How Product Positioning Grows Brands
In the marketing field, product positioning is the process of identifying the value proposition offered by a product. In other words, product positioning determines what makes a product unique or better than the competition and is an integral part of every company's marketing strategy.
An effective positioning strategy will increase your visibility in search engines and help you stand out against competitors. When you get down to it, a positioning strategy is about deciding what a business stands for and what products and services it sells.
Think of it this way, when you shop online or in a physical store, you're looking for products or services that you might need. You may also want to learn more about the products or services you're interested in before buying them. Similarly, when someone searches for something online or looks through the ads in a magazine or newspaper, they do the same thing – searching for products or services they might need.
It's not just about the product but also about the positioning. A great product is only half the story – a perfectly positioned product is the other half of the equation.
To grow your business, you must understand how to position your brand. What does it mean to position your brand? How do you go about doing it? What are the tools and resources you need to position your brand correctly?
What Is Product Positioning?
Positioning is a fundamental part of retail marketing and sales. It refers to placing your products in stores and on websites.
In reality, many stores sell items that are positioned incorrectly. This can be a problem because:
- Your customers might walk away if they think the item is unavailable or in stock.
- They might return to other stores if they don't see your product.
- You'll lose money because you can't convert a sale into a repeat customer.
How do you know if your positioning is effective?
By using analytics.
Analytics is the science of collecting, storing, and analysing data. You can collect data about your products in any number of ways. For example, you could ask shoppers to rate your products on a scale of 1-10, based on how much they like them, or track when someone clicks the “buy” button on your website.
Data collection isn't always accessible, but it doesn't take much effort. For example, when you create an account with Google Analytics, you can start tracking your product positioning in seconds.
Once you start analysing your data, you can see what's working and what isn't. It can help you determine whether your positioning is helping or hurting your business.
Product Positioning Definition
Product positioning is the strategic placement of your products in the marketplace, where you'll emphasise a specific type of customer. This is your key to success—the kind of customers you want to attract, the messages you'll send, and how you'll present your offering.
Product positioning involves creating a clear message that resonates with your audience. It's the foundation of your marketing strategy, and it has two parts:
- First, what do you want your target audience to think about your product or service?
- Next, how will you go about attracting those customers?
How Is Product Positioning Different From Branding?
Product positioning focuses on what your target audience thinks about your product, while branding focuses on how your audience perceives your brand. It's a great way to make your messaging clearer and more effective.
But here's the thing: It doesn't matter if your brand is a strong and meaningful representation of what you offer unless you're communicating that message correctly.
So, before you jump into positioning, you must first figure out what your brand stands for and how that defines who you are.
Ask yourself:
- What do I represent?
- How will my customers perceive me?
- What image do I want them to see?
- What kind of message am I trying to communicate?
To position your product, you need to define and clarify what makes it unique and how your audience will benefit from using your product. This is the essence of product positioning.
Product positioning is how you describe your product and how it fits in the marketplace. It's your company's strategy for attracting customers and the foundation of your marketing and advertising efforts.
Let's take a closer look at product positioning.
Your brand and positioning should help your audience understand your value, how it differs from other products, and why it's worth their time. Your positioning should resonate with your target market.
It's not always easy to figure out your positioning, but the payoff will be worth the effort.
Your positioning should be unique to your product or service. If you're unclear about your positioning, you might end up with a product that's too similar to another product or service. Or worse, your positioning might be so vague that it doesn't inspire anyone to buy your product.
You don't need to develop a catchy phrase or slogan to position your product. It's more about clarifying your vision and ensuring that your positioning is consistent throughout your marketing and sales channels.
You'll start by defining your brand so you know what it stands for. It's not enough to have a great product—you need to sell it to the right people in the right way.
When you know what your brand represents and the messages you're trying to communicate, it's time to create a clear product positioning statement. This is the foundation of your marketing and advertising efforts. It's also the basis of every decision, from designing your packaging to setting your prices.
Product positioning involves:
- Defining your brand
- Setting the tone of your communication
- Explaining your offering
- Reaching the right customers
- Communicating your brand's purpose
Why Is Product Positioning Important?
In addition to the above, you must consider product positioning. This means where your product is on store shelves to drive sales.
In marketing, “product positioning” refers to how products are positioned in stores or on the web. Product positioning is about getting customers to notice your product, and choosing the right place to put it is critical to increasing its visibility and driving sales.
There are many things you should consider when deciding on your product positioning.
Brand Positioning
The first thing you must consider is the brand itself. How you position your product concerning other products in the same category will depend on what image you want to convey.
One example of brand positioning is the way a company positions its products. For example, Apple's iPhone is positioned as a luxury phone, while Samsung's Galaxy S9 is positioned as a low-cost smartphone. Apple positions its products to stand out and appear high-end, while Samsung positions its products to appear to be cost-effective.
The positioning also includes product images and colours. Choosing the right colour palette and images that are consistent with your brand's image is essential. If you want to create an image of a luxury phone, you might want to use a sleek, clean, and simple design. On the other hand, if you're selling a more utilitarian phone, you might choose a design that conveys simplicity and reliability.
The above example also shows how you can apply positioning to your product. For example, if you're selling a luxury mattress, you'll want to position it in high-end stores and away from competing brands. On the other hand, if your mattress sells reasonably, you can position it in mid-level stores.
Price
The next consideration is price. When it comes to pricing, there are two types of positioning. One type is called discount positioning. This is where you position your product at the bottom of the range of prices.
In this case, you don't want to compete with competitors selling at a higher price. You should position your product at the lowest possible price to differentiate your products from others.
The second type is premium positioning. This is where you position your product at the top of the range of prices. Here, you're competing against other brands sold at a higher price. So, you don't want to compete on price. Instead, you want to position your product as the best-quality option among various options.
Here's an example of a company that does this well:
Amazon. They've mastered the art of positioning, and they do it well. They sell everything from books and electronics to pet supplies and toys. Their positioning strategy works well because they don't compete on price. They're all about customer satisfaction and convenience, which sets them apart from other retailers.
It's important to note that, when it comes to positioning, it's not just about product price. The positioning also depends on your company's brand, whether it's a luxury or utilitarian brand, and what you sell.
What's The Best Price Point For Your Product?
If you sell a luxury product, you probably want to position it at the top of the market with the highest possible price. However, if you sell a more utilitarian product, like a mattress, you may want to position it at the bottom of the market at a more affordable price.
The following video shows how you can get an idea of your product's best price point and some examples of the best-selling products on the web.
How To Choose A Product Positioning Strategy
Once you have a clear idea of your brand and the best position for your product, it's time to consider your audience.
If your audience is interested in luxury, you can position your product at the top of the market. If your audience is interested in budget, you can position your product at the bottom of the market.
It helps to know the best-selling products in your industry to decide what your audience likes. For example, the best-selling mattress in the United States is the Sealy, which sells for about $1000. The best-selling mattress in Europe is the Emma Original, which sells for about £250.
You can use the above example to position your product. Your product can be a luxury mattress, and you can position it to compete against the Casper and Sealy brands. Or, you could position your product to be more utilitarian, competing with the Emma Original.
Remember, a good positioning strategy won't be successful if you choose the wrong position for your product. Finding a position that appeals to your audience and is within your product's price range would be best.
How to Develop a Product Positioning Strategy?
At the end of the day, whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or a first-time startup founder, you need a product positioning strategy. It's the single most crucial element to any business — and it's one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make.
To understand why this is the case, it's essential to know a product positioning strategy. So, let's dive into it.
Product positioning is essentially the process of taking all the different factors that make up a product — such as what it does, how it works, and whom it targets — and making them work together to create a compelling narrative for the business.
The point is that your story is the foundation of every aspect of your business, including your marketing, sales, product, and customer experience.
This isn't to say that you need to create a one-size-fits-all approach to positioning; instead, you should be strategic and understand that different positioning strategies are necessary to meet the needs of different types of products.
In other words, your product positioning strategy must be:
- Strategic
- Unique
- Flexible
But it doesn't have to be complicated! There are simple ways to develop a product positioning strategy, no matter what product you're working with.
What Do Product Positioning Strategies Include?
A product positioning strategy can include everything from how to differentiate your product from the competition to communicating your product's value to potential customers and conveying the product's benefits to current customers.
It can include how to communicate the benefits of your product to your target market. It can also include your brand's overall tone and personality and the messaging that appeals to your audience.
Here are some other things that can go into a product positioning strategy:
- Target Market: A product positioning strategy should consider your target audience and where you want to take your product.
- Key Differentiators: This differentiates your product from the competition and is one of the most critical aspects of your product positioning strategy.
- Brand Personality: What is the brand's overall personality? What kind of tone and voice do you want to use? What kind of messaging is going to resonate best with your target audience?
- Product Benefits: What are the benefits of your product to your target market?
- Customer Experience: How does your product enhance the overall customer experience, from when someone discovers your product to when they buy it?
- And much more!
What is a Product Positioning Statement?
A product positioning statement (PPS) describes what you want to accomplish with a product. It should give the end user an understanding of your products, services, and brand.
A PPS is a written statement describing your company's position on a topic or issue. For example, it might include the following elements:
- Why you exist: what makes your product unique, why your customers should care, and the value proposition for your products
- How do your products differ from the competition's
- Why your customers should choose your products over others
- How your products solve customer problems
- How they compare with similar products
- How do you expect to grow your market share?
- What differentiates your products from your competitors
- Who your customers are and how they use your products
- The features your customers want to see in new products and updates to your existing products.
PPSs can be written for existing products, new products, or new product categories. Some companies write them for these areas simultaneously, while others may do so over time.
If you're planning to release a new product or launch a new category, it makes sense to start writing your PPSs. These PPSs will act as a roadmap for developing the new product.
What Influences How a Product is Perceived?
Your expectations heavily influence your perception of products. If you're familiar with the product, expectations might be higher, resulting in more positive perceptions. However, if you're unfamiliar with the product, expectations tend to be lower, and your perception is likely less favourable.
What Are Our Expectations When We Try New Products?
Several factors influence what we expect when we try a new product. These include:
1. Price
When we compare products at a discount, we assume they're less valuable than those we buy at the total price.
2. Brand Recognition
If we are already familiar with a brand, we often expect it's high-quality and will get what we pay for.
3. Social Proof
If we see other people using a product, we assume it must be excellent and worthy of our attention.
4. Advertising
We often expect a new product to be promoted heavily by advertisers, even when the advertising may not be relevant to us.
How Can I Overcome My Expected Impression of a New Product?
Overcoming your expected impression of a new product is surprisingly easy. Try out the product and assess its value for yourself. You'll find that the difference between what you expect and what you receive is often very slight.
The vast majority of people who have bought products they'd expected to be high-quality end up returning them to the store.
Do Products with Higher Ratings Have Higher Perceptions?
While it may seem counterintuitive, products with higher ratings generally have lower perceived value than products with lower ratings. This is because we are more aware of lower-rated products and may also expect more negative qualities from them. For example, we may expect poor customer service or a product that's cheaply made.
Does A Higher Price Mean Higher Quality?
While higher prices usually indicate higher perceived quality, this isn't always the case. It depends on how much money we're willing to spend.
For instance, an expensive product that's been highly rated by a reputable source may be perceived as having lower quality than a cheaper one that's received a lower rating.
The best way to overcome your expected impressions of new products is to try them yourself. Make sure to consider the factors listed above when assessing the value of any product.
Conclusion
Product positioning is about communicating a product's benefits to consumers. The most important thing is to get it right since it is your primary selling tool.
When building a brand, product positioning is a critical component. If you don't get it right, your products will never achieve the success you want.
To succeed, it's essential to articulate your product's benefits to the world. This may seem simple, but it can be pretty challenging.
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