Positioning - Why You Need It, How to Build It

“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business”

-Ashley Friedlein, Founder and CEO of technology company Guild

Achieving brand success does not happen overnight. As the world transitions increasingly to mobile, this creates significant challenges for a modern brand as studies suggest consumers get exposed to at least 5,000 ads every single day. 

So how does one become both distinctive and relevant given the onslaught of noise in a crowded digital market?

Knowing how to capture the hearts, minds and most importantly the wallets of consumers starts with doing some proper research to deeply understand your intended audience. Think of it like the last time you received an invitation to attend a party. Your next step might be to consider the venue, is there a theme and who are some of the other guests as this will shape your decision to attend the event, and inform everything down to attire and whether to bring a plus one.  

Focusing on your ideal customer is crucial for positioning. To help guide decision-making, go beyond demographics and unpack their mindset to see if there is a problem customers need a solution for via online listening or monitoring of social media conversations and sentiment.

Once you have a clear understanding of the needs and interests of your target audience, you can find connection points along the path to purchase to occupy that most desirable real estate in your customer’s mind. As a quick thought experiment, recall brands you interact with daily and jot down a list of 8-10 that are meaningful to you. It’s likely they have a clear message and know you on a more personal level to effectively build an emotional bond such that you default to buying Apple for your next phone or Lululemon athletic wear for an upcoming workout session.

Creating an ‘ownable’ position

To be successful, companies need to establish a long-term unique space for a product or service that fits with the customer’s expectations. Brand strategy will help guide you in the right direction as you consider the strengths and opportunities of your company, the needs and desires of customers, and how your competitors are talking about their solution.

Growth oriented companies align the best qualities of their offerings with a customer segment who values these attributes when considering their next purchase. Communicating this position clearly will help eclipse your competition and make their claims feel less appealing in relation to yours. Conversely, a product that is not positioned correctly or attempting to be multiple things is often misunderstood and will never reach its full potential no matter how aggressive your advertising efforts.

But I am a new kid on the block

When approaching a market opportunity where brands are firmly entrenched, it’s critical to explore and uncover unmet needs among consumers as this allows upstart brands to challenge category conventions and disrupt the status quo. As you attempt to establish your brand as an authority in this newly defined space, recognize consumers are typically skeptical and overwhelmed with choice. It’s a strategic imperative they see your brand as an ally who has their best interests at heart to reduce risk of trying something new compared to the familiar option. 

As you lean in and emphasize your advantages, you are also demoting your direct competitors to a weaker spot which, through a consistent set of marketing tactics, will help you steal share.

Positioning techniques to become a recognizable name

On the path to growth, analyzing the current trends that affect your positioning will help shape your brand strategy. Whether your category is flat, competition is a real thing and needs to be an integral part of a positioning strategy. 

To stand out amongst a sea of options means understanding what makes your product/service better and ideally ensuring it cannot be easily replicated or offered at a lower price. Once you lock into your strengths and main competitors weaknesses, double down on your marketing efforts to solidify your position in the minds of your intended audience. Building a strategy around leveraging your brand’s strengths vs either a category or competitor’s weakness can be fruitful. However, it does require constant monitoring and will need to evolve as market dynamics change.

With respect to publicly acknowledging your competition, we recommend always taking the high road and avoid disparaging other brands. It’s truly in poor taste, plus consumers think it’s annoying when companies make fun of their competitors, a tactic that is unfortunately growing in popularity on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Meta.

Importance of branding a commodified solution

We all have a ride share app on our phone. It is no secret that Lyft and Uber directly compete on a very similar service but that’s where positioning becomes the deciding factor.

With first mover advantage, Uber pioneered the ride share market by disrupting the status quo at the time which was the various taxi companies in local markets. Their vision was clear and the design of the black visual aesthetic conjured up an exclusive and almost luxurious vibe, essentially the antithesis of a ‘yellow cab’ experience for the masses. This was paired with the convenience of technology in the palm of your hand…let’s face it, we all enjoy watching our Uber driver’s avatar in the app move through city streets to our pick up or arrival destination.

When it came time to launch Lyft, the brand needed to be seen as radically different or consumers would relegate them as a ‘me-too’ solution, without the cachet or pricing power of being the market leader. To do this well meant focusing on the drivers and showcasing them as fun and interesting, which became the cultural proof point to their bright pink brand colours as an expression of their personality.

Concentrating on being unique rather than proving they were a ‘better mousetrap’ enabled Lyft to solidify themselves as a legitimate player with a story that was worth telling, delivering some of the most loyal customers and drivers alike in the market.

Translating this into a compelling value proposition

For upstart brands or those looking to pivot, there is lots of upfront strategic rigor required. That’s where having the right outside agency partner can play an essential support role and add significant value.

So how do you move it into practice from the whiteboard?

Communicating the value proposition for each of your products, solutions or services reflects a series of elements that when combined, make it unique. To win in the market, brands need to clearly describe how they will create positive gains and improve the lives of their customers such that consumers feel a deeply personal connection without a viable substitute. This flows directly from the positioning strategy and is anchored in the reasons to buy. Companies that fail often struggle to articulate this meaningful point of difference in a credible manner so customers don’t appreciate the benefit derived or justify the premium price point relative to comparable products.

The best value propositions should quickly signal to customers why they should ultimately choose your product as it immediately addresses their pain point and is easy to recall in the moment.

With expertise across a range of industry verticals, our team of strategists can assist your team in addressing specific challenges in developing a highly successful positioning strategy, with a messaging framework that will resonate amongst your ideal customers to accelerate profitable growth.