Substance and Style

    Effective Positioning Strategies for the Digital Age

    ·

    In marketing, positioning refers to the way people perceive your brand, company, or organization compared to your competition. In the past, companies could set themselves apart with price, quality, customer service, and expertise, all of which are still important elements in a positioning strategy. The marketing landscape has changed drastically over the last few years. As many clients and customers use the internet to seek products and services, people have to consider their positions online as well as in the real world. Is it enough for a storefront to stand out if no one can find your website? Will you be considered an expert in your field without content that supports that? You need your online strategy and physical world strategies to work together so you can communicate your Unique Selling Proposition to your potential customers. 

    Here are some things to consider when crafting a positioning strategy now:

    1. It’s still all about having a quality product or service. Nothing you do to market yourself will ever make up for a bad product. Make sure you have something of quality that benefits your customers. Really put some thought into what it is like for someone to use your product or service versus not use your product or service. You need to be able to imagine that their lives will be enriched by what you’re offering before you can communicate your value to them.
    2. It’s still all about the customer. You have to really understand your customers and their challenges in order to successfully convince them that you provide quality solutions. Really focus in on your niche and your customer personas. Everything you do to communicate with them, from creating online content to running ads in a magazine, should respect where they are in their buying journeys. Share things with them that will be interesting, educational, and/or entertaining. You can only create good content if you understand their needs; you can only build trust by being responsive to those needs.
    3. It’s about what sets you apart. You should already know your Unique Selling Proposition. Make sure everyone who sees you in real life or online can identify that USP immediately. You want to consider your price, quality, and all the other traditional elements of positioning that might set you apart. You should also consider your technology, expertise, and social media presence. You don’t need to engage everywhere with everyone (and you shouldn’t), but you need to know what your competitors are doing and identify the areas where you can or should compete. Use your strengths and brand values to stand out. If you run a local hardware store, don’t try to compete with Home Depot on price. Instead, appeal to people’s desire to help small business and buy local. If your software makes you three times as efficient as your competition, be online appealing to people who value technological progress and speed. If you’re positioning yourself as the last person in your field with real human customer service, don’t put a chatbot  on your website to keep up.
    4. It’s also about what you want to be. While you should be realistic about where you are, you should also be considering where you want to go. What do you want to be known for? Make sure your position is aligned with your mission and vision. This will also help you attract the customers you actually want.
    5. It’s about how you communicate it to the world. You should have a mix of marketing and communications efforts that will best reach your best customers. Only you know if your customers would rather shake your hand at a networking event, discover you via your website, or find you on TikTok. Every channel is not appropriate for every organization. However, you should have a mix of real world and online efforts. 


    Once you’re clear on your position, make sure everything about your brand supports it. Your marketing and communications should reflect it, and your staff should be guided by it. Try to distill it all down to a positioning statement that incorporates what you do, why you do it, who you do it for, and how it helps them. Having this short statement on hand will help guide your decisions about advertising, outreach, and content.