Positioning is strategy that looks to answer the question: what do you want them to think of you? In other words: How do you want to be positioned in the minds of your customers or target market.
When your customers are exposed to your product, what do you want them to feel, what do you want them to think? Is your product the best solution to a problem? or is the most affordable, durable or stylistic?
Finding the correct positioning statement involves trying to view your product from your customers point of view. What do you want them to think of first when your product appears before their eyes?
When you have an idea of how you want to be seen in your customers mind, you can design the product around creating that perception. You can also then start to build the products image around that perception.
Developing a good positioning statement requires that your know who your target audience is, for you must understand what motivates their behaviors;you can then understand what you need to know to create the desired change in behavior.
A good positioning statement will enable you to clearly establish points of difference from you competition. Once the correct statement has been formed you are able to focus on the core differences that give your product an advantage in the customers mind.
You must understand the circumstance and environementof your customer. Knowing their geography, or desired geography can lead you to a more effective positioning statement.
Understand your customers psychographic will enable you to understand how to speak to what is important to them. You need to know what qualities best attract your customer.
Understanding your customers demographic will also help you appeal to them. A strong positioning statement will help prevent the message from getting lost along the way, which it sometimes does.
Knowing what desired behaviors are related to you product will help you decide what you want to emphasize.Realize what your customer is trying to accomplish by using your product and what related behaviors they seek.
You must conduct research to understand your customer and your product.Knowing what you do best, and how that relates to your customers and your competition, will help you create a positioning statement that sets you apart from the pack.
Start by makinga list of the barriers and benefits to your product, rank them and decide which ones are the most important. Creating this hierarchy will help you decidewhat to emphasized when you draft your statement.
The positioning statement wont be the same as the message you deliver to the customers.Rather, the message will stem from the positioning statement.It will help the company know what to emphasis in all manner of communications.
Positioning is like a battle plan for the minds of you customers. People will subconsciously rank products that they encounterand a good positioning platform will help you get to where you want to be in that ranking.
You want to make sure and focus on the difference that your product will make in the life of your consumer.Create a Consumer focused value proposition that lets the customer know what the value increase of switching to your product is.
Your position will help to implant the benefits of your offering in your customers mind. Effectively communicating your position will highlight your product in the customers mind, in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways.
Finding and ranking your points of difference will help you stand out for the competition Points of difference will drive your position statement,letting customers know what you and only you do best.
But you must also understand the points of parity with your competitionThese points of parity qualify your product to a category, they are the necessary conditions for brand choice.
Proper positioning is the cornerstone of effective marketing.Your positioning statement is the core message you want to communicate consistently in every medium. It is an internal strategy that will act as the tent pole for your offering.
So your next step is to find your strengths and craft a position statement that will seperate you product from the pack. It is the north star you will use to guide your business.Good Luck.
