Positioning is about creating unique products or services that stand out from the crowd. To win a customers business is to position your product or service in a way that it grabs them and makes them want to buy, even if they know another business offers the same thing.
Be Unique!
Being unique takes some creativity. Some ways you can help your product stand out are:
Pricing:
This is usually the first thing people think of when they want to offer an advantage. You can use price to create a difference. For instance you could undercut your competitors and offer the cheapest product of its kind in the market. Alternately, you can create an upmarket product and sell at a premium price. Check out this article on Pricing your product for more info.
Quality:
Quality is another way to distinguish what you sell from all the rest. You can give your customers assurance that your product is the best by listing features, testimonials, product comparisons, celebrity endorsements, warranties, refund policies etc. If you claim a certain quality standard then be willing to back that up. Packaging is another way you can show that your product is top notch.
Service:
Service is not just for service providers, but for products as well. Do you offer customer service and support? Often you need to help the customer through the buying process. And what about after-sales support? Training? People want great service and when they find a company who has great service they are more willing to return and refer their friends.
Distribution:
How do customers obtain your product or service? Do you offer on-site service or instantly downloadable digital goods? Or do customers have to come to you? The easier your product is to distribute the more likely customers will be willing to buy. If you sell digital goods offer instant delivery via download to give your customers immediate satisfaction.
Packaging:
Packaging makes a strong statement. Appropriate design is the key issue here – it must deliver the message you intend. A cruise down a supermarket aisle will illustrate this. You can tell the biscuit section at a glance because there is consistency in how biscuits are packaged. A closer inspection, however, reveals a myriad of different colours and configurations. The trick is to be “the same but different!” You could try to pack your cookies in a coffee jar, but will that be too radical for the average biscuit-buyer to accept?
Likewise those offering their services must “package” themselves: this can come down to how your office is decorated, what uniforms your staff wear, even how your business stationery looks. All must reflect the unique image you are trying to portray.
Above all, make sure all the information you need to convey is contained in your packaging: ingredients, warnings, instructions, contact details, special promotions etc. etc. etc.
Identify your Strengths
Positioning is your competitive strategy. What’s the one thing you do best? What’s unique about your product or service? Identify your strongest strength and use it to position your product.
Ultimately, you want to use positioning to make sure it is your product or service – not your competitor’s – that springs to mind when a customer wants/needs something.
Being first in mind equals ownership. And market ownership allows you to be a big fish in a small pond. When you’re a big fish, you can always increase the size of the pond… or create even more ponds.
Market Research Resources
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