REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis

CHAPTER TWELVEREPOSITIONING IS OBVIOUS

When it’s time for you to reposition, the problem you face will be obvious, and the solution to the problem will be obvious. But people tend not to see the obvious.

General Motors’ need to reposition itself has been obvious for decades, as its market share has declined year by year over a quarter of a century. To dramatize this, here’s what I wrote in 2001 in a book entitled Big Brands. Big Trouble. It wasn’t a prediction that came true. It was an obvious observation.

Enter the Board

With the declining market share, it’s not surprising that some years ago the board revolted and ejected top management. In recent years, we’ve seen new CEOs that weren’t bean counters, a new marketing chief, brand managers: ...