Having spent a large chunk of my career building the hair care superbrand 'ghd', in addition to working across many other brands and categories, I can confidently say that establishing clear brand positioning is usually at the core of a strategic marketing manager's role.
Put simply, if you get this right, you can really take your brand out for a spin and see where it will take you!
If you get it wrong, it doesn't matter whether you have the best, most innovative product or service in the world, you will simply not resonate in consumers minds.
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Developing a brand positioning strategy is not always easy, but it is fundamental to your long term brand health.
As Kotler and Keller state in their 'Marketing Management' bible, 'One of the most valuable intangible assets of a firm is its brands, and it is incumbent on marketing to properly manage their value'.
Positioning is the act of designing a company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market*.
To be clear, it's not just a statement. The brand positioning statement may well be the output, but there's a lot of work and thinking needed before you can get to that!
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Being well positioned is all about being distinctive and congruent.
When a new product is launched or a new ad campaign is released, it should just 'feel right' to consumers and make sense. In other words, it should be congruent.
A useful way to check your positioning out is to apply a 'brand substitution test'.
For instance, if your brand were replaced by a competitor brand in an ad campaign, would it still work as well and make sense to your target audience? If the answer is yes, then you're not being distinctive enough in your approach.
Here are my five top considerations to help you in developing a successful positioning for your brand:
1. Today & Tomorrow: You need to consider what's right for right now, but also, where do you hope to take the brand in the future?
Creating strong brand positioning based on today's market is important, but make sure you don't restrict the brand from growing and improving.
Equally, you need to strike a balance by not limiting yourself to your future strategy or you could end up being too far removed from reality.
Think about what your brand is today and what it could be in the future to help you future proof your marketing strategies.
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2. Customers & Competitors: This is all about identifying your target market (market segmentation) and your competition.
By defining your target customer, you automatically generate a competitive framework, simply because certain brands may already have market share in that segment.
Also, customers will already have a frame of reference in their own minds about what products or brands currently influence their purchase decisions.
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3. Delivering Desirability & Difference: How is your product or service relevant to your target market? What's the reason to believe?
How does your target customer know this is the brand for them?
Does your business have the funds and resources to credibly maintain the brand image and associations in the mind of your target audience?
Lots of questions need answering at this point in your planning.
Communicating clear brand positioning may involve changes to products and services themselves, in addition to creating a perception shift in the way your brand is thought of.
Remember, brand identity is more than just your logo! It can truly differentiate you from your competitors, ensuring you are more distinctive and desirable
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4. Category Considerations: We've just covered your point of difference, now it's time to consider points of parity.
In most categories there are features and benefits that customers will view as essential in order for you to be a legitimate player.
For instance, you can't easily compete in the cosmetics category if your range doesn't include some of the fundamental products - such as foundation or lipstick.
Another fundamental consideration is price point. Certain categories will have a price range that it will be difficult to stretch beyond - no-one would pay £5 for a can of baked beans, however good they might be!
Price often plays a critical part in your brand positioning.
At ghd, we knew that our +£100 price point positioned us as a premium, luxury brand. In this example, we were the first to enter the category at such a high price point, but instead of detracting from our success, it actually disrupted the category status quo.
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5. Promise & Personality: This is about delivering that all important 'statement'. What's your brand essence or mantra?
Sometimes referred to as a 'core brand promise' or even a 'vision statement', this is the device that helps you to articulate your WHY.
I would always recommend a short summary statement, backed up by a little context. Your promise should give your employees a reason to get out of bed every day (beyond just the obvious financial benefit) and your context should make it clear what your brand IS and what it IS NOT.
This piece of work could and should influence every element of your brand personality.
For instance, how your staff answer the phone or how you reply to comments on social media.
Your brand personality is the framework that allows your whole business to filter out brand inappropriate behaviour and messaging which may have a negative impact on your brand health.
In the past, I've successfully used Brand Archetypes to really get to the heart of a brand's promise and personality.
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So there you have it, all 5 considerations that should help you to effectively craft your brand positioning.
Visit the Sarah Lambley Marketing website
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If you'd like a free, no-obligation chat about your brand and how I may be able to help you to grow it, please get in touch.
Or you could book a FREE, no obligation consultation in Sarah's calendar
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You may also be interested to know that I offer in-house brand positioning workshops, email me or give me a call if this could of interest for your team.
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Alternatively, here are some suggested reading materials if you'd like to explore this subject further:
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