Types of Positioning
The new venture is constrained to some degree in establishing a position in the market. It has no history to speak of so it does not need to be concerned about repositioning strategies in response to competitor and environmental changes. But this acts as a partial barrier the en¬terprise needs to make a substantial investment in promotion to create the perception and oc¬cupy a spot in the mind of customers. Essentially the start-up venture is likely best served with one of three strategies.
Product Difference Position Most new, innovative products are sufficiently unique as to command this approach. The product, because of its newness or technological superiority, is acccpted by the customer and takes on a differentiated identity. Intel's "Pentium" proces¬sor illustrates the point.
As the product matures, the entrepreneur will make changes to it, perhaps offering vari¬ations of the same product in which case the position is broadened to include a product line made up of a number of subpositions by key attributes or benefits. This can be as simple as different sizes of cereal boxes to stereos with and without Dolby performance.
Behavioural Positioning Depending on how, why or when a product is used, the en-trepreneur can relate the usage or product behaviour to a position. Many consumer products apply this to lifestyle positioning. Molson's, for example, positioned Golden Ale at one time as the party fun refreshment.
Positioning Against the Competition Failing to have a "unique selling proposition" or clear competitive edge, the new venture must go directly for the jugular, and take on the competition. The classical Avis versus Hertz "because we're number two we try harder" theme has done much to retain Avis in the second slot. This approach, however, requires a very active promotional activity.