Would you take part in a race without preparing for it? Would you sing in a competition without practicing? Would you take an exam without studying? Even if you did, you probably won’t do very well. Similarly, you can’t start a brand without planning its positioning. So, what is brand positioning and why is it important? We at Reversed Out take a look.
Brand positioning is the foundation on which your brand exists. It is how your customers think of you and perceive your brand, irrespective of your product or services. It is the ethos and vision of your brand. Many entrepreneurs directly begin planning their brand logos and colours, but without a solid foundation these won’t hold strong in the long run. Let’s examine some of the reasons why brand positioning is important for start-ups.
- It Differentiates you From your Competitors
Maybe you’ve created a new app or you run an apparel business or you provide certain services. What is it that differentiates you from your competitors? Defining your unique selling proposition (USP) is part of your brand positioning. It helps your audience understand how your brand is different from the rest of the market.
- It Builds Trust
Consumers today have a number of options to choose from. By defining your brand positioning you create an emotional connection with them. Say for example, your brand stands for quality. If this is clearly defined for your customers, why wouldn’t your customers choose your brand over another offering a similar product/service?
- It Gives Uniformity to Your Messaging
How you write your copy, design your visuals or tell your story all depend greatly on your brand positioning. For example if you want to position your brand in the luxury segment, your tone of voice & visuals may be sophisticated while if your brand has to appeal to the common man, you may adopt a more conversational tone. Defining your brand positioning at the very beginning will help you control your brands narrative.
As you can see brand positioning can be crucial to a business’s growth. Yet as an advertising and marketing agency often the first question we at The Spaceship Design are asked is ‘How does one go about creating their positioning?’ We’ve listed out a few pointers to get you started off.
Analyse your Competitors: The first question you need to ask yourself is why you are selling a certain product or service? You need to look at your competitors and see what you can offer, that they haven’t yet done. Your brand needs to either fill a gap in the market or create a new need. Once you understand exactly what you are offering and why, you can move ahead.
Segment your Audience: Once you have defined what differentiates your brand, you can focus on who your target audience should be. While doing this, instead of trying to appeal to a vast range of people, break down your audience into smaller chunks. This process is called audience segmentation. It helps you group people based on certain common characteristics and define tailored messages for them. For example the McDonalds happy meal clearly targets children, even though many adults also enjoy it. Similarly when they advertise their breakfast meals, they target working people. Yet overall the McDonalds brand still stands for affordable quick meals. The brand has successfully targeted different age groups while not diluting their core positioning.
Back Up Your Stance: Based on the above two points you can now proceed to create your positioning statement. However, while doing so you must remember that whatever you say needs to be based on fact. If we take the example mentioned above of positioning your brand as a provider of quality, then everything you do should reflect that. Right from the product/service you offer to the way you tackle difficult customers to the way you portray yourself on digital media. Every aspect of your company should convey quality. Only when your positioning statement and your work are aligned, will it give you returns in the long run.