So far during Brand Month, I’ve talked about how mission, values, purpose, vision and voice contribute to making up a complete brand. Today, I want to talk about how positioning contributes to your brand.
Brand positioning is deciding how your brand is differentiated in the minds of your customers. The goal is to position your brand at the top of their mind when purchasing a product or service you provide. Brand positioning is critical to business success, especially in crowded markets where you have a lot of competition. We are bombarded with so much marketing messaging every day that we will only remember your brand if you show us how it fits into our lives better than any other brand in your category.
Your brand positioning strategy will depend on your brand foundation (mission, vision, values, purpose), target audience, product, and competition. However, your decisions should be entirely based on providing value to your customers. Listen to your customers. They’ll tell you what features and benefits they value in your category. For example, Red Roof Inn customers want low prices, while Ritz Carlton customers want luxury service. Your product’s value will help you decide on a positioning strategy. Ultimately, whatever position you choose should fit within your overall brand messaging.
Part of brand positioning is the process of defining your brand’s unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is what creates that mental image in the minds of your customers that differentiates your brand from competitors.
With a strong USP your brand will:
- Stand out from the competition
- Attract and retain customers
- Build a strong brand identity
- Generate more sales
There are a number of different positions you can take with your brand. Some common methods include:
- Positioning based on price
- Positioning based on quality
- Positioning based on convenience
- Positioning based on customer service
- Positioning based on target audience
- Positioning based on industry/competition
- Positioning based on uniqueness
Here are some more examples. For fast food, Wendy’s positioning is quality while McDonalds is convenience. For cars, Subaru’s positioning is safety/quality, while Kia is price/affordable and Mercedes is price/luxury. For department stores, Nordstrom is known for customer service, Target is known for convenience, and Walmart is known for price. Each brand has a very specific position that becomes the foundation for all of their marketing messaging. A position helps your brand know how to talk to your ideal customer. By taking the time to position your brand effectively, you can build a strong brand that stands out from the competition and attracts and retains customers.
B2B brand positioning can be tricky because the decision-making process can be complex. There are a myriad of factors that go into the purchase decision that have less to do with a product’s benefits, and more to do with an individual company’s processes. However, positioning is still critical. B2B positioning is typically based on being the best provider of a solution.
Here are some examples of B2B brand positioning:
- SAP is positioned as the leading provider of enterprise software solutions.
- Cisco is positioned as the leading provider of networking solutions.
- Microsoft is positioned as the leading provider of cloud computing solutions.
- Oracle is positioned as the leading provider of database management systems.
- IBM is positioned as the leading provider of consulting services.
These companies have all positioned themselves as “the best” in their respective industries. B2B brands can position themselves around other features like price, implementation, ease of use, etc. In the end, it’s important to remember that although the purchasing process may be complex, a human will make the decision and their emotions and opinions will matter.
When you have established your brand position, you can then use that positioning and your brand foundation to build your brand’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and your Value Proposition. A USP is a statement that defines your brand’s unique selling point (your positioning) and communicates it to your target audience. It is the key message that you want to communicate about your brand. It is what makes your brand “sticky” in the minds of your customers. A value proposition is a statement that defines the benefits that your product or service provides to your customers. It is what makes your product or service valuable to your customers. It is what solves their problems or makes their lives easier. Both are critical to building effective marketing and advertising campaigns.
I’ll talk more about the USP and VP in further blogs. They are important topics all on their own. As always, if you are in search of your brand, I would love to help you discover it. Contact me today and let’s get started!
