market positioning

• Market positioning refers to the process a business goes through when launching a new product or service
• Market mapping is a tool for identifying the position of a product within a market
• two criteria can be chosen e.g. price and quality, age and income in the market map when comparing
• market maps can reveal gaps in the market
•  existence of a space on the market map may also indicate the existence of a market niche
• Market gaps can be identified which may enable a business to come up with ideas for new products
• Comparisons can be made between a business’ products and those of its rivals 
• Mapping a market may require primary research which can be expensive
• Only two criteria can be chosen at once
• Competitive advantage refers to the features of a business and its products that are perceived as superior to its rivals by customers
• Distinctive means that it is different from the competitors
• • Defensible means that the business can prevent competitors from copying it
• sources of competitive advantage- delivery times, customer service, price, reliability, brand image, ethical stance, design, quality
• purpose of product differentiation- to create a competitive advantage or to make your product superior to alternatives on the market. I
• • Successful product differentiation helps the business to increase demand for its products, increase brand loyalty, and allow the business to charge higher prices
• Adding value is the difference between the price that is charged to the customer and the cost of inputs required to create the product or service
• added value= price of product sold- cost of making product
• methods of adding value- marketing and branding, features and functions, customer service, customisation and packaging