Company News
Positioned for Success
by webmaster — November 24, 2009
“Success means never letting the competition define you. Instead you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about.”
—Tom Chappell, Tom’s Of Maine
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Carving out a unique niche for your brand in a crowded and competitive marketplace is what brand positioning is all about. The more crowded the marketplace, the more defined your niche needs to be. Consumers are inundated with information. A well-positioned brand can cut through the noise and, from the niche it has strategically created for itself, proclaim, “This is who I am, this is how I’m different, and this is why it matters to you”
The success and longevity of a brand depends upon how it is positioned in the marketplace and in the minds of consumers. Determining a brand’s target audience, and its inimitable position in the marketplace, are integral to the brand strategy process. And because an effective brand strategy has the power to influence the feelings, thoughts, associations and beliefs about a brand, it can ensure that it is represented in a positive, intentional way.
Brand positioning also helps consumers see your brand as a solution to a specific problem or need. In his book Brand Asset Management: Driving Profitable Growth Through Your Brands, Scott M. Davis states, “A strong brand position means the brand has a unique, credible, sustainable, and valued place in the customer’s mind. It revolves around a benefit that helps your product or service stand apart from the competition.” A well-positioned brand will appeal to consumers on both a rational and emotional level, and differentiate itself convincingly from competitors that occupy a similar space in the marketplace.
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In developing a brand strategy, a brand positioning statement is created as a way to succinctly articulate a brand’s position. Every decision made about a brand—from the design of its logo to how employees answer the phones—must be judged by how well it supports this positioning statement. In this way, a completed brand strategy does more than establish a brand’s strategic positioning: it ensures that all marketing and operational activities are cohesive, distinctive, and consistently focused on positioning your brand for success.
If the strategic position is memorable, believable and unique; a filter for brand decision-making; capable of evolving; and clearly communicated to your target audience in a motivational and meaningful way, than the space your brand occupies in the marketplace is truly a great place to be.
Filed Under: Company News
