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: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,092 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

By 

M. Boucher (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis (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 one powerful differentiating idea, March 20, 2011

By 

Andrew Everett (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis (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 (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis (Hardcover)

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.