Page 115 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Services Management Ashwani Panesar, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 5: Market Positioning

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
5.1 Market Positioning

5.2 Service Blueprinting
5.3 Summary
5.4 Keywords
5.5 Review Questions

5.6 Further Readings
Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
State the principles of positioning
Identify the positioning bases
Discuss the positioning process
Describe the concept of service blueprinting
Introduction

The marketers segment the market and choose segment/s which they are going to target. The
chosen segment is to be targeted for customer acquisition and retention. Positioning is the
perception of a brand or product it brings about in the mind of a target consumer and reflects the
essence of that brand or product in terms of its functional and non-functional benefits as judged
by the consumer. As markets become more crowded and competitive with similar types of
products, consumers rely more on the product’s image than on its actual characteristics in
making their buying decisions.
The right positioning is probably more important to the ultimate success of a brand than are its
actual attributes. Marketers sometimes assign different images to the same product or service in
different market segments or at times, reposition the same product without actually making it
any different physically. In this unit, you will learn how marketers position their services in the
minds of the target consumers.
In this unit, you are also going to learn about service blueprinting. A service blueprint describes
a service in enough detail to implement and maintain it carefully. Blueprinting can be described
as mapping out of a service journey identifying the processes that constitute the service, isolating
possible fail points and establishing the time frame for the journey. In simple words, it depicts
the service process.

5.1 Market Positioning

Positioning is a battle for the consumer’s mindshare. After segmentation and targeting, it is the
third and final step of the much talked about STP process. For positioning to be successful,
customers have to be persuaded that the service offer is unique in features, value and benefits.

110 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY