Developing a brand positioning is not an everyday task. This is no wonder, as it is a central strategic management tool for companies, ideally valid in the long term, and its implementation has far-reaching consequences. In our experience, the procedure for developing a brand positioning varies greatly in terms of time and personnel. But whether you do it on your own, with the help of a workshop or on the basis of an entire project, the following points are, in our view, indispensable for a good and promising positioning result.
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What should be considered during the elaboration
1. select compact positioning model: Brand positioning is a verbal construct that requires a contextual frame of reference. Since the advent of the positioning concept in the early 1980s, a multitude of positioning models have emerged in companies and academia, and the choice of a model for one's own brand has been correspondingly difficult. Our clear recommendation: As compact as possible, with as many elements as necessary! Brand models with high single-digit or even double-digit numbers of elements usually harbor a high degree of redundancy and complicate both the development process and the subsequent dissemination and acceptance within the company.
2. formulate briefly and precisely: You're probably familiar with this: brand positioning or mission statements that contain long lists of "values," "benefits," or "reasons-to-believe." When defining the brand, focus on what is really essential, otherwise customers and employees will not understand what the brand should stand for. Formulate in statements that are as short as possible, with clear statements in complete sentences, and say goodbye to lists of terms.
3. the Customer perspective It is the customers alone who decide on the success of a brand. Accordingly, their perspective must be central to brand positioning. They define how the brand creates desire in the customer and triggers a desire to buy.
4. clearly define the target position in the competition: To a very significant extent, positioning also means differentiation. Show how the brand achieves a preference over competing offers and what position it thus occupies in the competitive structure. Do you want the brand to be in the premium segment or to roll up the market as a discounter? Then include this in the brand positioning.
5. define a binding value proposition: We believe that the internal company perspective cannot be missing in the definition of a brand positioning. To do this, determine the core competency, service or resource that makes the brand attractive to customers and differentiates it from the competition.
6. do not equate positioning with claim or slogan: Deriving key messages for brand communication is an operational step that builds on a brand's positioning. These messages usually change more frequently - and should - than the content of a successful brand positioning.
7. pictures speak louder than words: this point refers purely to the internal communication of a new brand positioning in order to increase its understanding and acceptance across hierarchies and functions. A professional mood film or at least a mood board can be helpful in making the brand positioning tangible for employees and stakeholders.
Checklist: Approach brand positioning
Here are the 7 points again as an infographic:
Would you like to take a closer look at the positioning of your brand or enter into the development of brand positioning? Then get to know the tool to strengthen your brand with the Brand Positioning Canvas!
