Differentiating Idea—Simplicity

Here is one more differentiating idea that Trout does not mention. It was suggested by Steven Cristol and Peter Sealey in their book Simplicity Marketing. What’s interesting here is that while Cristol and Sealey begin with the same observation that Trout made about the proliferation of choice, they come to some very different conclusions. Rather than seeing positioning as an answer to the consumers’ and brand builders’ problem with the tyranny of choice, they see positioning, at least as it has been traditionally done, as the cause of the problem. They write:

Like capitalism itself, contemporary marketing has been based on an unflagging
belief in giving customers more and more choices.The choice curve
ramped up in the post–World War II economy, when packaged goods manufacturers
set in motion a relentless juggernaut of product proliferation
and line extensions.The cumulative result of a half century of bombarding
customers with an overload of options is that their mental circuit breakers
are beginning to trip—in both the consumer and business worlds. In a
pressure-packed buying and selling environment, the line between choice
and overchoice has become increasingly fine.
By the early 1970s, marketers were already desperately hungry for
ways to ensure that their brands could stand out amidst the swelling
marketing noise created by more choices and more media pervasiveness.
It was then that the concept of positioning rippled through the
marketing world. Positioning focused on the importance of differen
tiating a product, service, or company from its competition. It brought
to the marketing planning process a new sense of focus on carving out
a proprietary space in the customer’s mind. During the three decades
since, sustained success has come to those brands with a unique,
relevant, and credible positioning consistently supported by aggressive
marketing.
But many such successes are now threatened by overchoice.A new imperative
for the positioning discipline has emerged: that marketers look for
ways to connect their brands to simplicity. The interaction of two forceful
tides—extreme choice proliferation and an exponentially increasing pace of
change—creates a combustible combination that at once brings customers
unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented anxiety . . . [In] the most
developed economies of the twenty-first century, the next generation of positioning
successes will belong to those brands that relieve customer stress. That
means simplifying customers’ lives or businesses in ways that are inextricably
tied to brand and product positioning. It means becoming the customer’s
partner in stress relief.
Brands that do this will be the customer’s heroes. Brands that don’t will
be nuisances.

If you want to position your brand as a relief from stress, say Cristol and Sealey, there are four ways you can do so—Replace, Repackage, Reposition, and Replenish.