What is a brand positioning strategy?
A brand positioning strategy is a process that involves highlighting your brand’s personality, history, and culture in a way that customers can easily picture. It requires planning and executing communications campaigns to help you connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
I would describe brand positioning as more of the art of positioning your brand in the mind of your customers. It has everything to do with creating a positive image, conveying uniqueness, and establishing a clear value proposition that clearly describes what your product or service is all about.
When it comes to brand positioning, you must understand how you can best communicate with your target audience so that they fully understand and resonate with your brand’s looks, feels, and tastes.
Why is it essential for them to think of your brand?
When you ask a consumer to name a soft drink, Coca-Cola immediately comes to mind. Colgate would probably be the first toothpaste that springs to mind if you asked a consumer to identify one.
If you ask them what the name of an energy drink is, they will immediately say Red Bull. When you ask a Nigerian to name a brand of noodles, Indomie will typically come to mind.
Being viewed as the best by customers will enable a company to get a sizable market share and operate sustainably. The businesses mentioned above demonstrate that being first is the most straightforward approach to capturing someone’s attention.
Types of Brand Positioning Strategies
Customer Service Positioning Strategy
Customer service is frequently disregarded as a critical element in any successful business. A great customer experience is what sets companies apart from competitors. Customers are much more inclined to return, recommend others, and even buy more products from you when they feel valued and appreciated.
There are different types of customer service strategies, but we’re going to focus on two basic ones: proactive and reactive. Proactive customer service involves taking action before a problem occurs; this could mean sending a quick email to a client who hasn’t paid their bill.
Reactive customer service, on the other hand, means responding to a negative situation after it has already occurred; this could involve calling a client upset about something you did.
For you to deliver a positive experience for customers and amp up your service, you can try the following approach:
• Be friendly and courteous
• Create a memorable first impression
• Provide clear and concise answers
• Offer quality products/services
• Make sure your staff is well trained
Remember, how effectively you treat consumers when they enter your store or resolve problems when they have complaints is one of the first ways people evaluate your business.
Customers typically prefer to buy products from companies with a high reputation for providing excellent customer service.
Customer service strategy should focus on three areas:
a. How to deliver exceptional service through a consistent and effective communication approach.
b. How to respond to negative feedback promptly and effectively.
c. How to manage expectations from clients and prospects.
The most evident advantage of this method is that offering excellent customer service may support charging a premium price. For instance, even though Apple’s devices are expensive, its customer service representatives are helpful and responsive.
Quality-Based Positioning
Brand quality is a marketing approach that promotes the value and credibility of your products and services.
A quality-based brand positioning strategy emphasizes the product’s quality as the primary marketing feature. You can use this type of brand positioning for a brand’s product or service; companies typically choose to use it.
A quality brand strategy is about building a brand based on quality rather than quantity; this means focusing on what makes your company different from competitors.
Most companies adopt this tactic to highlight the high quality of their products. Companies frequently compare their quality with that of a competitor who offers a similar product when promoting quality.
Customers want to know that your goods and services are reliable, durable, and reasonably priced. Brand quality can also help you stand out if you compete in a marketplace with minimal competition or are attempting to attract customers in one with solid competition.
Celebrity-driven Positioning
Celebrities are often used to promote brands. They are well known, and their endorsement can help boost your company’s image, primarily if the celebrity endorses your product or service.
The rise of companies like Pepsi, Lamborghini, and Rolex has been powered by celebrity-driven branding, a potent form of promotion.
Since the beginning of marketing, celebrities have benefited financially from their popularity. Whether it was a celebrity like Marilyn Monroe promoting perfume in the mid-1900s or today’s hottest Hollywood stars endorsing a clothing line, celebrity endorsements have been prevalent throughout history.
Another benefit of using celebrities is increasing your brand’s awareness. People will think that the person endorsing your brand is just like your product or service. Therefore, they are likely to purchase it because they believe the celebrity is a reputable source.
The best thing about using celebrities to promote your brand is that they already have a large following.
Celebrity endorsements have always been a great way to boost a brand’s image, but today they are even more powerful. Celebrities are famous for their influence and their ability to connect with people on a deep level. They have admirers who look up to them.33 and want what they have.
So when a celebrity endorses a brand, it’s almost impossible for people to ignore it; this is especially true in fashion, where celebrities wear the latest trends.
Celebrities are used in marketing and advertising to convey societal standards. They portray a sense of belonging and excitement to customers while helping brands promote products. In light of this, it is not surprising that using celebrities in advertising is effective.
Convenience-Based Positioning Strategy
If a company aims to sell its products quickly, it might use problem and solution positioning, which entails portraying the product as the remedy to different issues. Therefore, the product will receive favorable feedback for the problem-solving approach.
A convenience-based positioning strategy emphasizes the advantages of a company’s product or service over those of the competition. Location, availability, ease of access, and platform support are a few variables that may contribute to convenience.
Making your product or service the most convenient will draw in customers. Additionally, it can support a more significant price point.
Value or Price Positioning
The typical person would probably say “Fancy” or “Expensive” in response to a question regarding what they think of Louis Vuitton. The usual answer to our question about why people believe so is something like, “Because it’s so expensive,” if we were to ask them. Contrary to common opinion, a high-priced item gives a psychological impression of worth, while a low-priced item can emphasize the advantages of affordability.
How to Create a Brand Positioning Strategy
Define your market
Before developing our brand positioning strategy, we need to understand what our target audience wants. We should identify the needs of our potential customers and determine if they wish to buy our services or products.
In defining your target audience, think about what kind of person would want to read/watch/listen to your content, this may be a specific person, but it could also be a group of people.
For example, if you were writing a book, your target audience might be women between the ages of 20 and 40. Alternatively, if you were making a film, your target audience could be parents with children aged 10 to 18; this is a critical step in any business plan because it helps us to decide on the right marketing strategies that align with our customer demographics.
Who Are They?
Your target audience is the group of people who will purchase from you. You should define this group based on demographics, interests, hobbies, behaviors, and needs.
Where do They Currently Live?
Is it a rural area? A city? Or somewhere else entirely? There are many factors to consider here, depending on where you want to reach your audience.
How Much Money Can They Spend?
What are their price expectations for your product or service? For your product or service? Think about this before diving into any research.
What Needs Do They Have?
Do they need help defining their needs? What issues does your product or service help them with?
Answering the above questions helps you define your core values and vision for your company. It also lets you know who you want to reach, their needs, and where they spend their time online.
Define your distinct value proposition
A value proposition summarizes what you provide and why your clients should care about you. It briefly describes your services, including benefits, features, and advantages. A good value proposition makes it easy for prospective clients to understand what you do and why they should hire you.
A Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is what sets you apart from your competitors. It should answer the question, “Why would someone choose your product/service over others?” A good UVP isn’t necessarily complex; however, it does need to be clear and concise.
How to create a compelling UVP
The best way to create a compelling UVI is to ask yourself: “What makes my product different?” This may seem simple, but it’s pretty challenging to think of something that makes our products stand out. In the following paragraphs, check out a few pointers on how to write an effective UIVP.
A. Start with a problem
Solving a problem is always easier than describing a solution.
B. Find the pain point
To make a difference, look at where your target audience is experiencing pain.
C. Highlight the benefits
Benefits are why people choose to work with you instead of someone else. They describe the things that clients gain from working with you. Benefits are listed in bullet points.
D. Define the features
Features are differentiating characteristics that distinguish you from competitors. They let potential clients know what you can do for them.
E. What are the advantages?
Advantages are the advantages of using your service compared to your competition, including lower prices, faster turnaround time, better quality, etc.
Analyze your competition
Next, you’ll want to identify your competitors; this helps gain insight into your market and will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses against those of your competition.
The first step is identifying your competitors; this may appear to be an uncomplicated task; however, many people fail. They look around their area and think, “I am the only one doing this!” Or they take a broad approach and say, “Well, everyone is doing something.”
If you want to understand what your competition is doing, you should learn from them. Learn what they are offering, where their location is, and what kind of clients they are targeting. Then you will see what type of business model they are using and whether or not they are succeeding.
1. Know their strengths and weaknesses
It’s best if you always try to figure out what makes your competitors tick. They may have a great product or service but also lack certain things; this gives you an idea of where you could improve upon theirs.
2. Know their target audience
If you want to know what kind of person would purchase your product or service, then you should learn about the demographics of your competitors; this will help you figure out the best target market for yourself.
3. Learn what their marketing techniques are
This will give you a good idea of marketing your brand more effectively. There are many different types of marketing strategies that can be used depending on the type of product or service being sold.
4. Find out what their weaknesses are
It will be easier to beat them if you know their weak points. Knowing this will enable you to take advantage of those areas and create a competitive edge.
5. Create a brand positioning statement
A brand positioning statement concisely describes what makes your company different from others in its field. A good one will tell potential clients what they get when they choose your services. Your brand positioning statement is only effective if your audience believes in it.
To achieve this, you must develop a compelling story that aligns with your brand positioning statement, meaning the message you send to your audience should resonate with their beliefs and expectations.
As a rule of thumb, a good positioning statement should be less than ten sentences long. Some examples of brand positioning statements are as follows:
“We create custom websites that look great and perform well.”
“Our web design team creates beautiful, functional websites that work across all devices.”
“We offer affordable mobile app development solutions.”
“We help businesses gain a competitive edge through digital marketing strategies.”
“We are the leader in our industry.”
“Our products are safe & effective.”
“We offer great service at affordable prices.”
“We are environmentally friendly.”
“We are a great place to work.”
The first step toward crafting a solid brand positioning statement is understanding what type of message you want to convey to your audience; this is done by asking yourself questions like the following:
What does my target market value? How do I differentiate myself from competitors? Who am I attempting to reach? What issues do I address?
Once you’ve determined the answers to these queries, you may create your positioning statement.
Develop a Strong Visual identity and Brand Image
A brand image is what makes your company stand out from the crowd. Branding is how your business is visually represented. The visual elements of your brand positioning statement need to reflect the essence of your brand and the services you offer.
1. Start with a name
What distinguishes you from the competition is your brand. A good title should be catchy but memorable, something that stands out without being too generic. Think about the names of some of the biggest brands in the world. Apple, Nike, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. All of those brands have a unique name. They’re memorable, easy to say, and represent their company well. When someone hears the word of your brand, they instantly understand what it means.
2. Choose a logo
Logos are how people recognize your brand. The first thing people notice is a logo. A catchy slogan is excellent but isn’t very sensible without a logo. First, perceptions are everything when it comes to branding. So make sure you choose a logo design that stands out.
Your logo needs to stand out. You want something that represents your company well. Make sure yours is clear and straightforward. Could you keep it clean and professional looking? Avoid using too many colors. Limit yourself to two or three colors. Make use of a recognizable shape or symbol.
3. Create a tagline
Your tagline is the first thing potential clients and customers read when they land on your page. It’s the first impression you give them. A great tagline should be short and sweet yet informative enough to intrigue them. Consider this example: “We help businesses increase profits through effective CRM solutions.” Now that’s a tagline!
4. Pick a color palette
Colors are important. They convey a message about your brand. Too often, entrepreneurs pick colors that are too bright, too loud, or too flashy. Don’t go overboard here. Look at successful brands like Starbucks, Target, and Southwest Airlines. They’ve found a balance between bold branding and subtlety.
Explore Different forms of Marketing to Position your Brand
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing is an effective strategy for businesses looking to increase brand awareness, gain leads, and generate revenue. It involves creating high-quality, engaging, consistent, relevant content that attracts your target audience.
Content marketing means creating and sharing relevant and valuable content to inspire, inform, attract, or engage readers – to motivate a valuable customer to purchase your service or product. When done well, content marketing allows brands to connect with their audiences in meaningful ways, generate leads, increase engagement, and improve SEO.
2. Social Media
Potential clients can learn about your brand’s history through social media. Whether posting pictures of your latest event or sharing helpful stories, your business can become a recognized thought leader in its field through social media.
Social media allows brands to connect directly with their customers through different channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, and others. Each channel offers unique features and benefits, often used together to create a complete social media strategy.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach potential clients and customers. Marketers can send emails to their subscribers and contacts list every month; this helps businesses stay focused and create positive associations with their audiences
.4. Influencer Marketing
Influencers are individuals with large social media followers who can help spread the word about your brand’s message. They may write blog posts or images of your product on their page and can often be hired for paid promotions.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to a website from organic search results on a specific search engine. When ranking websites, search engines look at many factors, including backlinks, domain authority, age, and keyword density.
conclusion
It’s true that, no matter what your budget, marketing strategy is key to a successful brand. With a clear idea of what kind of business you want to target and a consistent message, everything about your brand—from the design of your website to the way people talk about you—will be in alignment.
But, like most marketing tactics, it doesn’t hurt to try gentle persuasion. Strong positioning statements and designs that reflect your brand strengths can help soften your audience before the hard sell comes in.
RELATED: Starbucks Brand: Positioning, Segmentation, and Targeting
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