What Is Product Positioning? Types and Examples

Updated July 21, 2022

Companies use various tactics and strategies to promote their products or services to consumers. One such strategy is product positioning, which outlines benefits consumers can gain from buying a product and determines your marketing strategy. In this article, we discuss the uses of product positioning and explore the various types with examples.

What is product positioning used for?

Product positioning is a description of a product or service and explains how it fulfills a specific need, want or desire that's missing from the target audience. Sometimes called the positioning statement, it's an essential element of marketing because it creates and defines a company's intentions while emphasizing how its brand is identifiable and unique compared to similar competitors.

The position statement represents the brand's identity and the value that it provides to consumers. It's a customer-focused strategy that includes core elements like brand image, special features, quality and identity. A product positioning marketing initiative uses the core elements of the practice and expands on it with individualized details to make it even more defined and specialized.

Types of product positioning examples

Here are eight types of product positioning examples:

Quality product positioning

A quality-based product positioning initiative emphasizes the quality of the product as its key selling point. This kind of position could apply to a product or a service, making it a common choice for businesses to use. When emphasizing quality, companies often compare it to the quality of a competitor who provides a similar product.

Example: "We thrive on quality. Best in the business. Our new line of silk duvets, sheets and pillowcases are of the highest quality. Offering a 30% higher thread count than the leading competitor."

Variety product positioning

A variety-based product positioning marketing campaign emphasizes how a business offers variety with their products, which gives customers multiple options. Though this type of position sees more frequent use with products, it also has applications for services as well. To emphasize the large variety that they offer, a company might compare how they have a wider selection of products than other competitors, or they might explain why each of their options is unique and unlike anything else.

Example: "No one offers more variety than we do. With over 15 new ice cream flavors, from honey butter pecan to mint agave, you can find a flavor for every occasion. Get yours in a variety of sizes, so you can enjoy as much ice cream as you want, when you want it."

Performance product positioning

Performance-based product positioning focuses primarily on how well a product performs. This type of position is concerned less about the aesthetic and focuses more on how something functions. Performance positioning applies primarily to a physical product, though it can apply to a digital product as well. Performance positioning marketing may or may not make a direct comparison to similar competitors, though it often describes how it's the best performing product available.

Example: "Voted brand with best-performing computers for three years in a row. Fulfill all your computer needs with our latest PC model, the Aero 2000, the highest-rated HD i10 core processor notebook currently on the market. Enjoy its unparalleled performance and style."

Efficiency product positioning

Efficiency-based product positioning places most of the focus on how well the service or product makes the consumer's life more efficient and easier. This could apply to products and services since both can demonstrate high efficiency. This type of product positioning speaks to the intuitive nature of the product and how it can help someone be more productive or make a task less tedious. Efficiency product positioning can even apply to digital products.

Example: "Number one on the app store in software optimization. Download our recently updated application for guaranteed smoother transitions, higher video quality and no upload delays. Compatible with all smart devices."

Aesthetic product positioning

Aesthetic-based product positioning primarily focuses on emphasizing how the look and appearance of a product fits a unique and distinctive image that appeals to a specific demographic of people. This type of product positioning doesn't really need to make any comparisons to other products since it offers its own unique charm. In this way, it simply showcases what kind of aesthetic their products possess.

Example: "Check out our new fall collection with the charm and sophistication you're after. You'll love our new rose embellished pearl necklaces, 1920s frilled Cambridge blouses, and vintage, hand-sewn plaid skirts. We have the styles, looks and accessories you won't find anywhere else."

Reliability product positioning

Reliability-based product positioning serves to emphasize how products or services are reliable. Trust is an important aspect of this marketing strategy because people usually trust reliable products and services. This product positioning style may also make comparisons to similar companies to demonstrate why their goods are more reliable than others, or it might explain why their goods are the most reliable in the current market. Older companies sometimes use this type of product positioning because it corresponds with their successful longevity, which represents a steady customer base.

Example: "Trusted since 1935, you can now enjoy the luxuries of our latest bedroom collections. New look but same reliable pieces that'll last for years to come."

Sustainability product positioning

Sustainability-based product positioning primarily focuses on describing how their products are sustainable and reusable. Eco-friendly companies usually employ this type of product positioning strategy because it allows them to show how their services and products are safe for the environment and communities. This type of product positioning may sometimes use company comparisons, typically for companies that aren't sustainable.

Example: "Our new straws are biodegradable and completely organic. Say no to plastics and textiles that can't decompose. Enjoy your favorite beverages while helping save the planet."

Do-it-yourself product positioning

The do-it-yourself, or DIY, product positioning marketing strategy typically pertains to products and explains how a consumer can easily use or put together a product. This type of product position emphasizes a user's intelligence and personal capabilities, but also provides a product that's made to be fairly simple to use. However, this can depend on the specific product and how difficult it may be to assemble.

Example: "Explore our wildly popular DIY wallpapers, which only take five minutes to install. No painter needed, simply remove the adhesive and then roll it up your walls. Give your home the look you've always wanted with no hassle and no mess."