What is positioning? Do you have a unique market positioning?

Two people in dialogue about positioning at a water dispenser.
 

Be aware that your brand has a clear position in the market and that you need to maintain this. Avoid competitors taking your market position. We will elaborate on how you can work with positioning and branding. It is more important than ever to be clear about your positioning strategy, especially in uncertain times like now.

Interested in how we work with positioning and brand strategy?

 

How do we create our own unique positioning?

What is positioning?

Positioning is about how we want to establish ourselves in the minds of the recipient. The purpose is to create desired associations with the brand that preserve the brand's uniqueness and strengths. In addition, we want to differentiate ourselves from our competitors with a clear positioning. Unless you have developed your own market, you probably have competitors to contend with, and they most likely have a similar product to offer the market. Given this, you need to define your position in the market.

What does your company offer that your competitors don't, and can you defend your position in the long term?

Fashion brands face the same challenges. They essentially make the same product as everyone else in the market, at roughly the same price, and sell the product within the same season. If short skirts are “in”, Gucci will design a sensual style, Prada an artistic style and Alexander McQueen will present a more crazy version, and all three will undoubtedly claim their unique position in the market as the leader.

Competitive positioning may be based on various factors: price, availability, style, emotions, a philosophy. Most importantly, your brand has to have a clear position in the market, you have to be aware of it and you have to maintain it. If you don’t, you pave the way for your competitors to take up your position and make it their own.

Clear market position

It's important to create a link between external and internal communication. External communication should take the company's promises to customers to new heights and always strive for improvement and to achieve a clearer market position. This can have a motivating effect on staff. But if you go too far, it could result in staff failing to recognise themselves in the message and becoming disillusioned or losing motivation. You'll achieve the best success with this demanding balancing act if you chat to staff prior to an external launch.

Read why it's important to find a formula and stick to it when it comes to communication.

If you look inward among your own ranks first, you will gain positive alliances among employees. This is a big plus when you are about to take a new position and are in a phase of change. Employees who identify with their workplace and understand the purpose of the company not only feel better about themselves in the workplace, they are also more productive. Experience shows that design and branding that are rooted in the company from top management down to trainees, new employees and part-time employees help strengthen the brand - and the employees in this way become brand ambassadors. Such fans of the new brand are worth their weight in gold when the brand is to be launched. The more people who talk about the brand internally, the better it will sit with the target group.

Checklist

  1. Are you clear on your position and the position of your competitors?

  2. Is your position clearly defined?

  3. Can you maintain and grow your business, working on the basis of your position?

 
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