Brand positioning is an important tool that helps to clearly articulate why your brand exists. Brand positioning will ultimately define how your clients view your brand and why they choose your brand over others in your market.
Brand positioning is the key to brand strategy, it is not what your customers see, but how it makes them feel. Brand positioning will become the essential ingredient in your long-term business objectives, aligning your team and creating clear and relevant communication with your customers.
In order to distill your brand’s positioning, you must first decide…
For example, can your brand own any of these positions in the market?
There are several options for positioning and your brand strategy should define your objectives before you can establish your clear and ownable brand positioning.
By way of example, Ferrari would not go after the position of value; consumers are not choosing to buy a Ferrari because of the excellent value it represents. They are choosing instead to align themselves with the prestige and quality that is inherent in the Ferrari brand positioning.
Once you establish the clear space in the market that you can realistically own, your brand strategy should set out how you go about doing this. Pinpointing a brand positioning that is achievable and believable is critical in your brand strategy. Once you establish this, it will impact every business decision that is made, and keep you on track to delivering on the expectations of your target audience.
You will need to examine the gap between your brand positioning and the current market perception. Brand research can assist you in getting a true understanding of where your brand is now in the eyes of consumers/clients.
Once you have established the gaps, your brand strategy should set out your approach to close those gaps.
Once you have established and agreed on your brand positioning it is important to determine the ways in which this positioning is brought to life. It should be evident during every interaction your customers have with your brand/organisation.
Brand positioning affects everyone within the organisation – it is not just a function of the marketing team. Everyone within the organisation should know what the brand positioning is and have it in mind throughout the day-to-day context of their roles.
As with any communication, there should be close and continued monitoring of your brand’s positioning and proof points, as well as brand tracking to ensure it is resonating with the market.
Once you’ve decided on your brand’s positioning, this becomes your foundation when you build the brand experience across your entire marketing and communications strategy.
The key elements of your brand strategy include your brand story, customer and employee value propositions, your brand’s visual identity and the tone with which you communicate with your team and customers.
Defining these elements based on your strong positioning and then carefully executing them across all touchpoints is crucial in creating an emotional connection with your customers and building your brand equity.
Now is a great time to get clear on your brand strategy goals and defining your unique positioning is the first step. Get in touch with our team, we are passionate brand advocates who thrive in solving complex brand challenges.
