Marketing homework help
Assignment #6- 60 points- 1-2 person team—Using 4 Ps & Brand/Product Knowledge to Determine Competitive Advantage and Positioning
Competitive Analysis is key to determining what your Target Customers think of your Benefits/Attributes vs. your competition, and how it provides an overview of the competitive market.
Scenario and Assignment:
Competitive Analysis on 3 Competing Brands in Your Category Choice: Sneakers, Cars, Beauty Products or Contemporary Apparel
You are a marketing manager for a brand in the above categories. You need to figure out a new campaign and messaging strategy for that brand, which means you need to look at your competition, decide your brand’s competitive advantage(s) and create a positioning message based on this research.
You need to:
- Figure out your brand’s most compelling consumer values, using attributes/features and benefits
2.) Construct a list for your brand and 2 other competitors, answering the questions below, then turn that into a competitive grid chart. Include short intro and conclusion. (Teams of 3 can each take a brand)
- Create a Positioning Map with these 3 brands and add 3 more competitors, and base it on your choice of “benefits sought” such as price and quality. See below for details.
- Create a Positioning Statement for your Brand.
If three are working together, each take a brand to use, set up grid and map together, then complete your own brand positioning statement. So the grid and map will be done together, but the research and positioning can be done individually and then all put together. (If team of 2, one needs to research 2 brands)
Product Strategy
The first P is Product: Anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need.
Products provide value to the target customer by their features, attributes and benefits .
Defined: Attributes: Reside in the product; Tend to be concrete, but they can also be abstract; also referred to as product features. Can differentiate and have advantages — what attributes the features have such as the “er” words, such as cleaner, tastier, stronger, faster, better, healthier, etc. Product attributes usually comprise features, functions, and uses.
Defined: Benefits: Reside in the customer; Are always abstract; Often the result of a cluster of product attributes; What the customer receives from products or services, expressed in terms of what the user gets from the product rather than its physical characteristics or features. Benefits — what those features mean for my life, real solutions such as make my housecleaning faster so it saves me time that I can spend with my family or makes my face more attractive so I am happier with my boyfriend or makes me feel accepted when I wear it or use it and part of the tribe.
In a nutshell, you have to make very clear the end result that is ultimately the reason why someone is motivated to purchase your product.
Competitive Grid: Helps bring focus and clarity to your decision making via the following:
- Assists your team in boiling down a lot of competitive fact gathering so the team can evaluate the benefits offered by each competitor’s product/service against benefits sought by the target customer. Benefits can be include all of the four P’s such as product or service benefits, place benefits (like convenience), packaging benefits, price benefits, etc.
- Assists your team’s search for a compelling Value Proposition/USP by determining whether there is/are a benefit(s) sought by their target customer that are not being addressed by any competitors. (For instance, the portable bike helmet we discussed in first Assignment.)
- Helps your team evaluate whether a decision not to deliver a benefit will harm – or enhance – the team’s ability to steal customers from the competition. (For example, a lip plumper that does not contain natural bee’s wax because products with bee’s wax melt in the sun; their customer would rather trade an organic feature for practicality. Or would they????)
What to address in your competitor analysis:
You can organize the information in a grid or chart, the goal is to compare competitive brands, and products as consumers would when making their purchase choices. Remember the unique; most valuable differences could be small. Think about more than Product; you can use the other Ps: Price, Place and Promotion.
Remember to write a short introduction that sets up the comparisons, and then a short conclusion. Most of the info will be in the grid.
- List the Competitors and describe the brand succinctly.
- Describe the unique attributes and benefits of their core products and services. Do they support and fit with the current Brand Image and future objectives?
- Each Brand’s Customer – use emotional descriptive words (not age and income). Look at PRIZM for appropriate segments.
- Why Does Their Customer choose them, each brand, over the competition?
- Greatest Success (from customer POV), best selling features, products, services, promotions.
- Greatest Weakness (from Customer POV), what could each brand do better? Challenges? Can these weaknesses be repaired or are they an integral part of the Brand?
- Greatest future opportunity including a brand extension, product or marketing strategy that will increase value, competitiveness, customer loyalty and sales.
- Pricing – how does each Brand pricing compare with your Brand and other competitors. What is the Customers Perceived Quality or Value for each brand?
- Are they Socially Responsible? Recent Major Outreach/Campaigns.
| Criteria | BRAND #1 | BRAND #2 | BRAND #3 |
| Description/Product | |||
| Known Best For | |||
| Attributes/Features | |||
| Benefits/WHY they Chose this brand | |||
| Customer Differences | |||
| Successes | |||
| Weaknesses | |||
| Challenges/Future Opportunities | |||
| Quality for Price/Perceived Value | |||
| Social Responsibility |
Ideas for gathering competitive information
- Internet
- Personal visits – If possible, visit your competitors’ locations online or in person. Observe how employees interact with customers or how intuitive/interesting their website is. What does it look like? How are their products displayed? Priced?
- Talk to customers or staff you might know – Company execs are in regular contact with customers and prospects. Your competition is also in contact with these people. Learn what your customers and prospects are saying about your competitors. YELP or their social media may provide insight.
- Competitors’ ads – Analyze competitors’ ads to gain information about their target audience, market position, product features and benefits as positioning, prices, etc.
- Written sources:
- General business publications
- Marketing and advertising publications
- Industry and trade association publications
- Computer databases (available via portal)
Positioning Map
Create a Positioning Map:
Taking what you learned about benefits sought from the survey, the competitive grid and your other research findings, build a simple positioning map.
Choose the top 1 – 2 competitive advantages
- Product/Quality
- Price
- Service
- Innovation
Plot at least 2 advantages or choose from 1-4. Include your 3 grid brands and add 3 additional competitive brands.
Example – comparing product lifestyle with price
|
Positioning Statement:
From your findings, create a compelling USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and positioning message for your customers. Remember that it’s the place(s) in the customer’s mind that you want to own!
Written: Turn in all typed with correct grammar/spelling. Include Works Cited Page. Use Library Resources and your own experience/expertise to determine Brand value.
Grading: 60 points Total: Cover Page required
Competitive Brand Research 20 points
Competitive Grid Content 15 points
Positioning Map 10 points
Positioning Statement 5 points
Professionalism/Works Cited 10 points
Talk to us support@bestqualitywriters.com