REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis [Hardcover]

Jack Trout (Author), Steve Rivkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2009

The book that completes Positioning . . .

Thirty years ago, Jack Trout and Al Ries published their classic bestseller, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind—a book that revolutionized the world of marketing. But times have changed. Competition is fiercer. Consumers are savvier. Communications are faster. And once-successful companies are in crisis mode.

Repositioning shows you how to adapt, compete—and succeed—in today’s overcrowded marketplace. Global marketing expert Jack Trout has retooled his most effective positioning strategies—providing a must-have arsenal of proven marketing techniques specifically redesigned for our current climate. With Repositioning, you can conquer the “3 Cs” of business: Competition, Change, and Crisis . . .

1. BEAT THE COMPETITION: Challenge your rivals, differentiate your product, increase your value, and stand out in the crowd.
2. CHANGE WITH THE TIMES: Use the latest technologies, communications, and multimedia resources to connect with your consumers.
3. MANAGE A CRISIS: Cope with everything from profi t losses and rising costs to bad press and PR nightmares.

Even if your company is doing well, these cutting-edge marketing observations can keep you on top of your game and ahead of the pack. You’ll discover how expanding product lines may decrease your overall sales, why new brand names often outsell established brands, and why slashing prices is usually a bad idea. You’ll learn the dangers of attacking your competitors head-on—and the value of emphasizing value. You’ll see how consumers can have too many choices to pick from—and what you can do to make them pick your brand.

Drawing from the latest research studies, consumer statistics, and business-news headlines, Trout reveals the hidden psychological motives that drive today’s market. Understanding the mindset of your consumers is half the battle. Winning in today’s world is often a matter of repositioning. It’s how you rethink the strategies you’ve always relied on. It’s how you regain the success you’ve worked so hard for. It’s how you win the new battle of the mind.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The marketplace is changing. Are you?

So you’ve mastered the art of marketing. You’ve positioned your company, branded your product, and targeted your consumer. Unfortunately, in today’s economy, that’s not enough. You need REPOSITIONING.

A brilliant new approach to consumer psychology and corporate identity, this groundbreaking— and game-changing—guide shows you how to . . .

RETHINK your current marketing
REFOCUS your consumer branding
REASSESS your company’s strengths
REPOSITION your corporate identity
RECLAIM your competitive edge

About the Author

Jack Trout is president of Trout & Partners, a worldwide marketing firm with headquarters in Connecticut and offices in 13 countries. With Al Ries, he coauthored the marketing classic Positioning and the bestsellers Marketing Warfare and The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. Trout’s books have been translated into 16 languages, including the BusinessWeek bestseller The New Positioning. You can visit his Web site at www.troutandpartners.com.
Steve Rivkin is a naming expert with Trout & Partners and coauthor of three books with Jack Trout. He is founder of Rivkin & Associates LLC, a marketing and communications consultancy in Glen Rock, N.J. Visit Steve at www.rivkin.net.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071635599
• ISBN-13: 978-0071635592
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.7 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Trout is the president of Trout & Partners, a marketing firm with offices in 14 countries. The author or coauthor of numerous bestselling books, Jack Trout is responsible for the freshest ideas in marketing in the last 20 years. His concept of "positioning" has become the world's number-one business strategy.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Should be called Rehashing November 27, 2011

By M. Boucher

Format:Hardcover

I had hoped that this would build on the indispensable Positioning by Trout and Reis. No such luck. This is an abbreviated version of previous works by this author and also of works co-authored with Reis. If you've read Trout and Reis before, there's not much new material here. If you are thinking about this book and you have not read Trout and Reis before, get Positioning instead. Despite the age of that book, it is still the place to start. Despite the title of this book, it does not build on Positioning to present new insights.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book August 2, 2012

By Alan Roberts

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great read. Jack Trout is the expert on marketing. Fairly easy read, makes it simple to understand the dynamics of marketing and positioning your brand in the marketplace. We've already begun to implement some of these insightful tactics.

4.0 out of 5 stars one powerful differentiating idea March 20, 2011

By Andrew Everett

Format:Hardcover

Repositioning by Jack Trout is a follow-up to a book called Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, which Trout co-wrote with Al Ries 30 years prior.

Positioning is a competitive strategy, which Trout defines as "how you differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospect." Repositioning is about adjusting perceptions about you or about your competition. Trout stresses simplicity - you need one powerful differentiating idea, the more obvious the better.

Positioning is not an insular activity because it depends on what your prospects are thinking, as well as your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. Trout praised Alfred Sloan (chairman of General Motors from 1937 to 1956) who worked incognito as an assistant service manager in car dealerships from time to time, in order to stay in touch with customers. Trout compares that with GM executives in recent years who are so out of touch with car buyers, they ride to work in chauffeur-driven limousines rather than drive themselves.

Repositioning requires publicity. Trout describes the relationship of PR and advertising as linear. They need to be coordinated under a common strategy, but too often PR agencies and ad agencies are working against each other. He also criticizes the advertising industry for meaningless slogans.

Jack Trout has worked in advertising and marketing for four decades and he has written or co-written 15 books. I appreciate the author's pragmatic and sometimes irreverent views, although there is a significant amount of overlap in these books and he says as much in the introduction.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great addition for 'Positioning" June 5, 2010

By Dmitriy Ivanov

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was written 30 years later, after the "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind "- so great examples from modern life and recent event. Both books are great reading not just for marketing professionals, but regular readers as well.

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful repositioning strategies May 31, 2010

By Rolf Dobelli HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

"This turned out to be a difficult book to write because I've already written so much on the subject...Readers of my work might recognize some things I've mentioned in one of my 15 other books." So reads the opening lines of marketing maven Jack Trout's guide to repositioning. This defeatist introduction doesn't exactly promise much in the way of ingenuity or innovation. However, when you peruse this book, a follow-up to the business classic Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, it quickly becomes clear why Trout is in great demand as a speaker. The book reads like a marketing presentation. In a dynamic and engaging way, Trout, with the aid of marketing consultant Steve Rivkin, explains how repositioning can help you differentiate your brand from your competition, manage change and deal with crises. The book is filled with marketing war stories of successes and failures, with an occasional (if a tad egotistical) aside - such as, "If only they had taken my advice..." - thrown in. Although full of colorful real-life case studies, it is, at times, short on tactics and applicable advice. getAbstract recommends Trout's previous bestseller to those who are new to marketing and this sequel to anyone who desires a refresher course.

4.0 out of 5 stars I found the book insightful and informational! May 11, 2010

By Kate M. Smalley

Format:Hardcover

"Repositioning" is about adjusting perceptions about your product in the market and to your customers. I felt it was geared towards larger organizations, who had a lot of staff on board to handle the various marketing strategies involved, but highly recommend it for owners of any company to really get an understanding of differentiating your product or service, examining the competition to find ways to showcase your product's value and make it stand out from the competitor's, and how price might not be as critical as you think it is in relation to consumer's purchasing decisions.

In today's market, and when dealing with organizations on any level, it is so critical to understand how shifts in the economy might affect your business and the products offered, as well as how it might impact your ability to plan into the future. "Repositioning" discusses how to keep a product relevant in today's market, as well as moving forward into the future, and how to handle it if you are unable to plan long term. It is important to understand the competition and remain flexible and and able to recognize opportunities by keeping an open mind and focusing on the ground floor of your business, a place many CEO's of larger organizations lose sight of.

Adjusting people's perceptions in the market is not a quick process, nor should it be. "Repositioning" discusses the importance of public relations, how it affects advertising, and how critical consistency will be in your program, as well as how best to start a campaign to reposition your company all the while keeping it simple and understandable to the consumer....

I recommend "Repositioning" to any business that is involved with working with larger organizations as well as to owners of any business, to more thoroughly understand the importance of your organization and your service in the minds of customers. It would be even better if you read this book prior to starting your company, to get off on the right foot.

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