Every business owner has that one persistent thought: ‘How can strong branding help improve my business?’
There are several answers to this question: through differentiation, establishing a positive reputation, building trust, boosting the value of your business, and creating an exceptional customer experience.
And then there’s the question of how to do all of that, too.
It’s a lot.
But what if we told you there was a straightforward way to determine what needs improving, and how to do it? It’s not magic, but it comes pretty close.
It’s called a ‘brand positioning map.’
A brand positioning map is a visual tool, usually a chart, that reveals how your target audience perceives your brand compared to your competitors’. What do your customers feel when they think of your brand? How do they remember and connect with you?
A brand positioning map answers these burning questions by serving your strengths and weaknesses on a silver platter. It helps you see where your brand stands in the market and provides inspiration for setting yourself apart from your competitors.
The map is a way to assess your unique qualities and collect info on how to improve (or distinguish) your brand.
Are you still following?
Perfect.
Given the value of this map, it’s safe to say that it should be an essential component of your marketing strategy. It paints a clear picture of where you stand in the market, whether your brand is memorable, and allows you to pinpoint areas for refining your marketing strategy and brand messaging.
With a brand positioning map, there will be no more missed opportunities. Who knows? You might even refine your Unique Selling Point (USP), as you find ways to differentiate yourself from your closest competitors.
Interested in learning more about why you should get visualising? Keep readin’.
A brand positioning map helps you to…
Your customers are what keep your business thriving. Listening to them is your best shot at succeeding.
Their opinions can be pretty revealing, but they’ll guide you towards learning more about your brand. You’ll discover what works, what doesn’t, and what you can refine to become a market leader.
Positioning isn’t about where you think your brand belongs; your customers decide that. Your job is to listen. Once you understand how your customers perceive you, you can tailor your marketing communications to better resonate with them.
As you position yourself, ask yourself these questions:
This exercise will allow you to take a step back and view your brand from your customers’ perspective.
A brand positioning map highlights areas where your brand stands out and has an advantage over your competitors.
Show off your unique differences by utilising these features in your branding and marketing. It’s how you attract new customers, retain old ones, and build a stronger brand identity for yourself.
Another benefit of positioning maps is that they can lead to the creation of more targeted marketing campaigns. This can help you develop fresh, innovative ways to sell your products or services.
That’s not all! Positioning maps can also advise you on which brand messaging to try and which channels to use.
Reaching your target audience requires some creativity, but it’s worth it. Once you find what works, new customers will come flooding in. You’ll also have an improved resource allocation and, hopefully, a higher return on investment.
Brand positioning maps can also reveal areas where the market in which you operate is underserved. If you’re an innovative soul, which, as a business owner, you clearly are, you’ll easily be able to identify opportunities for new products and services to sell.
A positioning map essentially tells you: ‘Hey, this part of the market hasn’t been tapped into yet… wanna give it a shot?’
To which you should answer: ‘Why the heck not?!’
There are so many benefits to targeting an untapped market. It can help you expand your reach, attract new customers, and develop innovative solutions.
By observing how a brand is perceived on a positioning map, you can determine whether your target audience relates to your brand’s messaging. Branding is, after all, about making your customers feel good about supporting your company.
Are your customers connecting with your brand on an emotional level? Do they understand your brand’s mission, vision and purpose? Do they understand your overall message?
Knowing the answers to these questions will help you determine whether your brand’s message is consistent across all channels and platforms. If the answers you find aren’t what you’d hoped for, there’s likely some inconsistency in your messaging.
For example, if your messaging focuses on providing high-quality products but your customers don’t perceive them as such, your messaging might be unreliable.
We can fix that. Brand positioning maps will visually illustrate where and how you can improve your messaging, depending on how your audience perceives you compared to your competitors. With these maps, you live, and you learn, which is your key to success.
Did you know there’s a ‘brand positioning trinity’? It sounds like a popular band: The Three C’s, with the band members being Customer, Competition and Company. This trio is crucial for an effective marketing strategy that resonates with your target audience, differentiates your offerings from competitors, and clearly communicates your brand’s value.
Let’s start with your company. What differentiates you from your competition? What makes your brand unique? Focus on your strengths (and weaknesses!), core values, and the benefits your branding provides your customers.
Your brand is special because of many things, like your mission, vision, product, or USP.
Now, consider your customers. They’re essential to your brand’s livelihood, so getting your marketing and branding right is important.
To understand what your target audience is most receptive to, you need to learn more about them. Find out what they want, need, prefer, and care about. What kind of motivations do they have? What are their purchasing habits?
Make your positioning feel like a perfect fit for your audience — it’s how you draw them in. Dive into understanding their demographics, interests, and shopping behaviours. Knowing this, you’ll be able to craft effective messages and offerings that truly resonate, making your brand stand out and creating an emotional bond with your customers.
If you want to understand your audience better, ask your marketing team to conduct some good ol’ research. This can be done through surveys, interviews, or reviews.
Knowing more about your customers can help you identify their problems and needs, which will help you gain their attention and loyalty.
Lastly, let’s examine your competitors. What are they doing well? Where are they falling short? Understanding your rivals’ strengths and weaknesses will help you identify opportunities to improve and differentiate yourself from them. Through this research, you can also determine what aspects of their branding appeal to their customers and adopt similar elements for your own branding.
Competition is something your marketing team should regularly keep an eye on, not just for initial competitive research. This way, you’ll be able to keep up with marketing trends and discover new ways to differentiate yourself, always embracing change.
Tracking your competition also helps you position your product effectively in the market. By understanding your competitors’ claims, offerings, and prices, you can identify a unique position for your brand. So, learn about their latest product launch, marketing efforts, and what their customers say about them. Use this information to your advantage.
Conduct in-depth market research to create an effective brand positioning strategy. This will help you gather practical information about your target audience and competitors, allowing you to make informed decisions about your brand’s identity, messaging, and offering.
Besides market research, a few other tried-and-tested methods for tracking brand positioning exist. Let’s examine them.
Unaided awareness, or brand recall, is a consumer’s ability to recognise your brand or product without any assistance or prompts. It measures the number of people who can identify and remember your brand and your offering independently.
High unaided brand awareness suggests strong brand awareness and recognition among your target audience, helping you stand out from your competition. It serves as a strong indicator of your brand’s top-of-mind presence and enables you to see how well your brand is perceived on the market.
Aided awareness is the opposite of unaided awareness (duh). It defines how strongly a consumer gives to a brand or product when prompted or given cues. It measures the number of people who can identify your brand when placed alongside competitors or related products.
Your team of marketers can evaluate the effectiveness of your branding, advertising, and other promotional strategies based on your consumers’ awareness.
To better understand the competitive landscape, identify your main competitors and their market share, target audiences, and USPs. Analyse their positioning strategies carefully and assess how effectively they make their brand resonate with customers.
What are their customer satisfaction levels like? Are there any gaps you can fill with your branding, and are there any opportunities for you to gain a competitive advantage?
Also, analyse their social media presence. It can be a treasure trove of information, from their marketing to the platforms they use to their customer testimonials. Exploring this can give way to new, innovative ways to distinguish your brand and grow your business.
Don’t forget to use your customer feedback for refinement as well. Listening to your customers directly, rather than assuming ‘this is what they want,’ will prove useful. Track your social media mentions, observe your website traffic, and conduct brand perception surveys. All of this will help you understand your market position.
Fancy learning more and effectively positioning your brand on the market (map)? You’ve come to the right place. At Zap, we’re branding wizards. We’ll boost your brand to a new level before you can finish saying ‘Abracadabra,’ and it’s a level your competitors can only dream of reaching. Let’s get your journey started today. Contact us.
