The Brand Consultants blog

Positioning can take several forms, but the main purpose of positioning is to supply a reason to buy, a difference that will give the prospect a reason to pay attention. It’s how you differentiate your brand in the mind of the prospect.

Brand consultants will tell you that your positioning must be unique, and not something anyone else in your market is saying. This is where the competitor analysis (from the last post, “The First Step in Positioning: Know Your Competition”) will come in.

Jack Trout’s six major positioning categories
There are six variations in positioning approaches, or ways that an organization can differentiate itself, according to the marketing master who first brought the term “positioning” into the marketing mix in 1969, Jack Trout:

1. Differentiation via attribute: your organization’s uniqueness can supply a reason to buy
For example,
Volvo: Safety
Crest: Cavity prevention
Visa: Everywhere

2. Differentiation via how it’s made: your product’s or organization’s “magic ingredient” will make it stand out
Sony: Trinitron television monitors
Chrysler: Hemi engine

3. Differentiation via being first: once they start with you, people tend to stick with what they’ve got
NyQuil: The first nighttime cold remedy
Starbucks: The first global coffee house

4. Differentiation via being the latest: people are not comfortable buying what could be perceived as an obsolete product, they want the newest model
Advil: Advanced medicine for pain
Blackberries, iPhones, and other handheld technology: The newest technology

5. Differentiation via leadership: credentials are the collateral you put up to guarantee your performance
Nordstrom: The leader in customer service
Owens-Corning: The leader in fiberglass insulation

6. Differentiation via being a specialist: when you’re perceived as experts, you rise above the pack
Mayo Clinic: Specialists in healthcare

The goal of positioning
Your goal with positioning is to find the most compelling difference about your organization, one that none of your competitors has (or is talking about), and then use it to set up a benefit for your customer.

It’s important to look beyond the obvious with this exercise. Look back at your competitor analysis the way brand consultants would do, and compare your answers to what is already in your marketspace. If your organization offers a service rather than a product, you may think the “magic ingredient” doesn’t apply, but think again. Isn’t it possible to add a special ingredient to customer service to bring it above the norm? Isn’t it possible to add a special ingredient to consulting services that will make you stand out? If you’re not the leader in your main area, is there something else your customer cares about that you can be the leader in? If you’re not a specialist in the obvious, can you be a specialist in the not so obvious? You get the idea.

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Marcia Hoeck is president and CEO of Hoeck Associates, a group of branding consultants located in Toledo, Ohio. Visit her site at http://www.hoeck.net or read more on her blog at http://www.hoeckblog.com/meaningfulmarketing

Branding strategy is a means to increasing profitability that is ignored by many small business owners.

Although large corporations have adopted branding strategy and realize the importance of a good brand to corporation profits, many small business owners know little to nothing about branding. What they do know is usually related to visual identity and graphic design.

But branding strategy requires much more than visual identity. In fact some brand consultants consider visual identity the least important of branding components. Other more important components comprise the basic branding strategy for small businesses.

•    the target market for the business’s products or services,

•    the name of the business,

•    the slogan of the business

•    the price of products and services,

•    the distribution outlets delivering products to customers,

•    the advertising and promotional strategies

The first three of these components are covered in this article. The last three will be covered in part 2.

Target Market

When an entrepreneur is considering a new business is the time to target a market and to learn every thing possible about target market members.

This part of branding strategy requires knowing demographic characteristics of target market members. Demographic characteristics can usually be determined through research, including brain-storming and researching literature on the Internet and at libraries.

Then the entrepreneur needs to determine psychographic and behavioral characteristics for the market in order to determine what products or services market members are likely to buy. Getting this part of the branding strategy correct determines business and branding profitability.

Several segmentation products and services are available online to assist business owners with this research, but some are quite expensive. However, small business owners can learn to do this research for themselves.

Business Name

Selecting the wrong business name often derails a branding strategy from day one. The major problem that small business owners make in naming their businesses is naming them after themselves instead of selecting a name that represents what the business does or sells. A business name is the most important part of the business’s brand. It should appeal to the target market and leave no doubt about the business’s purpose.

Of course there are large corporations that break this rule, but these corporations spend fortunes establishing the relationship between their company name and the company’s purpose. Most small business owners can’t afford fortunes to establish their business name and brand. Thus, taking the time and resources to get this component of branding strategy right early saves money and increases brand profitability.

Pricing

The pricing component of branding strategy includes four major decisions. Small business owners need to consider:

1.    how well product or service meets an unmet need,

2.    its quality,

3.    its distinguishing characteristics and

4.    what the target market is able and willing to pay for it.

Pricing decisions also need to consider how the product or service will be distributed, and the costs of  marketing, advertising and promotion, in addition to the cost of producing the product or service.

Getting the target market, business name and pricing components of branding strategy right should be done before launching the business or product. They are fundamental to the success of a small business’s branding strategy.

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Linda P. Morton, Ed.D, APR, studied branding and other marketing strategies throughout her three-decades professional career. She covers branding and other marketing topics for small business owners at http://StrategicMarketSegmentation.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Morton / http://EzineArticles.com/?Branding-Strategy-for-Small-Businesses—Part-1&id=692523