MKT 407 Slide 03

Slide 03
Services Marketing
Positioning Services in Competitive

Markets
Customer driven service marketing strategy
• Intense competition – Differentiate the

offers more meaningfully to customers.
• Managers need to think systematically

about all aspects of the service offering
keeping customers’ perspectives in mind.
• Typically starts with an analysis of 3Cs

(customers, competitors, and company).
Developing a services
marketing positioning
strategy
Analysis of 3Cs:
• Customer Analysis
• Competitor Analysis
• Company Analysis
key elements of a
positioning strategy
STP
Segmenting the
services market
• It is best to start with a deep understanding
of customers’ needs.
• Marketing experts typically combine and

integrate several approaches

Segmenting the Important attributes are important to
services market the consumer, but they may not be
important for the actual buying decision.
• Important Vs dominant service Determinant attributes (i.e., those that

attributes actually determine buyers’ choices
between competing alternatives) are the
attributes that help customers to identify
significant differences among competing
alternatives.
Identifying determinant attributes is
therefore crucial for effective positioning.
Segmenting the
services market
• Quantitative vs qualitative
attributes (Price Vs quality).
• Segmenting based on service
levels
• Price sensitivity Vs service
performance.
Target service markets
• To achieve competitive advantage,

each company should ideally focus
its efforts on those customers it can
serve best—its target segment
Target service markets Market focus Vs Service focus
• Market focus is the extent to which

• Competitive advantage
a firm serves a few or many
through focus
markets.
• Service focus describes the extent

to which a firm offers a few or many
services.
• Competitive advantage
through focus
Basic focus strategies for

services
How should a firm select which of the three
“focused” strategies to pursue?
A market-focused strategy may be

Target service markets appropriate if :
(a) customers value the convenience of

• Selecting the focus one-stop shopping,
strategy
(b) the firm is capable of delivering these
Relates back to the 3 Cs, segmentation, and multiple services better than the
targeting analyses. competition, and/ or
(c) there are significant synergies in

selling multiple services to the same
customer which then enables the firm to
either lower the price or provide better
service.
Target service markets A service-focused strategy can work

best if the firm has a unique set of
• Selecting the focus capabilities and resources to deliver a
strategy particular service exceptionally well or
cost-effectively.
Relates back to the 3 Cs, segmentation, and
targeting analyses.
The firm may then want to use its
advantage to deliver the service to a
broad market (i.e., many customer
segments at the same time).

A fully focused strategy can deliver
• Selecting the focus superb quality at low costs if a
strategy particular segment has very specific
needs and requires unique design of
Relates back to the 3 Cs, segmentation, and
targeting analyses. the service environment, service
processes, and interaction with the
firm’s front-line employees.
Positioning Services Requirements for successful

positioning:
Creating, communicating,
and maintaining distinctive
- understanding target customers’
differences that will be
preferences,
noticed and valued by
- their conception of value, and
customers.
- the characteristics of competitors’
offerings
Four Principles of Positioning:

Positioning Services
1. A company must establish a position in
Creating, communicating, the minds of its targeted customers.
and maintaining distinctive
differences that will be 2. The position should be singular, providing
noticed and valued by one simple and consistent message.
customers.
3. The position must set a company apart
from its competitors.
4. A company cannot be all things to all

people — it must focus its efforts.
1. What does our firm currently stand for in the minds of
current and potential customers?
Positioning Services
2. What customers do we serve now, and which ones
would we like to target in the future?
Positioning offers valuable
insights by forcing service 3. What is the value proposition for each of our current
managers to analyze their service offerings, and what market segments is each one
targeted at?
firm’s existing offerings
and to provide specific 4. How does each of our service products differ from those
of our competitors?
answers to the following
six questions: 5. How well do customers in the chosen target segments
perceive our service offerings as meeting their needs?
6. What changes do we need to make to our service
offerings in order to strengthen our competitive position
within our target segment(s)?
USING POSITIONING MAPS Creating a positioning map:

Sometimes referred to as • Select attributes
perceptual mapping — is • Set dimensions
a useful way of • Decide products/brands To Map
representing consumers’ • Rate your products and
perceptions of alternative competitors’ (e.g. Create scales
products graphically. and gather data)
• Create the map
A map usually has two
attributes.
USING POSITIONING
MAPS: Example
Fig: Positioning map of Belleville’s principal business hotels: service level versus price level
USING POSITIONING
MAPS: Example
Fig: Positioning map of Belleville’s principal business hotels: location versus physical luxury
Reading materials
Chapter 3: Positioning Services in Competitive Markets
Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C., & Chatterjee, J. (2018). Services marketing:
People, technology, strategy (8th edition). Pearson.
Class practice:
E.g. how it has positioned itself

Think of the positioning in customers’ mind;
strategy of Food Panda. &
Evaluate its strategy critically.
Thank you

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Slide 03

Positioning Services in Competitive

• Intense competition – Differentiate the

• Managers need to think systematically

• Typically starts with an analysis of 3Cs

Customer driven service marketing strategy

• Marketing experts typically combine and

Customer driven service marketing strategy

• Important Vs dominant service Determinant attributes (i.e., those that

Customer driven service marketing strategy

Target service markets

• To achieve competitive advantage,

Target service markets Market focus Vs Service focus

• Market focus is the extent to which

• Service focus describes the extent

Customer driven service marketing strategy

Target service markets

Basic focus strategies for

Customer driven service marketing strategy

A market-focused strategy may be

(a) customers value the convenience of

(c) there are significant synergies in

Target service markets A service-focused strategy can work

Customer driven service marketing strategy

Target service markets

Positioning Services Requirements for successful

Customer driven service marketing strategy

Four Principles of Positioning:

4. A company cannot be all things to all

Customer driven service marketing strategy

USING POSITIONING MAPS Creating a positioning map:

Customer driven service marketing strategy

Chapter 3: Positioning Services in Competitive Markets

E.g. how it has positioned itself

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