Page 249 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

218 Chapter Eight

Brand positioning defines the following aspects of the brand’s position in
the marketplace:
1. The target market segment. The company that owns the brand needs to
know who are the intended customers for its brand. Customer surveys
and self-study can be used to determine the target market segment.
The following types of questions should be asked:
• Is the target market both identifiable and reachable?
• Would the current customers be part of our target market segment?
• Will the target market be attracted to our distinct brand identity?
• If we never served this market segment before, why do we want to
serve it now?
2. The business it provides to the market segment. The company that
owns the brand needs to know what kinds of businesses it will provide
and what kinds of businesses it will not provide in the target market
segment. Customer surveys and self-study can be used to determine
this. The following types of questions should be asked:
• What is the category, industry, or business that we compete in?
• How has this changed over time?
• Will the marketplace value and believe in our participation in this
business?
3. Key benefits and points of differentiation of the company’s products
and brand in the marketplace. The company that owns the brand needs
to know what differentiates its brand from other brands in the target
market segment, as well as what are the key benefits of its brand to
customers. Customer surveys and self-study can be used to determine
this. The following types of questions should be asked:
• Are our key benefits important to customers?
• Can we deliver these benefits satisfactorily?
• What are our key points of difference from other brands?
• Can we own these key points of difference over time?
• Are we competing at the features and attributes layer, the benefits
layer, or the beliefs and values layer? (See Fig. 8.4.)
4. The contract of the brand with the market, which defines its brand’s
promises (in terms of its products and service quality) to its customers.
The contract of the brand with the market is also called a brand
contract (Davis 2000). A brand contract is a list of all promises the
brand makes to customers. Such a contract is executed internally, but
it is defined and validated externally by the marketplace.

The brand contract is derived by analyzing
• The current promises the brand makes to the marketplace