This is a very important point if the brand is looking to establish itself. You need to create an identity for the brand in the marketplace so that people can recognize it. It is creating a positive image for the brand in minds of people. Brands like Apple or Starbucks are easily recognized as they have built a position for themselves in the market and have clearly defined the niche they cater to, you also need to do the same for your brand to become successful.
Marketplace Positioning
Let us look at a very good example of how brands work on marketplace positioning.
Few days back I was trying out late season golf and at the pro shop found a taste treat. The taste treat were actually couple of energy bars named interestingly, 1st Tee & the second one the 10th Tee. This shows us how a specialist can easily beat a generalist. Any player preparing to tee off, if given a pick of energy bars between a very generic one and the 1st Tee will definitely go for the second choice. A natural feeling comes that I need to pick up that energy bar which is specifically made for golfers instead of the other one that is for everyone.
Same thing applies for your business as well. Positioning is a vital exercise, which you will have to undertake to know the audience you are targeting, whom you have to build relationship with and how your brand will stand out from rest of the competition in the market.
Going back to the above example, the niche this company had focused on helped them just concentrate all their sales efforts on golf courses as well stores. It was not necessary for them to compete with other companies or put their product in the grocery stores. Being the only energy bar for golfers, golf retailers were also much interested in stocking it believing that such novel product will actually sell.
Steps to brand positioning
- Classify the area where your brand will compete and know who will be your buyers.
- Figure out the attributes that are special for your product.
- Analyze the perception customers have about your product or service.
- Determine if your product is gaining presence in the market, if people talk about category of products you deal in, does your product’s name also come in.
- Find out present position of your brand in the market and the position you want to reach and then work towards reaching that position.
