Ever since the advent of digitalization, consumers come across a swarm of brands to choose from on a daily basis. The question arises - what sets a brand apart from the long list of competitors?
Successful brands like Amazon, Google, Disney, McDonald’s, Tesla, Facebook, Coca Cola have one common thing – A strong brand. In fact, their brand names have become synonyms with the products which are now often used to describe any brand in a product category. This is the power of strong brands.
However, there is only one way to establish a strong brand, i.e., Brand Positioning! The myriad of brands usually loosens your control on your brand identity and brand messaging. But if you have a solid brand positioning in place, it can be demonstrated as a critical driver of how your brand is perceived, what factors drive customer loyalty, and determine how to nurture the customer through the loyalty ladder.
In this blog, we will discuss how to successfully position a brand in your industry by covering the following topics:
Brand positioning has been defined by Kotler as “the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market”.
Let me make it clearer by giving you an example.
If we observe our solar system, all the planets continue to revolve around the Sun. The business positioning relatively follows the same pattern.
Many businesses have innumerable competitors around, but each business evolves and has its own orbit to move further. Some may be slow, some may be fast, but each planet has its individual route, without colliding with each other.
Similarly, every business also has those distinctive features to target its core audience. So now, the question arises, how to find that full-proof orbit route to rotate upon, without getting poked by your competitors and vice versa.
Be it the savviest tech product or a simple cookie you get around your neighborhood shop - or even you – everything is a brand.
Every business you do is a brand. And, your success is rooted when your brand resonates with your clients, customers, and core audiences.
In other words, brands control the marketing mix to create a solid brand position from scratch.
But it really is your core audience/customer who decides a brand’s positioning in their minds.
So, how do we ensure that our brand sits right into our core audience’s heart and mind? Let’s find out.
There is no denying that when you know your audience well, everything your brand portrays will more likely resonate and delight your core audience.
According to Market Evolution, “$37 billion is wasted in ad spend every year from ads that fail to engage the target audience.”
Having said that, brands must focus on knowing their core audience well in advance.
First and foremost, conduct market research including PEST and SWOT analysis to know the demographics, buyer persona, location, psychographics, competitors, etc.
Analyze all the information properly and curate a few strategies that will target your core audience.
Example:
To get business off the ground, one brand figured out the right strategy to foster a sense of brand loyalty and advocacy that became one of the most influential fitness brands of the 21st century – behold, Gymshark.
From its inception, Gymshark has disrupted the entire fitness industry.
It has become a rightful competitor to the established activewear behemoths like Adidas and Nike.
How you may ask? Read on to know!
Gymshark has a clear core audience of 18-25-year-olds who are enthusiasts around fitness, and fashion.
While many companies are quick to adopt a social media strategy, influencer marketing is considered a fright fest.
Squashing the fears for many, Gymshark became one of the earliest adopters of the influencer marketing model by partnering with YouTubers including Steve Cook, Lex Griffin, Matt Ogus, and Nikki Blackketter.
Their ‘Black Friday Sale’ promotions stand out well as their creatives led to a huge influx of sales through Instagram as it garnered 16.4 Million reaches for about 6.6:1 ad spend.
Once you identify who your core audience is, it is time to figure out their greatest difficulties, problems, or desires. After all, consumers don’t care about how exceptional your product is – but how they look for the solutions to their problems in the products.
Example:
The famous savory food brand, Knorr, wanted to find a solution for the Moms with children under 12 for their pre-dinner dilemmas.
They created a myriad of recipes and mean solutions that can be available on every pit-stop and nearby store.
Today, Knorr has been a huge success everywhere for about 180 years.
Similarly, brands should focus on catering to their core audiences’ likes and needs. Always test-market your product before launching.
Ensure your core audience has a bunch of variety to choose from. Many brands make the mistake of launching a single product. Although it works for a few, most of them regret it as the customers are always excited to have a choice in hand.
Example:
Apple is a tech giant that needs no introduction. They are equipped with a wide range of innovative varieties of products, say, MacBooks and iPhones. Consumers prefer to have many variations of a product from which to choose.
Create a list of options that might be a hit in the market. Give your consumers relevant choices.
Your brand can communicate the message, not only with words but also potentially with images, sound, tone, and style.
Start by choosing a few tones to share your message in clear words that may evoke a visceral feeling.
The tone of your brand will be the best way to resonate your message with your core audience.
Some brands may want to tap an emotional tone and a unique seamless translation across the brand assets.
Some may prefer an aggressive take.
Some may opt for formal communication and others may opt for colloquialism.
Once the brand message is prepared, the mode of brand communication must be considered.
There are six major modes of brand communication:
Choose your mode accurately to connect with your core audience.
Example:
Zomato and its social media campaigns never cease to amaze the foodies.
Their social media campaigns like “guys, kabhi kabhi ghar ka khana bhi kha lena chahiye”, #RideToFame campaign, #OrderForMom, and more have always resonated with foodies in more ways than possible.
The integral factor to consider while setting the prices are - costs, competition, and price sensitivity.
Most brands swoop into the markets and gain a competitive edge through a solid pricing strategy.
Once the brand is popular and customer loyalty is gained, you may increase the price slowly according to the market.
There are four major pricing strategies:
You may evaluate your prices based on these.
Think of your favorite brand. What is so great about it? Is it quality? Is it affordable? Or their customer service?
Let’s dig a little deeper.
Does your brand really “understand” you and align with your personal values?
Well, this suggests that your favorite brand has done a pretty good job of building the brand image and brand positioning.
Differentiate your brand and learn what are your best value proposition points.
For instance, Uber’s value proposition is ‘The Smartest Way to Get Around’.
For the Apple iPhone, it is ‘The Experience is the Product’.
Slack taps on workplace productivity, i.e., ‘Be More Productive at Work with Less Effort’.
Just a little focus and a moment or a few to consider your value proposition from the perspective of your users.
PulsAero Agency believes that it is paramount to strategically activate your brand’s message and amplify your exposure through tailored brand positioning strategies**.**
Our team has been working with small to big B2C and B2B businesses around the world.
We help you build a strong connection with your audience and evoke high degrees of credibility and confidence within various communities.
From brainstorming creative concepts and identifying the right brand positioning for your brand, to overseeing content activations and immersive reporting, no stone is left unturned.
More importantly, we drive brand owners into discovering the true value of their brand.
It's important that you know why your business exists and what difference it will bring in customers' lives.
When you know this, you are on the right track to developing a surefire brand positioning strategy.
If you are ready to become a successful brand, get in touch with us anytime anywhere (via virtual meeting).
After this call, you will get a clear understanding of the next steps that you need to take in order to build consistent communication & reliable marketing strategies.
This call is perfect for professionals who want to,
