Customer Reviews

The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The New Positioning" is one of the biggest disappointments I have ever encountered. I had previously purchased "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Trout & Ries and found it *extremely* valuable. Took many notes and refer to it often. I did not take one single note on "The New Positioning," which is just a tired, uninspired rehash of Trout's original work, and not nearly as solid or concise. Before tossing it in the wastebasket, I want to alert others: Save your time and money for "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing." You'll be glad you did. Trout is, in effect, failing to take his own very good advice: He is engaging in a sort of "line extension" that will ultimately dilute his credibility with regard to anything else he ever writes.

Some of those who read the original book, Positioning, found this sequel disappointingly short on new information. However, if you have not read the original, this book is worth reading, in part because it applies its own principles to communicate simply and briefly. Case studies are kept short and the central messages delivered efficiently then reinforced. Trout emphasizes the enormous amount of information and number of choices facing people and the consequent need for simplicity of message, and a clear position in the minds of consumers. Trout uniformly dislikes brand line extension, though he does not deal with counter-examples. The first section of the book, Understanding the Mind sets up the cognitive framework for the positioning approach. The second section, Dealing with Change, helps companies reposition themselves in consumers' minds. The third section, The Tricks of the Trade, goes into some specific strategies for penetrating the noise with your signal. There are deeper and newer books on the subject, but the clear message of this quickly-readable book is worth taking in.

For someone who has not read any of the authors' (especially Trout's) other books, this has some value. For that reason, I rate it higher than do many other reviewers. However, it is inferior to the original Positioning (by Ries and Trout) and adds very little (if anything) that is "new" to the concepts and comments provided in that important book. The value of the original is increased substantially when read in combination with other works such as Levitt's The Marketing Imagination and Barker's Paradigms. Because effective positioning is (literally) a moving target, those involved must be both willing and able to modify that positioning in response to rapid, sometimes major changes in the competitive marketplace. That is to say, new positioning may be necessary. The authors of this book already have an excellent title. Now all they need is a text which is worthy of it.

It's just a direct "copy" of the marketing classics by the same authors "Positioning". Not many new idea there.

You can achieve better brand recognition and sales if you understand how the mind works. Jack Trout (assisted by Steve Rifkin) emphasizes that the human mind is limited, hates confusion and easily loses focus. The authors cite companies that have succeeded in their brand strategy and advertising by following these principles, and a few who failed because they didn't. The book concludes with "tricks of the trade" that you can use. In keeping with these principles, the volume is simply and clearly written, brief, well organized and focused. However, since it was published about four years ago and talks about the beginning of the information age, some of the material already may sound familiar. But if you can ignore that sense of déjà vu, the book offers an excellent summary of the relationship between how the mind works and how best to use product positioning. We [...] recommend this book to marketing mavens with inquiring minds

It is dissapointing to see one of the founders of the Positioning concept writing such a poor book. There six repositioning example cases worked [...], which don't show any reliable method or conceptual backbone behind. All seem to be whimsy improvisations of "what might work" for these companies.
Repositioning is shown as a melange of company strategy, branding strategy, business modelling and so on.
Worse of all, repositioning is designed after poor and unreliable market research data.
Still too much emphasis on communication to change perceptions, and little emphasis on company delivery as the true proof of company intention.
The market is not that dumb!

Claudio Saavedra, MBA., PhD
Professor of Industrial Marketing
Santiago - Chile
[...]

At 166 page the book is on the thin side, but the it's even thinner contents wise. Mostly a series of anecdotal look at positioning of different large companies with large advertising budgets.

Trout has a half a dozen bestsellers to his name. He has been a consultant for major lending corporations. Rivkin worked with Trout then branched out on his own. Together these two have put together a great book for positioning your company in today's market. Examples are take from their personal experience with companies. The first part of the book covers the latest psychology of how the mind of a prospect is influenced. It covers how the mind characterizes different types of incoming data. Part 2 goes into the repositioning of your company to correspond and take advantage of these natural laws. Trout covers the basic pitfalls in this area as well. This book is well titled (positioned)!

Five Stars

I found this book very easy to read, and well referenced to many easy to understand company situations. While I can't compare it to the previous book "Positioning", I would recommend this is as good value for money

Jack Trout's books are always an entertaining, easy read, and The New Positioning is no exception.

Sure, some others reviewers gripe because (despite the title) there's nothing particularly new in his book. Some suggest you read The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding instead.

I say they're spoiling the fun. Anyone who's good at anything knows that success comes from repeating the basics. The fact that you've heard this all before (especially if you've read work from Jack Trout and/or his partner Al Ries) doesn't mean you shouldn't read it, or that you'll get nothing from it.

Here are some tidbits that are worth revisiting:

* If your assignment... is to change people's minds, don't accept the assignment. (p. 36)
* Think small and don't tinker. (p. 55)
* Today, the marketing wars are being won by the well-focused specialists. (p. 64)
* A picture is not worth a thousand words. (p. 101)

Sure, it's focused on big-company branding for companies with $zillions to spend. Even so, there is a lot for the entrepreneur:

* If you don't have a simple, differentiating idea to drive your company or brand, you'd better have a great price. (p. 167)
* Don't trust your customers to give you all the answers. Trust your instincts. (p. 137)

Despite my overall agreement with his content, I took issue with his claim that positioning/differentiation is basic common sense.

If your differentiation is obvious, someone else is probably already using it! Why else would so many organizations believe that they're differentiated on the basis of quality, service, or commitment to their clients/customers?

As an aside: if there's anything less common than common sense, I'd like to know what it is!

Differentiation is difficult for entrepreneurs. Your organization works the way it's always worked, which is the way it should work!

Am I right or am I right?

Your approach and processes are different, but the differences are transparent to you because they're such a natural part of who you are.

Sure, once you understand your differentiation, it'll be obvious. But that puts differentiation into a very broad category: that group of understandings which is much clearer in hindsight!