It's important to remember that many people are currently forming opinions about your brand based on a variety of factors, such as your website, advertisements, or even your office. These opinions are what ultimately determine your market position, so it's important to make sure that people have positive feelings toward your brand.
To be successful, businesses need a good plan to make their brand stand out. Studies show that when brands are presented the same way every time, they can make 10-20% more money. Good branding can also help you keep your customers, look better, and be different from your competitors. This article explains what brand positioning means and gives tips on how to do it well.
What Is Brand Positioning?
Brand positioning is the practice of putting your company’s name at the forefront of your customers’ minds. Brand positioning is more than a catchphrase or a flashy logo; it’s a strategy for distinguishing your company from the competition.
When a brand is well-positioned, it is viewed favorably by the public because of its perceived value, usefulness, and trustworthiness. As a result of combining these three factors, your company becomes memorable and unique for your clients. This is crucial since being “different” from your competitors isn’t enough to succeed in business.
The Value Proposition Statement
To position your brand effectively, you will first need to have a value proposition statement. This statement answers the question of “why” people should do business with you. It should persuade a prospective customer that your service or product is superior to similar offers from your competitors. You know why you’re the best when it comes to your business, but what about your potential customers?
You can establish your value proposition statement using the Value Proposition Canvas. Understanding clients’ concerns and providing products and services that address them is the objective of this tool.
Your business model is dependent on the Value Proposition Canvas, which aids in decision-making and positioning your product or service. It’s more than a visual representation of what customers want.
With the Value Proposition Canvas, you’ll be able to achieve the following:
- Identify your customer’s key jobs-to-be-done, the challenges they experience in completing these activities, and the benefits they perceive from completing these tasks.
- Define the most crucial aspects of your product, including how you alleviate pain and provide value to your clients.
- Make changes to your Value Proposition based on the information you learned from your customers and ensure that your product and market are compatible.
Simply put, your value proposition statement is the value that you promise to deliver.
A strong value proposition can set you apart from the crowd and is frequently used by prospects to assess you. And this statement is often the first thing customers see when learning about your company. The need for a crystal-clear value proposition has never been greater.
Differentiation and Positioning
Building a brand starts with differentiating your company from the competition, which is achieved by writing your value proposition. A company’s marketing strategy cannot be successful without differentiation and positioning.
Setting a brand up in the eyes of potential customers to occupy a distinct, favorable position compared to its competitors is known as positioning. Differentiation is necessary for positioning, but positioning also requires differentiation. When we distinguish a brand to provide superior value to customers via differentiation, we can attain our desired position in the minds of consumers.
Here's a brand positioning example:
Consider a company selling seat belts to automobile manufacturers.
Your unique value can be a supply that is always on time and has no rejected belts. If other seat belt producers fail to accomplish these objectives, you will have a distinct leg up on your competitors and will have differentiated your brand from theirs. After you’ve decided how to differentiate your brand, the following stage is positioning.
In the case of seat belts, the manufacturer can promote itself by claiming that it never misses delivery deadlines and that its items are defect-free. Timely shipping and superior manufacturing quality distinguish this brand from those of its competitors. The seat belt company’s principal marketing efforts must focus on this market positioning.
Positioning results in customer-focused messaging that can be cohesively used throughout all channels, stages, and engagements within the customer journey. It highlights the essential characteristics that your target market values and that you have control over.
Positioning isn’t something to aim for. Neither is it a checklist or a sales pitch. Instead, this internal document outlines the present position of your business or brand. Differentiation is crucial because, without it, brands become faceless and interchangeable entities.
Messaging Framework
Once you’ve crafted a position statement, you’ll need to develop a messaging strategy to convey your brand’s promise to your various target markets. Sales teams, marketing campaigns, public relations talking points, content developers, and HR recruitment campaigns all employ messaging frameworks in making offers.
Messaging emphasizes the most significant aspects of what you’re offering, such as its value and primary selling points, that you intend your market to be aware of. Messaging is the manifestation of positioning — the point at which it comes alive.
Your positioning and messaging framework are crucial components of successful brand storytelling. The research you complete in this exercise will help you communicate your customers’ experiences and help you choose which customers to profile for the marketing collaterals you create.
Using your positioning to guide your messaging can help you focus on what is most important to your customers.
Pro Tip
Jot down as many messages as you can think of. Make a list of three or five statements that effectively tell your story and represent the truth about your brand. Marketing messaging should always start with the truth about your brand and end with the narrative of how it benefits customers.
Setting yourself up for success requires strategic positioning and messaging. Positioning is the foundation — the primary reason you are sharing your story in the first place. On the other hand, your messaging is the content you deliver to customers. You could make use of both to maximize your marketing efforts.
Conclusion
If you want to break into or compete in any market, you need a strong brand. A distinct brand positioning strategy allows you To make a statement, gain (and maintain) your target market’s interest, and expand your business successfully. Just keep the methods and frameworks discussed in the article in mind to help you position your brand such that you are in your target audience’s sweet spot.
