Standing Out in the Crowd — a review of a peer’s blog
In her blog “Products! Products! Products!”, Alexandra Marynczak indicates, “How a product is perceived and classified can be almost entirely dependent on how it is marketed. Marketers hold tremendous power!”. It is vital for a product to differentiate itself from its competitors in the market. And this difference should meet demands of the target group.
Alexandra mentions two examples. One is Toyota’s minivan, and the other is Born 3 egg, a type of eggs with omega 3. Both products distinguish themselves very well from others to meet the customers’ special needs. Toyota’s video captures young urban couple by satisfying both their family and personal demands. Born 3 egg renders itself special by adding extra nutrition ingredients, so it gains popularity among people who are seeking healthy lifestyle. 
A product’s targeting strategy should concern not only its customers’ demands, but also the company’s general image as well. For example, if Channel launches a new handbag with colourful cartoon in an effort to distinguish itself from other luxury brands, it may well turn out to be a market failure. This is because cartoon with bright colours deviates too far from the general image of the brand, which is supposedly classic and elegant. Moreover, Channel’s target market is high-income women, such as businesswomen, celebrities and politician. It is not an attractive design for them probably.
To sum up, in order to gain larger market share in a competitive market, it is essential to have distinctive advantages over other competing products. In order to achieve this, however, customer’s needs, as well as, the company’s general image should be taken into account as well.