Differentiation in marketing is the effort to distinguish a product or brand from its competitors, by highlighting unique features or benefits. In the script, differentiation is discussed in the context of positioning, where it's used to carve out a unique space in the consumer's mind, rather than just out-competing others.

💡Consumer Psychology

Consumer Psychology is understanding how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives. The script delves into this by explaining how consumers categorize new information and make choices based on existing knowledge, thus emphasizing the importance of positioning in relation to consumer psychology.

💡Brand Story

A Brand Story is the narrative that surrounds a brand, encompassing its ethos, values, and the emotions it aims to evoke. In the video, the concept of a brand story is integral to positioning, as it's through this narrative that a brand can find a unique place in the consumer's mind and create a connection.

💡Consumer Choice

Consumer Choice refers to the decision-making process of consumers when they select from various options. The script touches on this in relation to positioning, illustrating how a well-positioned product can influence consumer choices by fitting into their existing perceptions and needs.

💡Market Saturation

Market Saturation is a condition where a market is crowded with similar products, making it hard for new entrants to gain attention. The script uses this concept to highlight the challenge for marketers in standing out and the importance of positioning in such an environment.

Highlights

In 1969, Jack Trout wrote an article that codified what David Ogilvy had been saying for years, later turning it into a book with Rhys called 'Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.'

Positioning is widely misunderstood by marketers as a battle to differentiate their offerings to box out competitors.

Your brain is far more crowded with ads and information now than your grandparents' was, making it difficult to find space for new ideas.

Positioning helps connect new ideas with something already understood, using familiar concepts as a frame of reference.

Examples include Tesla as an 'electric Mercedes' and Scharffenberger chocolate as an 'expensive Hershey bar.'

Empathetic positioning focuses on serving the customer by providing them with a shorthand to think about what you make.

Volvo's positioning as the safest car is highlighted as a prime example of effective marketing that serves customer needs.

Positioning isn't about persuading customers to care about certain features, but about informing them of an option that fits their existing needs or beliefs.

Marketers should strive to understand their audience deeply, including their beliefs and the alternatives they consider.

Good positioning finds a 'hole' in the market or in consumer minds and fills it effectively.

The concept of positioning extends beyond products to universities and other institutions, as illustrated by Duke University's positioning as the 'Yale of the South.'

Successful marketing strategies involve changing or tailoring products and services to fit a niche or fulfill a specific consumer need.

The real job of a marketer is to own a position by being 'just like this except' different in a meaningful way.

Positioning influences consumer choices significantly, even if consumers don't understand everything about a brand.

The challenge to readers is to think about how positioning has influenced their own brand preferences and choices.

Transcripts

in 1969

jack trout

wrote an article that codified some of

what david ogilvy had been saying for

years

later

he turned it into a book

trout and rhys

called positioning

the battle for your mind

positioning has been widely

misunderstood by selfish marketers ever

since

here's the misunderstood version

we are in a battle to get our word out

our word the way we want it heard

and we will push

our point of view forward by

differentiating what we make

so that other competitors are boxed out

and we get our share

so let me first explain positioning and

then explain how i think about it

here you go

your brain is crowded

your brain is 50 times more crowded than

your parents brains were and their brain

was 50 times more crowded than their

parents brain so you're 2500 times

more crowded than your grandparents

because of all the ads and all the news

and all the yelling

that the typical 10 year old can

identify a thousand or more logos a

thousand or more

that the number of ads we see every day

surfing the web or watching television

or listening to the radio is infinite

and the only way we can deal with it

is by ignoring almost everything

and even when something comes along that

we're sort of interested in

we have a problem

and this has been backed up by a lot of

insight and brain theory ever since our

problem is

it's really difficult

to find a space in our brain for a brand

new idea

and so what we do

is we take something we're interested in

and make it sit next to something we

already understand

so quick question

what's a tesla

well it's sort of an electric mercedes

i know what electric would mean and i

know what a mercedes is so now i have a

box for a tesla

we can look at lots of things in our

life this way what's a scharfenberger

chocolate bar

well for some people it's a really

expensive hershey bar take a hershey bar

add cash now you have a sharpened burger

chocolate bar

for other people people have a lot of

domain knowledge a scharfenberger bar is

the grandfather of a mast brothers bar

except it has a better provenance and it

reminds us a little bit of a rogue bar

except he uses a blend and on and on and

on i can find all these pins

and

put the pins next to the other parts of

the idea and remember them

what's interesting to note

is i didn't say oh a tesla that's the

car my brother-in-law's cousin makes

because that's the way a different

person would find a way to remember and

understand what something is

positioning

is the way a busy human being

finds a hook

for an idea they want to be able to

process

and when we bring empathy to the table

as a marketer we don't worry about

differentiation and how we elbow our way

in front of the competition

instead

we exist to serve the customer

and what the customer needs is shorthand

what they need is a way to think about

what it is you make

so my favorite positioning example from

a bunch of years ago is the volvo

now there were lots of cars to choose

from saabs

volvos chevys mercedes

bmws go down the list

they're all different

it's too complicated it's too hard to

make a decision

so volvo says

not everyone cares

about driving the safest car

but if you're the kind of person that

cares about driving the safest car

this is the safest car

now does it matter that a volvo is

faster than a saab

well it might to some people but i don't

need you to remember that right now

does it matter that volvos are made near

your house in london and that toyotas

are made far away it might but not right

now

right now

what i am working to help you do is

realize there are 40 cars you can choose

from that are over here performance cars

cheap cars fast cars sexy cars non-sexy

cars cars that last a long time

and there's one car

that lives over here

and that one car is a volvo

now it's not my job

to persuade you

to care about a safe car

it's my job to help you know

that when you're trying to solve your

car problem

you can solve it with a safe car that's

us

so for me

i'm not putting words into trout or

reese's mouths here

for me

what we see when we see positioning done

well is simple

we make an assertion

about what the person we seek to serve

already believes

what they already know

what they are already aware of

and then

we build a product a true story

a service

that will fit into a slot that is

currently open

that photoshop for example

for a lot of people is a high powered

expensive

graphic design and editing program

so

i could stake out the position of

this is a high powered free version of

photoshop

which comes with ads or some other way i

make money

so now if you know what photoshop is you

know what this is it's photoshop but

it's free

or i could make a super expensive super

high powered version of photoshop or one

that comes with a lot of customer

service or one that's simpler or one

that's go down the list in each case i'm

not trying to hurt photoshop

i'm trying to help my customer i'm

trying to meet the prospect where she is

and go to her and say i will not

persuade you that you are wrong

i will not try to change your mind

i am here with a simple offer

you have a spot in your brain for this

i can fill that spot

that when we do positioning properly

what we are doing is finding a hole

and filling it

so when i ask you about your university

oh duke you're the yale of the south

what does that even mean

here's what it means

a student who already knows what yale is

who already believes that the ivy league

is the thing that they need who already

aspires to go hundreds of thousands of

dollars into debt to go to a private

school that's sort of famous

and who also believes

that their life will be better if they

spend it in the south that their life

will be better in a school with

fraternities or other elements if their

life will be better with a basketball

team all of those things associated with

a southern university

duke can come along with a very simple

positioning statement

and their positioning statement is for

people who already believe these things

that is us

we fill that slot

now the magic of marketing strategy

is we get to change the product we get

to change the service we get to invent a

thing

that we can tell the story about

so your job as a marketer is to be

comfortable enough

empathetic enough

with the people that you seek to serve

knowledgeable enough

about all of their choices

that you can appear

and own a position

we're just like this except we're over

there we're just like this except we're

over there

in our next session we're going to talk

about the magic of the xy grid and how

you can begin to understand where to

position yourself

but for now

here's my challenge what i'd like you to

do

is think about brands

that you like

that you buy from that you care about

and then as honestly as you can

tell us their position for you

how is it that you stopped buying this

and started buying that how is it that

you stopped recommending this and

started recommending that these choices

that you made

you made them because of positioning

you never understood everything about

the brand you never had full experience

it's impossible you could never know as

much as the person who works there but

you knew enough

what did you know

what story did you tell yourself

when you chose to take this action

thanks