Marketing Image differentiation competitive advantage Essay

Marketing Image differentiation competitive advantage - Essay Example It should be noted that in this type of differentiation strategy, the product is not tangibly different from its competitors. The marketer's primary function, then, is the addition of intangible features which would enhance the image and position of the product in the market. Tangible differentiation is much more apparent and easily identified than intangible ones. In case of toothbrushes, Colgate and Oral B are tangibly different. Oral B toothbrushes are distinctive because of the red dye in the center bristles which fades and tells customers when they need a new toothbrush. On the other hand, Colgate offers its revolutionary toothbrush that focuses on overall hygiene with its tongue cleaner. Intangible differentiation can best seen in the laptop market. It should be noted that some notebooks offered by Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computers are the same in terms of memory, connectivity, battery life, etc. However, customers are willing to pay a premium for a Mac because it is marketed as an upscale product while HP is for the mass market. The price of the notebooks together with their images in the market succeeds in creating intangible differences for the product. Extreme examples of the two products which are tangibly the same but are differentiated in the market