Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Identifying Potential Points of Difference and Points of Parity

Once marketers have fixed the frame of reference for positioning by defining the customer market and the nature of the competition, they can define the appropriate points of difference (attributes or benefits that are unique to the company’s offering) and points of parity (attributes or benefits that the company’s offering has in common with the competition).10 We discuss points-of-parity and points-of-difference associations in the following sections.

Identifying Points of Difference

Points of difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits that differentiate the company’s offering from the competition. These are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, ...