Positioning — Al Ries

""One of the most important communication books I''ve ever read. I highly recommend it!"" —Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese? and co-author of The One Minute Manager

""Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning…"" —David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a ""position"" in a prospective customer''s mind—one that reflects a company''s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Writing in their trademark witty, fast-paced style, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to: make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market—and stays there; position a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leader; and, avoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one. Positioning also shows you how to: use leading ad agency techniques to capture the biggest market share and become a household name; build your strategy around your competition''s weaknesses; reposition a strong competitor and create a weak spot; use your present position to its best advantage; choose the best name for your product; determine when—and why—less is more; and, analyze recent trends that affect your positioning. Ries and Trout provide many valuable case histories and penetrating analyses of some of the most phenomenal successes and failures in advertising history. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, Positioning is required listening for anyone in business today.