An Attempt to Position Your Business - To Stand Out in the Crowd
Positioning is said to be a new approach to communication, advertising and marketing. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect you look for the solution of your problem inside the prospect's mind. Anyone can use positioning strategy to get ahead in the game of life.
Positioning a company is a difficult task. While advertising is a creative task, company positioning must be developed from careful research about your brand.
You must find out:
How the marketplace sees your company
How your customers see your company and what they value
What you know about your own company and the customer value it creates.
The purpose of positioning is to be a foundation for action to design, manage and defend your brand
You can greatly influence your chances of success in an uncertain economy if you position yourself as a partner to your customers. You can easily influence the perception of your customers once you have planned the positioning strategy. As all the areas of your business drive the same consistent message in both word and deed, you will own that position in your marketplace.
Questions that needs to be answered before stepping onto the process of business positioning.
1. Who are my customers?
a. Who do I want them to be?
b. What must I do to get them?
c. Who has chosen me?
d. What are their demographics?
2. Where are my customers?
a. Geographically?
b. Industry segments?
c. Social/economically?
d. What publications do my target customers read?
e. What media format are they likely to frequent?
3. How do my customers find me?
a. Word-of-mouth, drive by or walk by traffic, snail mailings, e-mailings, phone solicitations, yellow pages advertising, local cable station/national networks, radio, newspapers, specialty magazines and cross promotions are possibilities.
b. Maybe they've heard of you through a media interview or article?
c. How about the Internet? By now, your organization should be somewhat web-centric.
4. How do my customers perceive value (benefits) when selecting a supplier/vendor with which to partner?
Technological capability, knowledge, overall service/unbundling of services, integrity, selection, price, geography and a cadre of other factors will affect their selection process. Additionally, there are the supply/procurement considerations:
a. Traditional brick and mortar.
b. Mail order/catalog.
c. Click and brick.
d. Click only.
Whether you are a builder, accountant, realtor, market researcher, or manufacture loudspeakers or baseball bats, the way you position your firm can determine your success.
Do you want prospects to seek you out?
Do you want people to pay you more?
Do you want to stand head and shoulders above your competition?
With a simple positioning strategy you can get more attention than you imagined and bring in those high-margin projects and the profits you want. Here’s how I positioned one of my ideas for success.
1. IDENTIFY A NEED
In 1999, a new search engine was appearing on the Internet almost every week. Some were much better than others. Knowing which search tool to use was confusing.
2. EDUCATE PPROSPECTS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
What can you do to educate your prospects?
How can you demonstrate your expertise?
3. IDENTIFY AND REACH YOUR TARGET MARKET
Now I needed a way to get people to the site. While my target market was almost infinite – anyone searching the Internet – my advertising budget was zero. (Remember I was doing this as a back pocket project while maintaining my small business marketing consulting practice.) How could I attract attention and get people to come back to the web site again and again?
Identifying online editors and reference librarians as identifiable, approachable groups with a high level of interest and influence is another step.
What is your stay-in-touch strategy?
RESULTS
POSITIONING YOUR COMPANY
To position your product or service for success:
A. Identify a Common Need
B. Identify a Market
C. Demonstrate Your Expertise to that Market
D. Continue to Stay in Touch
Having a business positioning strategy, is actually having a high level guidelines that keeps your business essence consistent. The business essence includes the interaction with customers, vendors, suppliers, employees etc'. The consistent business behavior that your business expresses is what your target customers and consumers receive. This is the way your customers will recognize you and choose your products or services on top of your competitors.
Positioning is said to be a new approach to communication, advertising and marketing. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect you look for the solution of your problem inside the prospect's mind. Anyone can use positioning strategy to get ahead in the game of life.
Positioning a company is a difficult task. While advertising is a creative task, company positioning must be developed from careful research about your brand.
You must find out:
How the marketplace sees your company
How your customers see your company and what they value
What you know about your own company and the customer value it creates.
The purpose of positioning is to be a foundation for action to design, manage and defend your brand
You can greatly influence your chances of success in an uncertain economy if you position yourself as a partner to your customers. You can easily influence the perception of your customers once you have planned the positioning strategy. As all the areas of your business drive the same consistent message in both word and deed, you will own that position in your marketplace.
Questions that needs to be answered before stepping onto the process of business positioning.
1. Who are my customers?
a. Who do I want them to be?
b. What must I do to get them?
c. Who has chosen me?
d. What are their demographics?
2. Where are my customers?
a. Geographically?
b. Industry segments?
c. Social/economically?
d. What publications do my target customers read?
e. What media format are they likely to frequent?
3. How do my customers find me?
a. Word-of-mouth, drive by or walk by traffic, snail mailings, e-mailings, phone solicitations, yellow pages advertising, local cable station/national networks, radio, newspapers, specialty magazines and cross promotions are possibilities.
b. Maybe they've heard of you through a media interview or article?
c. How about the Internet? By now, your organization should be somewhat web-centric.
4. How do my customers perceive value (benefits) when selecting a supplier/vendor with which to partner?
Technological capability, knowledge, overall service/unbundling of services, integrity, selection, price, geography and a cadre of other factors will affect their selection process. Additionally, there are the supply/procurement considerations:
a. Traditional brick and mortar.
b. Mail order/catalog.
c. Click and brick.
d. Click only.
Whether you are a builder, accountant, realtor, market researcher, or manufacture loudspeakers or baseball bats, the way you position your firm can determine your success.
Do you want prospects to seek you out?
Do you want people to pay you more?
Do you want to stand head and shoulders above your competition?
With a simple positioning strategy you can get more attention than you imagined and bring in those high-margin projects and the profits you want. Here’s how I positioned one of my ideas for success.
1. IDENTIFY A NEED
In 1999, a new search engine was appearing on the Internet almost every week. Some were much better than others. Knowing which search tool to use was confusing.
2. EDUCATE PPROSPECTS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
What can you do to educate your prospects?
How can you demonstrate your expertise?
3. IDENTIFY AND REACH YOUR TARGET MARKET
Now I needed a way to get people to the site. While my target market was almost infinite – anyone searching the Internet – my advertising budget was zero. (Remember I was doing this as a back pocket project while maintaining my small business marketing consulting practice.) How could I attract attention and get people to come back to the web site again and again?
Identifying online editors and reference librarians as identifiable, approachable groups with a high level of interest and influence is another step.
What is your stay-in-touch strategy?
RESULTS
POSITIONING YOUR COMPANY
To position your product or service for success:
A. Identify a Common Need
B. Identify a Market
C. Demonstrate Your Expertise to that Market
D. Continue to Stay in Touch
Having a business positioning strategy, is actually having a high level guidelines that keeps your business essence consistent. The business essence includes the interaction with customers, vendors, suppliers, employees etc'. The consistent business behavior that your business expresses is what your target customers and consumers receive. This is the way your customers will recognize you and choose your products or services on top of your competitors.