Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

This book is excellent—it shows that success comes from winning the battle in the customer’s mind, not just the marketplace. The authors explain the concept of positioning with clarity and back it up with inspiring examples like Avis’s “We’re No. 2” and Volkswagen’s “Think Small.” The stories are thought-provoking, timeless, and make you rethink how products and brands succeed or fail. A true marketing classic and a must-read masterpiece. Now, as we enter the new era of social media, I can’t help but wonder: does this change the rules of positioning? Can the method alone tackle today’s marketing challenges? To explore these questions, I’ve picked up another book to read.

This is a classic in the marketing field. The authors define positioning as "a new approach to communication...But positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect." The book then goes on to present the concept of positioning, and the associated challenges and opportunities. What sets this book apart is the plethora of examples that are provided from a variety of industries (both services and products) that illustrate both how position can and should be used, and how it shouldn't be. Finally the authors extend the concept of positioning and show how it can be applied to one's self and career. In addition how one can start a positioning program for a business. A very insightful and educational book - a must read in the business arena and particularly the marketing field. Below are some key excerpts from this book: 1) "Positioning is an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstance." 2) "Leaders should use their short-term flexibility to assure themselves of a stable long-term future. As a matter of fact, the marketing leader is usually the one who moves the ladder into the mind with his or her brand nailed to the one and only rung." 3) "This is the classic mistake made by the leader. The illusion that the power of the product is derived from the power of the organization. It's just the reverse. The power of the organization is derived from the power of the product, the position that the product owns in the prospect's mind." 4) "But today in the product arena and in the political arena, you have to have a position. There are too many competitors out there. You can't win by not making enemies, by being everything to everybody. To win in today's competitive environment, you have to go out and make friends, carve out a specific niche in the market. Even if you lose a few doing so." 5) "With a good name your positioning job is going to be a lot easier." 6) "A name is a rubber band. It will stretch, but not beyond a certain point. Furthermore, the more you stretch a name, the weaker it becomes." 7) "The lesson here is that a succesfull positioning program requires a major long-term commitment by the people in charge." 8) "The solution to a positioning problem is usually found in the prospect's mind, not in the product." 9) "Positioning yourself and your career...Define yourself...Make mistakes...Make sure your name is right...Avoid the no-name trap...Avoid the line-extension trap...Find a horse to ride...The first horse to ride is your company...The second horse to ride is your boss...The third horse to ride is a friend...The fourth horse to ride is an idea...The fifth horse to ride is faith...The sixth horse to ride is yourself." 10) "Positioning your business...What position do you own?...What position do you want to own?...Whom must you outgun?...Do you have enough money?...Can you stick it out?...Do you match your position?...The role of the outsider...What the outsider doesn't supply." 11) "Playing the positioning game...You must understand the roles of words...You must know how words affect people...You must be careful of change...You need vision...You need courage...You need objectivity...You need simplicity...You need subtlety...You must be willing to sacrifice...You need a global outlook...What you don't need."

This is an outstanding book of high value to anyone trying to stand out from the crowd. The theme is that we are all marketers trying to communicate our message in the most effective manner and that there is a better way. The authors coined the term "positioning" and first wrote about it in a 1972 article in Advertising Age. "Positioning is the first body of thought that comes to grips with the problem of getting heard in an overcommunicated society," they say. It is perhaps even more relevant today given the orders-of-magnitude increase in messaging of all types where only the tiniest fraction is relevant to any one person. Developed largely around big-company advertising, positioning is broadly applicable to entrepreneurs, small business, job seekers, career professionals and lonely people as well as corporations and institutions. How can this be? Don't we live in a society of rapid obsolescence where yesterday's news is virtually irrelevant? The reason is psychology. Positioning is based on how people think, how they evaluate, how they compare, how they prioritize and how they select. These are nearly timeless processes deeply embedded in the human mind. Ries and Trout show you how to hook your message into the subconscious mind of your prospects. In another book Ries defines a brand as "a singular idea you own inside the mind of your prospect." The methods described in this book help you craft that brand message for maximum effectiveness. This book is very well organized. The Table of Contents includes one-sentence chapter summaries so you can quickly jump to material that is relevant to your situation. They cover "Positioning of a Leader," "Positioning of a Follower," and "The Power of a Name." Example positioning exercises include "Positioning of a Company," "Positioning of a Country," "Positioning of a Product," "Positioning of a Service," and "Positioning of a Ski Resort" among several others. For the individual seeking a job or trying to advance a career there is "Positioning Yourself and Your Career." For the small business person and entrepreneur there is "Positioning Your Business" and "Playing the Positioning Game." This is not only for marketing professionals. Some reviewers find the examples outdated. I challenge them to use those examples as a starting point to find companies today whose success is based on excellent positioning (e.g. LinkedIn: Business Networking; Tesla Motors: High-Performance Electric Cars; Starbucks: Social Coffee). The process and the beneficial results have not changed over time. I rate this a 5 star book for thought-provoking content, broad appeal, and excellent organization.

La info no es muy actual pero sirve para tener contexto de la evolución de las marcas

Amazing product! Loved the book and the service form the seller.

Un bon livre, qui mérite d'être lu et relu, tant pour les entrepreneurs que pour les travailleurs.

Conocì personalmente al Sr. Trout y me impresionaron sus excelentes conocimientos sobre el marketing y su sentido común. GRAN PERSONA.

Really interesting. Makes you think about things differently and really see marketing for what it is. Very informative! It also helped me pick a better name for my business.