Brand Positioning or brand perception is essential in Marketing. Yet most brands find it difficult to attract the right audience.
Can we say consumers are gullible? Or are Brands poorly positioned in the mind of consumers?
People often misuse the famous Steve Jobs quote that “consumers don’t know what they want, until you show them”. Hence, the endless use of Ads to create awareness for a product. I think it’s poor judgement. A majority of search queries are informational.
If Consumers constantly seek for specific information then, they may know more about what they want than we can imagine. Does your brand come to mind when consumers think of meeting a need specific to your category?
See this google search results and what it tells us about consumer behavior. Consumers aren’t gullible, the problem lies in how brands are perceived in the minds of the consumers.
This is a screenshot of the search for Baby care products. Although google largely determines the result on certain keywords, but it could explain how Johnson’s is taking over Pears baby product in the mind of consumers.
Sometimes your product meets the customer’s exact needs but they can’t see it because of poor positioning.
When consumers think skin care they think Dove, because Dove has positioned its brand as the solution to skin problems. in the mind of consumers, that’s how dove is perceived.
What does this mean for you? People are probably looking for your service but they can’t find your brand. You need to make a shift for your brand to be positioned in the mind of your audience.
I will be sharing on types of brand position, strategies to brand positioning and links to brand positioning templates, but first, let’s talk about brand positioning.
Contents
What is Brand Positioning?
Brand positioning is how consumers think of you. Consumers tie need to result. If your brand ranks high among other brands in the same product category, consumers tend to think of you first when they think of your product or their need. That’s how brands are perceived in a consumers mind.
Related: Forecasting Revenue And Positioning A Company for Growth
So what do consumers think of when they think of your brand? or what do they think of when they think of the service your brand provides?
This should not be confused for popularity. A popular brand may not position well in the consumer’s mind.
Omo detergent brand is so popular in Nigerian Market that the word Omo is traded for the word detergent. Yet, when people walk into shops and ask to buy Omo, the trader responds with “Which Type?”
Often time, when a brand positions as one thing in the consumer’s mind, it is difficult to reposition.
A good brand perception is essential for marketing.
Types of Brand Positioning
Marketing91 List 8 Types of Brand positioning:
- Value-based
- Competitor based
- Quality based
- Benefit positioning
- Problem and solution positioning
- Price positioning
- Celebrity driven positioning
- Leader based positioning
Where Do I Begin?
Now that you’ve read every detail on Brand positioning, where do you begin?
First, you need a defined strategy.
Brand positioning is essential from the very start of product design.
5 tips to help you position your brand in the mind of your audience.
- Know your Industry: This would help you understand the general place of your product in a consumer’s mind and then you can better craft a niche for your product based on the overall perception of your industry. If the overall position of your industry leaves a negative impression, you can adjust the benefits to provide renewed assurance.
- Monitor your brand’s reputation: While a feedback form may not be as honest, social media can help you access unfiltered opinions about your brand.
Here’s an unfiltered opinion of consumer’s perception of AIRTEL (A brand of internet service provider in Nigeria)
- Monitor other brands: Understand that the market would always have a competition. You need to study brands within your industry and sometimes brands that sell around your industry. Your findings will help you create a better position for your brand. In your studies, don’t leave out the Underdogs within your industry.
- Determine your position: Be clear on what you want to achieve with your brand and how you want your brand to be positioned in the mind of your audience. Being a jack of all trade may only bring trouble for your brand.
- Be intentional in your design and marketing: Packaging is important because first impressions count.
Remember your brand statement must reflect;
- what your product does
- What benefits it serves
- The target audience
Making a Statement that Catches your Audience
Most companies contract experts to help write a brand statement that catches the audience.
To write a good brand statement, you must understand the following
- Brand Category
- Target Audience
- The benefits
- The advantage it has over competition
Your brand statement is different from your slogan however, it should be short but detailed, for easy recall.
The benefits of your brand may be tied to social status or quality.
Other Strategies to help boost Brand perception
- Preemptive positioning: The first to claim a feature.
- Superlative positioning: being superior to other brands in terms of quality.
- Positioning within a category: Depends on your product, some product ranks are based on prestige or social status. Fashion lines and Cars.
- According to product benefit(s): Your product might be Waterproofed, Fire proofed,100% organic.
- Price lines: your product may place as premium or economic.
- User or user group: Example: Female hygiene products and baby care.
Brand Positioning Template
Here’s how top brands have positioned themselves in the minds of the consumer using 4 brand positioning Strategies.
These four templates highlighted by EquiBrand Consulting puts in perspective all we’ve talked about.
- Position and own the category benefit
- Volvo: Safety
- Miller Lite: Great Taste, Less Filling
- Walt Disney Company: Magic
- Position the product and the consumer
- U.S. Army: Be all you can be
- Budweiser: For all you do, this Bud’s for you
- Pepsi Generation
- Position how the company does business
- Burger King: Have it your way
- United Airlines: The friendly skies of United
- WalMart: Always the lowest price
- Position against the competition
- Avis: We’re #2. We try harder
- Seven-Up: The Un-cola
- Apple: Think different
Suggested: A Lesson From Harvard Business School
Thanks for the enlightenment
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