Happy Holidays!

May you find rest, relaxation and lots of chocolate under your tree this year!

 



All I want for Christmas is... a Positioning Map

It's that time of year again when we're usually asked to put together a 'wish list' for our families and significant others as they search for the perfect gifts for us. But how many of us think about what our Business wish list would be?

I was recently discussing competitive dynamics with a client, who was disappointed that they weren't mentioned in a local news article highlighting many of the key players in their industry. We were talking about how "you are what your customer thinks you are," not necessarily what everyone in your company wishes you were. Your position in the market is really determined by the impression your target prospects and customers have about your organization -- everything from the name (or part of name) they can recall, to the core services you offer and the kinds of customers you have.

As marketers, we often like to create positioning maps to compare ourselves to our competition, which can be a really valuable exercise to help dispel fact from fiction and perception from reality.
You can hire a market research firm to conduct a formal study to poll your target audience, which can produce a very 'quantitative' set of positioning maps that correlates customer impressions against various criteria, but it can be equally as valuable to sit down with key members of your product, marketing and sales teams to hash out your views on a whiteboard. It probes your team to take a stand back and look at the key drivers of your customer engagements (like price, quality & breadth of service) and talk about where your competitors have a leg up on you (or you on them).

If your customer keeps telling your Sales team that the competitor's prices are cheaper, you need to ask Sales to probe deeper about why the customer feels that way. Are they comparing apples-to-apples with services, or does the customer just 'think' the competitor's service is exactly the same as yours when yours is superior? Does the customer actually 'care' about the extra value you're providing and are they willing to pay extra for it?

If you aren't where you want to be positioned, you can start to modify your web content and marketing messaging or advertising channels to help move you in the direction you want to go. Or, you might want to consider realigning the org to your current 'reality' position if that's what people think you're good at, and it offers sufficient market growth opportunity -- remember, the grass might not always be greener in another quadrant!

A positioning map is a great tool for engaging in Executive dialogue within your company, because it helps the leadership team to visualize how their brand is seen relative to their competitors. So the next time you're asked to give someone your wish list... think about asking for a positioning map (along with that iPad, GoPro or Coach Bag.)