Excluding skilled workers, almost every industry is crowded. For this reason, your business needs more than a good product or service to stand out. It also needs a clear brand identity backed by strategic brand positioning. Whether you’re creating a new brand from scratch or trying to better understand the one you already have, positioning is the foundation. It defines who you are, who you serve, and why customers should choose you.

Read on to learn more about why positioning matters, and how it helps your business resonate and covert.

The importance of brand positioning

Imagine I’m a fitness coach and have developed a walking shoe that with extra support. That sounds pretty good until I remember Dr. Scholl’s Beyond Comfort Collection shoes. I should not position my shoes by the support they provide. Instead, I should look for other ways to stand out. Maybe the shoes are great for people with lower back pain who walk more than 5 miles per day. Or I could focus on a specific group of people, like women whose job require them to stand all day.

Similarly, you want to be sure that your visual identity or logo is distinct from your competitors. Also, it would be unwise to use your ideal colors if they are too similar to a competitor. The idea is not to be confused with any other business.

How to create or understand your brand position

Start by researching your competitors to see how your brand position relates to other options in the marketplace. You could create a list of your competitors and then describe how your brand is different. For example, you could be full-service, more convenient, bigger, smaller, more complex, etc.

Make the benefits front and center that differentiate you from your competitors. For instance, Mercedes Benz is positioned as a top-tier luxury, performance car. While Subaru and Volvo are known for safety. Semi-luxury, in the middle car brands like Infinite and Cadillac are fancier than most basic cars, but are often more accessible than top-tier luxury brands.

Focus your positioning on your closest competitors. For example, Coca-Cola differentiates itself from Pepsi, not from a high-end jewelry store.

How positioning helps your business

Understanding your brand options and enhancing your differentiators is useful in many ways.

  Know what benefits & features to emphasize

If your product or service has many benefits and features, it can be challenging to know which ones to focus on. After you compare your product or service to your competitors, you’ll see where there are similarities and what are most distinct. Positioning is all about capitalizing on differences.

For example, PayPal’s name fits perfectly with its core offering, which is a friendly way to pay.

  Compare your visual identity

When viewing your competitors, also look at their visual identity. For instance, their logo colors, website colors, and their logo symbol. And it wouldn’t hurt to check out their social media postings also.

In addition, don’t forget that customers are reading, scrolling, and swiping quickly. First impressions, like color, have a considerable impact. Choosing a color or design style that stands out from other options in the marketplace will make your brand more memorable.

  Capitalize on marketplace gaps

Imagine that you want to start a Mexican restaurant and discover that there are already a lot of them in your city. Now is the time to figure out where there is still an opportunity. Perhaps you can choose a different location or open/close earlier or later than anyone else. Or maybe you could give a small entree like taquitos or a beverage with a certain order amount.

The point is, when you identify a gap in the marketplace, you can build your brand around what’s unique, and have a business advantage.

Make your brand stand out & be memorable

If your brand is memorable and unique, it will be more successful. In fact, it takes many repetitions for people to understand and remember your brand. Ensuring your brand positioning is on-point will make it easier for your brand to stand out.

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Sara Komura

Sara Komura
VIDEO PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Sara is the Director of Video Production at Envisager Studio. Her expertise includes animated videos, explainer videos, and other video types. She leads the team in creating professional videos that aligns with and supports clients’ marketing goals. In her spare time, she writes about video production, video marketing, and other media topics.