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Fanatical Focus
Ask the pizza man. Successful marketing starts with positioning.
This principle is the focus of Al Ries and Jack Trout’s marketing classic,
Positioning. In its most important essentials, Positioning says:
1. You must position yourself in your prospect’s mind.
2. Your position should be singular: one simple message.
3. Your position must set you apart from your competitors.
4. You must sacrifice. You cannot be all things to all people; you must focus
on one thing.
Domino’s vividly illustrates strong service positioning. For years, Domino’s
never mentioned quality, price, or value. Instead, Domino’s relentlessly stressed
its speed: “30 Minutes or It’s On Us,” ad after ad after ad.
As a result, Domino’s came to “own” the distinctive concept of speed in the
pizza delivery business. When people thought of fast, reliable delivery, they
thought of Domino’s.
Today, when reporters ask Domino’s president, Tom Monaghan, the secret of
his success, what does he answer?
“A fanatical focus on doing one thing well.” Stand for one distinctive thing
that will give you a competitive advantage.
The Fear of Positioning
A quick quiz:
Which terrifies service marketers most:
A) The suggestion that they must position their service?
B) The shower scene in Psycho ?
The correct answer is A.
Why all the fear? Because standing for one thing means you cannot expressly
