TIM 304 FINAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Define brand - Answers - • Brand: A series of tangible and intangible elements that
connect with emotion to create a perception in a consumer's mind about a product or
service
Define marketing positioning. What's the objective? What happens if you do not have a
distinctive position? - Answers - • Marketing positioning: the natural follow-through of
market segmentation and target marketing
• Positioning is built on those strategies because they define the market to which the
positioning is directed
• Objective of positioning: create a distinctive place in the minds of potential customers
• Customers know who the firm is, how the firm is different from the competition, and
how the firm can satisfy the customers' needs and wants
• Creates the perception that the firm is best able to solve the customers' problems
• If the firm does not create a distinctive place, the firm:
1. Is forced into a position of competing directly with stronger competition
2. Lacks true identity and customers do not know what it offers and what needs are
fulfilled. This happens when a property tries to be all things to all people.
3. Has no position in customers' minds so that it lacks top-of-the-mind awareness and is
not part of the customer's evoked set.
What are the three types of product/service attributes? - Answers - Salience,
Determinance, and Importance
• Must understand how customers perceive and differentiate among salient,
determinant, and important product or service attribute or benefits.
• What's important in the customer choice process - why the customer is buying
Salience
• Salient attributes: those that are "top of the mind"
• A list of strictly salient attributes obtained from customers may be misleading (sale of a
shirt might be an inducement, but what determines your choice was the style)
• Salient factors may be determinant factors, but they are not determinant when they are
not the true differentiating factor the customer is looking for or when they are common
throughout the product class
• People say location is a salient attribute, but if there are five resorts, it's not a
determinant factor
• Use salient factors to get attention and create awareness.
Determinance
• Business travelers care about price, leisure travelers care about amenities
• Determinant attributes: actually determine choice, such as reputation, price/value, or
level of service
• Most closely related to customer preferences or actual purchase decisions
• Predispose customers to actions
,• Problem: customers do not always know exactly what forms the basis of their choice
• Amenities, location, cleanliness become negatively determinant, as hotels should have
them, but promoting them or positioning on them wouldn't work.
• Use determinant factors to persuade customers to make a choice.
Importance
• Importance attributes: important to the customer after having made a choice
• Example: it is important for bathroom amenities to be there, once the customer is
accustomed to their being there, but they are still not determinant.
• Once the choice has been made, what was salient or determinant fades into the
background, unless they are found not to exist.
•
What is the difference between objective positioning and subjective positioning? -
Answers - Objective Positioning
• Objective positioning: concerned almost entirely with the objective attributes of the
physical product; with what actually exists
• Creating an image about the product that reflects its physical characteristics and
functional features
• Businesses conjure up specific images based on the name itself - it derives from an
objective, concrete, specific attribute
• Objective positioning need not always be concrete, it may be more abstract than these
previous examples (e.g. luxury, speed).
• Objective product positioning can be very important and is often used in the hospitality
industry (Heavenly Bed, and type of food)
• If a product has a unique characteristic or unique functional feature, that feature may
be used to objectively position the product, to create an image, and to differentiate it
from the competition
• Less successful objective positioning occurs when the feature is not unique.
Subjective Positioning
• Subjective positioning: concerned with subjective attributes of the product or brand.
The image, not of the physical aspects of the product, but other attributes as perceived
by the customer - they belong not necessarily to the product, but to the customer's
mental perception of the product.
• Perceptions and the resulting image may or may not reflect the true state of the
product's characteristics and may simply exist in the customer's mind.
• Hope that the people in the target market will agree on a favorable image or
characteristic, whether or not it is factual.
• Much more difficult in practice than objective positioning
What's the difference between tangible and intangible positioning? - Answers - Tangible
Positioning
• Two very important differences in the types of positioning when they are used in the
hospitality industry: tangible positioning and intangible positioning.
• Tangible positioning: the industry's product has almost reached commodity status
• Use positioning to create a unique image and differentiate yourself.
,• While the nuts and bolts of your product are important, it is not normally what gets
someone's initial interest and makes the sale.
• Subjective positioning of tangible features requires developing intangible images
Intangible Positioning
• Intangible positioning: we sell tangible products, but we market the intangible
experience. If we were selling rooms, what difference would it make where the customer
went, assuming a comparable level of quality?
• The tangibles are so difficult to differentiate, to be competitive we have to market the
intangible aspects of the product or service.
• Even when tangible, they have a measure of intangibility because they are consumed
rather than possessed.
• To emphasize the tangible elements is to fail to differentiate from the competition. To
emphasize the abstract is to compound the intangibility.
• Hospitality positioning needs to focus on enhancing and differentiating the intangible
realities through the manipulation of tangible cues (e.g. atrium lobbies)
• Create a subjective position in the customer's mind. This is why target marketing is so
important - we need to know what mental constructs are held by the customer in the
target market and what tangible evidence sustains them.
• Positioning is a relative term. It is not just how the brand is perceived alone, but how
the perceived image stands in relation to competing images.
• The customer's mental perception, which may or may not differ from the actual
physical characteristics.
• Most important wh
What are the essential criteria for effective positioning? - Answers - Effective Positioning
• Two essential criteria for effective positioning: image and differentiation
• Images and differentiation mean creating beliefs
• Takes us back to the basic marketing concept, the notion of needs and wants, and
problems and solutions - the promise we make to the customer
• Next we have to develop the affective reaction, the attitude toward the belief, and the
action that will create the intention to buy
• Effective positioning must promise the benefit the customer will receive, it must create
the expectation, and it must offer a solution to the customer's problem
• The solution should be different from and better than the competition's
• "Advertising which promises no benefits to the customer does not sell, yet the majority
of campaigns contain no promise whatever."
Checklist for Determining a Desired Position
• Analyze product attributes that are salient and/or determinant and/or important to
customers
• Examine the distribution of these attributes among different market segments.
• Determine the optimal position for the product/service in regard to each attribute,
taking into consideration the positions occupied by existing brands
• Choose an overall position for the product, based on the overall match between
product attributes and their distribution in the population and the positions of existing
brands
, What is the role of positioning? - Answers - • Positioning is not just advertising. It should
be a single-minded concept, an umbrella from which everything else in the organization
flows.
• Also includes promotions, brochures, facilities, and décor
• Also affects policies and procedures, employee attitudes, customer relations,
complaint handling, and the myriad of other details that combine to make a hospitality
experience
• Positioning plays a vital role in the development of the entire marketing mix
• Compete on more than just image, differentiation, and benefits offered.
• Must be a consistency among the various offerings, and it is the positioning statement
that guides this consistency
• Chain operations should develop a consistency if the company desires to use one unit
to generate business for another.
• "Offer a unique product or service. Understand the customer decisions and then use it
to your advantage to successfully stimulate sales. Understand what the customer wants
and match that against what your chain has to offer."
• Your position must be believable in the customer's mind
• You must deliver on the promise on a consistent basis.
• Make sure your niche is customer-driven, not restaurant driven
• Subjective positioning is a strategy for creating a unique product image with the
objective of creating and keeping customers
• Exists solely in the mind of the customer and can occur automatically
• Marketer must control the positioning, not just let it happen
• Select a position in the marketplace and to achieve and hold that position by delivering
it
What are the six positioning approaches? - Answers - Checklist for Positioning
Approaches
• Positioning by attribute, feature, or customer benefit
• Heavenly Bed for Westins
• Positioning by price or quality
• Positioning with respect to use or application
• Positioned on the reasons for using it (e.g. business or incentive travel)
• Positioning according to the users or class of users
• Where people who run things can stop running"
• Positioning with respect to a product class
• E.g. Preferred Hotel
• Positioning vis-à-vis the competition
• "Head-on" positioning and is used to bring out differences among services
Define repositioning. What are the procedures for repositioning? - Answers -
Repositioning
• Repositioning: constitutes changing a position or image in the marketplace
• The process is the same as initial positioning with the addition of one other element—
removing the old positioning image
Define brand - Answers - • Brand: A series of tangible and intangible elements that
connect with emotion to create a perception in a consumer's mind about a product or
service
Define marketing positioning. What's the objective? What happens if you do not have a
distinctive position? - Answers - • Marketing positioning: the natural follow-through of
market segmentation and target marketing
• Positioning is built on those strategies because they define the market to which the
positioning is directed
• Objective of positioning: create a distinctive place in the minds of potential customers
• Customers know who the firm is, how the firm is different from the competition, and
how the firm can satisfy the customers' needs and wants
• Creates the perception that the firm is best able to solve the customers' problems
• If the firm does not create a distinctive place, the firm:
1. Is forced into a position of competing directly with stronger competition
2. Lacks true identity and customers do not know what it offers and what needs are
fulfilled. This happens when a property tries to be all things to all people.
3. Has no position in customers' minds so that it lacks top-of-the-mind awareness and is
not part of the customer's evoked set.
What are the three types of product/service attributes? - Answers - Salience,
Determinance, and Importance
• Must understand how customers perceive and differentiate among salient,
determinant, and important product or service attribute or benefits.
• What's important in the customer choice process - why the customer is buying
Salience
• Salient attributes: those that are "top of the mind"
• A list of strictly salient attributes obtained from customers may be misleading (sale of a
shirt might be an inducement, but what determines your choice was the style)
• Salient factors may be determinant factors, but they are not determinant when they are
not the true differentiating factor the customer is looking for or when they are common
throughout the product class
• People say location is a salient attribute, but if there are five resorts, it's not a
determinant factor
• Use salient factors to get attention and create awareness.
Determinance
• Business travelers care about price, leisure travelers care about amenities
• Determinant attributes: actually determine choice, such as reputation, price/value, or
level of service
• Most closely related to customer preferences or actual purchase decisions
• Predispose customers to actions
,• Problem: customers do not always know exactly what forms the basis of their choice
• Amenities, location, cleanliness become negatively determinant, as hotels should have
them, but promoting them or positioning on them wouldn't work.
• Use determinant factors to persuade customers to make a choice.
Importance
• Importance attributes: important to the customer after having made a choice
• Example: it is important for bathroom amenities to be there, once the customer is
accustomed to their being there, but they are still not determinant.
• Once the choice has been made, what was salient or determinant fades into the
background, unless they are found not to exist.
•
What is the difference between objective positioning and subjective positioning? -
Answers - Objective Positioning
• Objective positioning: concerned almost entirely with the objective attributes of the
physical product; with what actually exists
• Creating an image about the product that reflects its physical characteristics and
functional features
• Businesses conjure up specific images based on the name itself - it derives from an
objective, concrete, specific attribute
• Objective positioning need not always be concrete, it may be more abstract than these
previous examples (e.g. luxury, speed).
• Objective product positioning can be very important and is often used in the hospitality
industry (Heavenly Bed, and type of food)
• If a product has a unique characteristic or unique functional feature, that feature may
be used to objectively position the product, to create an image, and to differentiate it
from the competition
• Less successful objective positioning occurs when the feature is not unique.
Subjective Positioning
• Subjective positioning: concerned with subjective attributes of the product or brand.
The image, not of the physical aspects of the product, but other attributes as perceived
by the customer - they belong not necessarily to the product, but to the customer's
mental perception of the product.
• Perceptions and the resulting image may or may not reflect the true state of the
product's characteristics and may simply exist in the customer's mind.
• Hope that the people in the target market will agree on a favorable image or
characteristic, whether or not it is factual.
• Much more difficult in practice than objective positioning
What's the difference between tangible and intangible positioning? - Answers - Tangible
Positioning
• Two very important differences in the types of positioning when they are used in the
hospitality industry: tangible positioning and intangible positioning.
• Tangible positioning: the industry's product has almost reached commodity status
• Use positioning to create a unique image and differentiate yourself.
,• While the nuts and bolts of your product are important, it is not normally what gets
someone's initial interest and makes the sale.
• Subjective positioning of tangible features requires developing intangible images
Intangible Positioning
• Intangible positioning: we sell tangible products, but we market the intangible
experience. If we were selling rooms, what difference would it make where the customer
went, assuming a comparable level of quality?
• The tangibles are so difficult to differentiate, to be competitive we have to market the
intangible aspects of the product or service.
• Even when tangible, they have a measure of intangibility because they are consumed
rather than possessed.
• To emphasize the tangible elements is to fail to differentiate from the competition. To
emphasize the abstract is to compound the intangibility.
• Hospitality positioning needs to focus on enhancing and differentiating the intangible
realities through the manipulation of tangible cues (e.g. atrium lobbies)
• Create a subjective position in the customer's mind. This is why target marketing is so
important - we need to know what mental constructs are held by the customer in the
target market and what tangible evidence sustains them.
• Positioning is a relative term. It is not just how the brand is perceived alone, but how
the perceived image stands in relation to competing images.
• The customer's mental perception, which may or may not differ from the actual
physical characteristics.
• Most important wh
What are the essential criteria for effective positioning? - Answers - Effective Positioning
• Two essential criteria for effective positioning: image and differentiation
• Images and differentiation mean creating beliefs
• Takes us back to the basic marketing concept, the notion of needs and wants, and
problems and solutions - the promise we make to the customer
• Next we have to develop the affective reaction, the attitude toward the belief, and the
action that will create the intention to buy
• Effective positioning must promise the benefit the customer will receive, it must create
the expectation, and it must offer a solution to the customer's problem
• The solution should be different from and better than the competition's
• "Advertising which promises no benefits to the customer does not sell, yet the majority
of campaigns contain no promise whatever."
Checklist for Determining a Desired Position
• Analyze product attributes that are salient and/or determinant and/or important to
customers
• Examine the distribution of these attributes among different market segments.
• Determine the optimal position for the product/service in regard to each attribute,
taking into consideration the positions occupied by existing brands
• Choose an overall position for the product, based on the overall match between
product attributes and their distribution in the population and the positions of existing
brands
, What is the role of positioning? - Answers - • Positioning is not just advertising. It should
be a single-minded concept, an umbrella from which everything else in the organization
flows.
• Also includes promotions, brochures, facilities, and décor
• Also affects policies and procedures, employee attitudes, customer relations,
complaint handling, and the myriad of other details that combine to make a hospitality
experience
• Positioning plays a vital role in the development of the entire marketing mix
• Compete on more than just image, differentiation, and benefits offered.
• Must be a consistency among the various offerings, and it is the positioning statement
that guides this consistency
• Chain operations should develop a consistency if the company desires to use one unit
to generate business for another.
• "Offer a unique product or service. Understand the customer decisions and then use it
to your advantage to successfully stimulate sales. Understand what the customer wants
and match that against what your chain has to offer."
• Your position must be believable in the customer's mind
• You must deliver on the promise on a consistent basis.
• Make sure your niche is customer-driven, not restaurant driven
• Subjective positioning is a strategy for creating a unique product image with the
objective of creating and keeping customers
• Exists solely in the mind of the customer and can occur automatically
• Marketer must control the positioning, not just let it happen
• Select a position in the marketplace and to achieve and hold that position by delivering
it
What are the six positioning approaches? - Answers - Checklist for Positioning
Approaches
• Positioning by attribute, feature, or customer benefit
• Heavenly Bed for Westins
• Positioning by price or quality
• Positioning with respect to use or application
• Positioned on the reasons for using it (e.g. business or incentive travel)
• Positioning according to the users or class of users
• Where people who run things can stop running"
• Positioning with respect to a product class
• E.g. Preferred Hotel
• Positioning vis-à-vis the competition
• "Head-on" positioning and is used to bring out differences among services
Define repositioning. What are the procedures for repositioning? - Answers -
Repositioning
• Repositioning: constitutes changing a position or image in the marketplace
• The process is the same as initial positioning with the addition of one other element—
removing the old positioning image
