As today’s markets are literally bursting with brand names which are all vying for our attention, we might say that we find ourselves in something of a communications jungle. There are simply too many brands, too many companies, and too much noise. Bombarded by advertisements, our natural instinct is to defend ourselves from overwhelm by filtering this information and rejecting everything that is not familiar to us. We generally tend to accept anything associated with things we know or experiences we have had, and once we make a decision about something, it is very difficult for anyone or anything to change our minds. This is why, from an advertising perspective, trying to change people's minds is a recipe for disaster and adverts that transmit the message “don’t buy from them, buy from us” don’t work. This is also what makes it so difficult to successfully develop a product or service that customers are not familiar with.
Under these circumstances, the only way to make your brand known is through positioning, which refers to the place a brand occupies in a customer’s mind and how it is distinguished from the products of your competitors.
Positioning is closely related to perceived value. It is based on the concept of customer perception, and requires research to find out what ideas they already have about a product, and then on formulating a communication strategy which uses that perception to make sure the message reaches them, ultimately enabling a company to either alter or reinforce those beliefs.
Therefore, the basic approach of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate existing beliefs and strengthen existing connections. To succeed at this, you need to echo what is already in your customers’ mind. Start from the outside, meaning from your customers, rather than the inside, which would be your company, and position your business in the way your customers already perceive it. Perhaps you think that your product is the most reasonably priced of all, but the reason your customers love it is for the excellent customer service the company provides. That’s fine: what you need to do is focus on the strengths the customers already appreciate.
In today’s overcrowded markets, the best thing to do is to keep your message as simple as possible: the only way to achieve results is to be selective, keep your objectives highly focussed, and practice segmentation. In other words: position yourself.
Being the only one is more effective than being the best, and confusion is the enemy of successful positioning. Regardless of the scope of your product or brand application, positioning is used not only in advertising or promotions, but in all forms of corporate, personal, and standard communication. For a positioning strategy to be successful, it must be coherent and persistent over time, which requires time and patience.
