Positioning - Marketing Help Topics

Brand Positioning

Positioning. It is crucial that you understand this principal if your business is to succeed. All great brands have a competitive position. Below is a list of some common competitive positioning strategies.

- The Fastest
- The Finest Quality
- The Lowest Cost
- The Longest Lasting
- The Oldest (The First)
- The Most Advanced
- The Most Effective
- The Best Selling
- The Best Tasting
- The Most Expensive (Yes this really is a competitive position)
- The Safest
- The Easiest To Use
- The Most Reliable
- Etc. There are many more, but you should get the picture by now.

Your competitive position is a great way to build your brand. Just think of some of the truly big brands and you can almost always guess their position. Here are a few examples.

Volvo cars = Safe
Wal-Mart = Lowest Cost
FedEx = Reliable
Rolex = Expensive/Exclusive
Energizer Batteries = Long Lasting
You get the picture.

So what is your competitive position? Does it provide a benefit that people would want?

It is important to develop a marketing strategy around your competitive position. This strategy can and should include your logo and your tagline. Your tagline should be though of as a mini positioning statement. Using the example brands from above, here is how it works.

Wal-Mart - Their competitive position is "low prices." Their tagline is "Always low prices, Always Wal-Mart". It does not get any better than this. This is a big part of why they are one of the most successful companies in the history of business.

Energizer - Their competitive position is "long lasting." Their common tagline is "It keeps going and going."

Volvo cars - Their position is "safety." Their current tagline is "For Life."

This is how positioning works. You take a position. Draw a line in the sand and tell everybody through your actions and your marketing that you own this position. Great positions are often battled for. Al Ries and Jack Trout have arguably wrote the best book ever on the subject of Positioning. If you have not read it yet, you really should. The book is titled none other than "Positioning." They have a nice little tag line or sub-title for the book too -"The battle for your mind."

Actually, you should buy the book right now. Don't wait. You will love it. You can get it through Amazon right here.

Or go ahead and look for a used copy on ebay or at your library.
Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind
by Al Ries and Jack Trout
1981 McGraw-Hill

Well all this talk about positioning is making me hungry. I could go for something fresh and healthy. I wonder who has branded a position in my mind for that category? I know, I know, "Subway - Eat Fresh"