Page 251 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

220 Chapter Eight

down on the credibility of the brand. A good brand position should be
difficult to copy by competitors and meet the customers’ changing
needs for a long time.
5. Fit: The brand position should fit the company’s objectives and culture.

Example 8.4: Several Bookstores’ Brand Positions
This example is from Davis (2000). Borders, Crown Books, Barnes & Noble,
and Amazon.com are four dominant booksellers in America. The following
table lists each of their unique brand positions.

Target Market Business Point of
Company Segment Provided Difference

Borders Individuals looking Books, music, Fun place
for a community multimedia, and to go
meeting place on-line

Crown Books Price-sensitive Bookstores Discount
individuals, pricing
strip-mall shoppers

Barnes & Noble Individuals looking Books, music, Library-like
for a quiet multimedia and setting
gathering place on-line

Amazon.com Individuals who are On-line books, Personalized
Internet-active and music, and many on-line service,
shop on-line other items huge variety

Product-Brand Coordination
After all, customers are buying products or services; a brand is a symbol and
a short cut for customers to use in selecting the products they need.
Customers’ total experience with the products, including purchasing,
consuming, and servicing, has to be in tune with the brand position. For
example, if a hospital’s brand position is to be the premier hospital of choice
that provides customers with an attentive team of caring experts working
together to provide the highest level of professional care, then every word
promised, such as premier, attentive, team, and caring, should have concrete
actions behind it. Table 8.6 provides an example of a well-coordinated
product-brand combination.