Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

by Al Ries

More often than not, however, it can be exceedingly helpful to map the prospect’s mind by means of formal positioning research. Helpful not only in developing a strategy, but in selling the strategy to top management. (The chief executive who has spent 30 years with one company will obviously see that company differently than a prospect whose total exposure over the same 30 years can be measured in minutes or even seconds.) “Mapping the prospect’s mind” is normally done with a research technique called “semantic differential.” This was the procedure used to develop a positioning program for the Long Island Trust Company. In semantic differential research, the prospect is given a set of attributes and then asked to rank each competitor on a scale, generally from 1 to 10. For example, price might be one of the attributes. In automobiles, it’s obvious that Cadillac would be ranked at the high end and Chevette at the low end.

Key to the business justification for the suggested approach to positioning