If you’ve ever felt like your marketing is falling on deaf ears, you’re not alone. Many businesses struggle to connect the dots between their services and their audience’s needs. This often leads to vague headlines, an unclear hero statement, and a hard time capturing anyone’s attention.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. A strong positioning strategy is crucial for capturing your audience’s attention. Once you have this foundation, you can create marketing that:
- Resonates with your audience
- Shows them you understand their needs and can provide solutions.
- Builds trust and establishes you as an authority in your industry.
What is a positioning strategy, and why does it matter?
A positioning strategy is a plan for positioning your product or service in the marketplace. It’s the way you tell your audience what you do, who you do it for, and why they should care.
A strong positioning strategy will help you:
- Capture attention with a clear and concise message
- Stand out from your competitors
- Connect with your target audience
- Build trust and credibility
- Generate leads and sales
Your positioning strategy takes into account what your customers need and want, as well as what competitors are offering. A strong brand positioning helps businesses focus on creating products and services that meet their customers’ needs and stand out from the competition.
Ultimately, your positioning strategy is an essential element of your overall business strategy that helps you achieve success in the marketplace.
How to start your positioning strategy
1. Start with your ideal customer.
Before you focus on any marketing, you need to define who you’re trying to reach. Ask questions like:
- Who are your ideal customers?
- What do they value?
- Where do they spend their time?
2. Identify their main problem as it relates to your services.
Next, you need to dive into their pain points. Remember, your service is meant to solve something for them. But many times, entrepreneurs are so focused on their vision that they forget to check what their ideal client truly wants. By talking to your clients and prospects, you’ll learn from them what their expectations are, how their problem feels, and what they’ve tried to fix it — including what’s worked and what hasn’t.
Ask these questions:
- What is your customer’s problem?
- What are they feeling as a consequence?
- What do they need?
- How can your service help them?
- What solutions have they tried?
- How is yours different?
This will be the foundation of your positioning statement.
3. Create a positioning statement.
Once you are familiar with your audience and their needs, it’s time to start creating your positioning statement. This is a short, clear statement that sums up your business. It should include who you help, what you do, and how you do it differently.
Try this formula: I am a service provider/title offering this service to my ideal audience. I help them achieve this by differentiator.
For example: I am a financial advisor specializing in personal and small business financial strategies for female entrepreneurs who want to earn multiple seven figures. Together, we craft a unique strategy based on your risk comfort level and your business’s industry.
4. Establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Your audience needs to know that you are an expert they can trust. Content marketing is a powerful tool to establish your authority because it gives them a peek at your expertise before committing to working with you.
Take some time to build up your credibility by creating educational resources (like blogs, videos, or downloads), speaking at events, and networking with other industry leaders.
Over time, you’ll build a connection with your audience and they’ll develop the habit of coming to you to satisfy their needs.
Tips for Maintaining a Strong Position Over Time
Once you have your brand positioning nailed down, you want to focus on keeping it strong. But as time goes on, you may need to make adjustments to keep up with your audience’s needs.
Try these four tips for maintaining a strong position:
- Monitor your competition: Keep an eye on what they are doing and how it compares to what you are doing. This is especially important if your product/service or industry is evolving.
- Make changes as needed: As your audience’s needs change, so should your positioning. Conduct a business analysis to see where you can be flexible and make changes as needed.
- Do not be afraid to experiment: Over time, you may feel the need to pivot or change entirely. Try new things and see what works best for your business.
- Be consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to positioning. Keep your messages, visuals, and overall brand identity consistent across all digital marketing channels.
By following these tips, your brand positioning will stay strong over time. And you’ll keep your finger on the pulse of your market as your audience’s needs change.
Much like your brand, your positioning is a living, breathing organism
Nothing is set in stone when it comes to branding. Your target market’s needs should always come first. By keeping their needs in mind and positioning your service as a solution to those needs, you will be able to create a strong relationship with your audience that will stand the test of time.
Looking for help with your brand or positioning? We would love to chat about how we can position your service for success. Contact us today to get started!
