MT494 Unit 6 Team Outing Positioning Statement Example

Everyone Plays, One Call Books It: An MT494 Unit 6 Positioning Statement for Sandberg Lanes

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

MT494: Bachelor's Capstone in Marketing

Unit 6 Positioning Statement

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Sandberg Lanes, its rivals, the survey figures and the interviewees are composite; the sources cited are real.

The Statement

For office managers and human resource coordinators at Quad Cities employers who plan group outings, Sandberg Lanes is the weekday team outing where every guest plays, because one call books lanes, food and a host at a single price per person, and 24 lanes let groups of ten to 120 play side by side.

The salesperson's line: Everyone plays, and one call books it all.

Kotler and Keller (2016) describe a positioning statement as four linked choices about audience, category, difference and proof. Each choice here traces to earlier work. The target comes from the Unit 5 scoring matrix, which chose mid-sized employers and split them into planners and approvers. The point of difference comes from the survey's top-ranked criterion. The reason to believe rests on assets the business already has: lanes enough for a large group, a working kitchen and weekday staff with time to host. Nothing in the statement depends on spending the business has not yet approved.

Proof Points

Two proof points sit under the statement, and each can be checked by someone who has never visited. First, the weekday package bundles lanes, shoes, a buffet and a host into one per-person price with one invoice, which answers the planners who ranked one invoice second in the Unit 4 survey. Second, 56 of 83 surveyed planners, 67 percent, ranked everyone being able to take part as their first criterion, and bowling is one of few activities where a group of forty can play at the same time regardless of age or fitness.

Choosing the Frame of Reference

Every positioning statement implies a comparison, and this one chooses it on purpose. Among bowling centers, Sandberg Lanes is merely one of three in the area and the cheapest, a claim any rival could answer with a price cut. Among team outings, it is the one where nobody sits out. The comparison set then becomes the escape-room bar, where a group of thirty must split into rooms of twelve; restaurant private rooms, where guests sit and talk; and Ridgeline Social, which is polished but costs about $48 a head. Keller et al. (2002) argue that a brand must first establish which category it belongs to before its points of difference mean anything, and choosing team outings is what makes participation a difference rather than a feature.

Among bowling centers Sandberg is cheaper; among team outings it is the one where nobody sits out.

Two Axes

A simple map plots the four options on ease of planning, from many calls and invoices to one, and on the share of guests who actively take part. The escape-room bar scores high on participation within each room but low on ease, since large groups need several bookings. Restaurant rooms score high on ease and low on participation. Ridgeline Social scores well on both but sits at a price many approvers will not accept. Sandberg Lanes, with the bundled package, claims the corner where ease and participation are both high at a price under $40. Both axes come from the survey's top two criteria rather than from intuition.

What Five Planners Changed

The draft statement was read aloud to five planners from the Unit 4 interviews, and their reactions forced two revisions. The first draft promised a team building outing. Three of the five said the phrase sounded forced and reminded them of trust falls and workshops their staff resented, so it was removed, and the statement now says team outing. The first draft also led with the host, a staff member who runs the afternoon. Planners valued the host when it was explained but did not remember it a minute later, so the host moved from the headline into the proof points, where it supports the one-call promise. One planner suggested naming the price; the statement leaves price out because the survey placed it fourth, and the approver will see it on the quote.

Keeping the Two Versions Aligned

The formal statement and the salesperson's line make the same promise in different lengths. Ries and Trout (2001) argue that a position must be simple enough to occupy one idea in the buyer's mind, and the line keeps both halves of that idea: participation and ease. If a later ad or slide promised something else, such as cheap fun or nostalgia, it would weaken the position the plan is trying to build.

References

Keller, K. L., Sternthal, B., & Tybout, A. (2002). Three questions you need to ask about your brand. Harvard Business Review, 80(9), 80-89.

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.

Ries, A., & Trout, J. (2001). Positioning: The battle for your mind (20th anniversary ed.). McGraw-Hill.