Brand positioning is the manner in which you present your brand to the world that ideally differentiates your products and services from the competition and appeals to your target market segments. It can be what defines you as a unique business and makes the difference between a profitable quarter and a pitiful one.
Here are five important questions to ask when positioning your brand:
- Who does my brand already appeal to? You don’t want to position your brand to consumers who aren’t likely to buy your products or services. So a good starting point is a better understanding of your current satisfied customers. Are they younger or older? Value or luxury shoppers? Do they shop in person or purchase online? All of these traits, characteristics or behaviors can give you important clues on how to position your brand.
- How does your brand solve customers’ problems or improve their lives? Sometimes we think we know why people buy from us but later come to learn that we’re flat-out wrong. We think our egg and cheese sandwich tastes the best, but the reality is that customers know they can come to your shop, order and always be out the door in five minutes when they’re rushing to work in the morning. The only way to know for sure is by asking — through social listening to track conversations about your brand and speaking to your customers about why they buy.
- If my brand were a person, how would I describe its personality? Funny, upscale, stylish, hip, creative, nerdy, irreverent, responsible, eco-conscious — what type of person would your brand be? Personifying your brand is a fun and relatable way to delve into the entire positioning question. Remember the old Mac versus PC guy commercials? Same idea. Once you know who your brand is, it can be a lot easier to imagine how it should look, talk and act.
- What’s my unique value proposition? Do you offer affordability, service or a unique customer experience? How do you differentiate your product? Your value props are the building blocks of your brand identity. And not only do you need to know them, but so does every member of your team. Your brand positioning should seamlessly infuse everything you do as a business, from initial advertising to product delivery and customer follow-up.
- What are my best customers’ values and interests? Businesses can make the mistake of only focusing on buyers in a self-interested way. But it can be highly useful to look at their adjacent areas of interest when they’re not interacting with your brand. Red Bull is a good example of this. They found their energy drink was popular among extreme sports enthusiasts, so they positioned the brand to appeal directly to them and created campaigns around that demographic. Investigate where your target customers are most likely to hang out online (social platforms, websites, etc.) or IRL (sporting events, art galleries, coffee shops and other locales) to gain valuable insights into your target market.
One More Thing …
Remember that brand positioning is not a “set it and forget it” proposition. Reevaluate periodically as markets and economic conditions change. The marketing experts at Kymera can help you grow and develop your brand and help you appeal to the consumers you most want to attract. Contact us today for a
