What is Brand Positioning?
Positioning
This is called the place that a brand occupies, or aspires to occupy, in the mind of the consumer. Every company or business would like it to be a positive and privileged place in the mind of its target, but, what exactly? What factors depends on reaching it? You’ll know.
Step 1: Define your target market
The first step will be to clearly define the target market to which you will target your product. Knowing your target well, you can identify the best way to position you’re Brand before it. Remember that: “You are not your target.”
Step 2: Perform a situation analysis
Within your means, try to get as much information as possible about that niche market. For this, you can use both primary sources of information (generated from market research and other types of own surveys) and secondary (statistical and market information provided by third parties).
This survey should help you answer the following questions:
- What are the attributes of the product or service to which your target reacts favorably?
- Who are your competitors, and what is your Positioning strategy?
- How are competing brands perceived concerning these distinctive features?
- What would be the best marketing and communication mix to position yourself in your target’s mind?
- What resources do you have to develop a Campaign to position you’re Brand?
Step 3: Define the type of Positioning
From the owners and market information you have obtained, you can determine the appropriate Positioning strategy for your Brand and then define the most suitable communication strategy to achieve it.
By differential advantage
If your product or service has some characteristic that strongly differentiates it from its competitors, guides you’re marketing and communication efforts to associate that attribute with your Brand. An example of this type of Positioning is Intel microprocessors and its Intel Inside campaign aimed at making a difference with other processors. You can read more about this case here.
By price
If you perceive that the market (or a segment of it) demands lower prices and you are in a position to offer it, your Positioning strategy should aim to associate your own Brand with the best prices.
By type of competition
Most likely, there are already other competitors in the market with a well-defined Positioning strategy. Don’t despair! This can help you and serve as an axis to define yours. You have two options:
Position yourself as the challenger
If you have a great product and resources available, guide your marketing and communication efforts to associate your Brand with those attributes that differentiate it from the competition.
This option is the best if your Brand has a particular reputation in a similar segment and now you want to venture into another with a new product, as it will allow you to rely on that intangible.
A clear example of the challenger is Pepsi, which competes with its rival and historical leader of the Coca-Cola market, through the “Pepsi Challenge.”