Page 118 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Unit 5: Market Positioning

kind of weighting should be put on these features. The features could be both tangible (colour, Notes
size, design) and intangible (guarantees, reputation, experience, quality, etc.).

Example: Consumers might have different weights for the features of a tour package
company’s offer. A vegetarian might be keener on the fare available throughout the tour, while
others might stress on the price or variety of destinations and tourist attractions. SOTC/Kuoni,
the outbound tour package company has understood the desires of the Indian tourists – food as
found at home – so well that they have been able to position themselves uniquely with the
“Ghar ka khaana” promise.

Stage 2: Draw a Positioning Map

With the weights of different features, a positioning or perceptual map is drawn. This is an
extremely useful tool to visually depict what the consumers think of available brands with their
features. A positioning map consists of a grid on two axes, with product attributes on each of
them. Thus, brands are spread over the grid, giving an indication of what the market perceives
of the brands vis-à-vis others.

!

Caution Clusters of brands in one area or brand standing alone in another area will give
the service marketer an indication of the intensity of competition as well as the
distinctiveness or lack of it of the brands. The marketer also gets glimpses of gaps in the
market, for exploitation.

Figure 5.2: A Perceptual Map of Apparel Retailing in Mumbai

High prices
SHEETAL
BOUTIQUE

SHOPPER’S
STOP
GLOBUS
CROSSROADS/ WESTSIDE
PIRAMYD PANTALOONS

Wide range MARKS & SPENCER
Narrow range
BABUBHAI
JAGJIVANDAS

BIG BAZAR

APNA BAZAR

FASHION STREET

Low Price
Stage 3: Decide on a Competitive Strategy
After the perceptual map has been drawn, the decision to be taken is either of the two:

To compete head-on
Get away from the competition
Different players take different positions in the grid. Some are competing head-on while others
prefer to be alone. A new entrant decides on the segment to compete in and if there is a cluster,

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