Example of strategic positioning
I'm not sure if I'm going to use this in my paper yet or not, but I thought it was a great example of the strategic positioning that Porter talks about in his Harvard Business School article. He defines it as "...doing things differently from competitors, in a way that delivers a unique type of value to customers."
One of the first things that came to mind was when Progressive Auto Insurance started advertising that they'd feature a ticker on their website so you could see what rates different people are quoted (from Progressive and a few other competing insurance companies). To me, the whole thing of Progressive showing rates from other companies was intriguing, especially when there's the possibility of displaying even lower rates from competing companies!
This morning, I read an article in the Detroit News about T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check. (Click the Check street-level coverage button) to see the very cool popup app in action.
The article is very interesting - it talks about how customers usually choose wireless carriers based on price and coverage. However, since current prices among carriers are all so competitive, customers will use coverage as the main decision point.
I appreciate how T-mobile is being proactive about trying to win and keep happy customers by letting them know whether the phone service will fit their lifestyle even before the "risk free" trial period. The interactive tool seems to be a win for everyone.
One last thing of note - in the article, it talks about an unhappy customer that found out the T-mobile service was a bad fit for her lifestyle after the trial period had ended. Now, she complains about the service to anyone who asks. The bad experiential testimonial is quite damaging to T-mobile since many who shop for a new wireless carrier solicit opinions from their friends and family. By minimizing these unhappy customers and letting potential customers see for themselves whether the service is a good fit will give T-mobile a distince advantage in the wireless carrier arena.
One of the first things that came to mind was when Progressive Auto Insurance started advertising that they'd feature a ticker on their website so you could see what rates different people are quoted (from Progressive and a few other competing insurance companies). To me, the whole thing of Progressive showing rates from other companies was intriguing, especially when there's the possibility of displaying even lower rates from competing companies!
This morning, I read an article in the Detroit News about T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check. (Click the Check street-level coverage button) to see the very cool popup app in action.
The article is very interesting - it talks about how customers usually choose wireless carriers based on price and coverage. However, since current prices among carriers are all so competitive, customers will use coverage as the main decision point.
I appreciate how T-mobile is being proactive about trying to win and keep happy customers by letting them know whether the phone service will fit their lifestyle even before the "risk free" trial period. The interactive tool seems to be a win for everyone.
One last thing of note - in the article, it talks about an unhappy customer that found out the T-mobile service was a bad fit for her lifestyle after the trial period had ended. Now, she complains about the service to anyone who asks. The bad experiential testimonial is quite damaging to T-mobile since many who shop for a new wireless carrier solicit opinions from their friends and family. By minimizing these unhappy customers and letting potential customers see for themselves whether the service is a good fit will give T-mobile a distince advantage in the wireless carrier arena.
posted by kirk at 11:47:00 AM
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