Having a strong market position is a cornerstone of success for your business success. However, taking control of the narrative is not always easy. This is why market positioning is important for (small) business owners.

Market positioning - explained

Market positioning refers to the image that a target client has of a particular company. The idea of an effective market positioning strategy is to position a good image of your business is a potential customer's head through influential marketing. For example, you are likely to associate Porsche with fast and expensive cars or Nintendo with fun games consoles. These are good examples of successful brand positioning through marketing strategies.

Positioning strategies

Characteristics

Associating your product or service with unique characteristics. Focus on what makes your company stand out.

Price

Having a unique pricing model, whether distinctive or competitive, can make you stand out. Filling a gap in the market when it comes to price can give a competitive advantage with your target customer.

Use

Getting potential customers to associate your brand with a specific type of use can help positioning in marketing. For example, if you are selling plant-based pet food, your brand management should focus on positioning as a healthy alternative to meat for pets that appeals to eg vegan pet owners.

Quality

Of course, high-quality products will cause positive associations in your potential customer's mind. So, if your product is defined by its high-quality, ensure to design your marketing strategy around that.

Positioning

It is an important part of common positioning strategies to focus on what makes the product unique and its key differences from its competition.

Developing your company's positioning strategy

Depending on your target audience and brand strengths, your positioning strategy is likely to differ.

Tailor your strategy to represent brand strengths and, of course, ensure you deliver high-quality products or services.

When starting to develop your market positioning strategy, it is advisable to undertake competitor analysis. This will help you identify opportunities or unique features of your brand. You should then analyze where you currently stand in the market. This could eg be done through focus groups. Next, you analyze where your competitors are standing and how they have positioned themselves in the market. Based on this analysis, you can develop your unique positioning strategy. It is advisable to develop a positioning statement. This will provide your company with a clear, written summary of your position. A position statement typically includes a description of the target market with its needs, how your product will meet those needs, how your product is different from competitors, and why consumers should believe what you are saying.

You can then move on to developing a modern marketing strategy for competitive positioning.