Do you want to know 5 of the best brand positioning strategies of the moment ? We explain them one by one, dealing with the importance of brand positioning in your marketing and communication strategy.
Importance of brand positioning
What is brand positioning? It can be defined as a branding strategy that aims to achieve first place in the minds of consumers. In this way, it is desired to transmit certain characteristics and defined values that help to create said image, making customers perceive it in a certain way.
Thus, when a person goes to buy a certain product and has several options to choose from, which one will he choose? The one that has a better position in their mind, either because they identify more with the brand, because it is cheaper, because it is of higher quality, etc.
From there arise the different brand positioning strategies that we are going to see below.
Positioning strategies
Product quality
A brand positioning strategy based on product quality tries to highlight some of the properties or characteristics of the services or products that are offered to the market.
This strategy is used when there are products or services with unique characteristics, differentiated by the quality of the materials or the manufacturing process, for example, with respect to what the competition offers in the market.
This type of positioning can be found in brands that are clearly differentiated from their competition, such as Apple or clothing brands such as Levi’s.
Benefits
The positioning strategy for benefits tries to position the brand highlighting the main benefits of the services or products it sells, that is, it focuses on highlighting the benefits that consuming the product of said brand can bring .
An example of these strategies can be found in cleaning products that claim to wash faster , have a special scent, or keep surfaces clean longer.
Competence
It is a positioning strategy that focuses on the competition . In other words, it consists of differentiating what our brand has that the rest does not have in terms of values and attributes.
For example, Nike and Adidas are two brands that have been competing forever, but each has a different brand positioning . Nike with its “Just Do It” encouraging people to play sports, putting the value of “just do it” first, dare, compared to Adidas, which represents the “passion for sport to achieve a better world”.
Here the values of the brand come into play and how the user feels identified. You can also consider using “The number 1 in a certain thing” strategies , which is what Fairy usually uses.
Lifestyle
It is a very interesting strategy at present, since it consists of basing itself on the interests, lifestyle, values and behavior of consumers , to address them and get them to identify themselves.
For example, vegan and/or natural cosmetics such as the Lush brand often use this strategy a lot, since their products and brand represent a lifestyle , being vegan, respect for animals and care for the planet, the use of products that do not contain toxins, etc.
User
Brand positioning strategies by user seek the association of a product as the most suitable for a specific user profile . Normally, in this type of positioning strategies, well-known characters are used that can generate sympathy or affinity with the user profile to which the brand positioning is to be focused.
A clear example of this type of positioning is the campaign carried out by the KIA company in collaboration with the tennis player Rafa Nadal , where KIA cars are associated with “extraordinarily normal” people.
Mistakes to avoid
Overlapping
Overlapping is a very common mistake that occurs when a very specific and concrete brand image is transmitted , which can cause problems in reaching the target audience.
This is often seen, for example, when a brand that offers different products ends up being known for only one , which results in a loss of visibility for the rest of the products, which also leads to a loss of potential customers.
Underpositioning
Underpositioning occurs when not enough resources are invested in promoting the brand , which means that it does not convey what is wanted to potential customers. This will lead to the brand not standing out in the market and not generating enough interest in users.
Confusing positioning
Confusing positioning usually occurs when potential customers are presented with excess information , which can cause confusion for users.
This usually happens when the segmentation of a brand’s target audience is not clear and causes a loss of impact, since its image will be diluted and will cause it not to reach all potential customers.
Dubious positioning
Doubtful positioning manifests itself in situations of loss of brand credibility . This happens when products are offered to the market with characteristics that do not adapt to its reality, which will lead the brand to transmit a negative image to the market, having negative effects.
Positioning strategies are essential to publicize a brand and consolidate it in the market. If the correct steps are followed, potential customers will generate an image of the specific products or services and will remember them at key moments. However, it is very important that the strategy is well planned and does not make the mistakes that we have mentioned, as they could throw all the work to the ground and make the brand invisible or create an unwanted image of it.
How to build a positioning strategy?
A tool that is compatible with Google, as Slack prompts visitors to “sign up with Google”
RingCentral is a cloud communications company that offers voice, text, fax and conferencing solutions for large, medium and small businesses.
If you look at RingCentral’s home page, you can see that the company positions itself as an all-in-one provider that prioritizes “connecting” customers.
Scrolling down RingCentral’s home page also shows that the company sets itself apart from competitors by offering 24-hour support with “rapid resolution,” professional services with “faster ROI,” integrated solutions for “accelerated business growth,” and real-time analytics that provide “business driving insights.”
Owned by PayPal, Honey is a browser extension that collects discount coupons for popular websites and automatically applies them to user transactions.
Honey’s marketing is based on social proof that the extension is trustworthy. This proof includes the claims that Honey works on “30,000+ sites,” has “167,000 Chrome Store reviews,” and serves “17 million members and counting.”
If you look at Honey’s Facebook page, you can also see that Honey positions itself as a friend to customers with language like “Shop Smarter, Together” and “Join Honey.” Honey’s customer service email, “[protected email],” also uses this positioning.
If you look at the Beauty website feature, you’ll see that the brand positions itself as “the world leader in customizable beauty.” This positioning is smart because it provides social proof while emphasizing that the role of beauty is different because it allows for personalized products.