Positioning strategies: which one to choose for a brand?

Brand Positioning Strategies - these are the principles by which the brand image is built in the eyes of the public. They are built based on some criterion, be it cost, the weaknesses of a competitor, or social significance. We will examine these and other positioning concepts in more detail below. 

Brand positioning models and strategies

Brand positioning - this is a certain image that we want to form in the perception of the target audience. This will help you take your place, your position, in the market and differentiate yourself from competitors by offering a new approach to familiar things.

Positioning by characteristic feature - attribute

The attribute positioning method is based on highlighting one or more main qualities of a product. On a special technology, characteristic or feature that distinguishes the product from its competitors. In fact, this is how the USP is formed - a unique selling proposition. 

For example, toothpaste with a concentration of natural ingredients of 99%, or a bank that does everything online. Here we can talk about breakthrough, innovative solutions: frameless smartphone screens, robotic vacuum cleaners, electric cars, smart home systems - all this quickly attracts attention, causes a stir and finds its buyers.

Attributes must be important to the target audience. This strategy is suitable when there really is a significant difference from competitors. This should be made the basis of positioning.

Positioning by benefit

As part of this positioning strategy, it is necessary to show why the product is useful and how exactly it helps. This can be both rational and emotional benefits. In this strategy, the emphasis shifts to the effect of using the product. The consumer must see for himself the advantages that will make his life better. To achieve such a goal, the brand needs to thoroughly study the pains, motives and benefits of the target audience. 

For example, when selling household cleaning products, we convey how they will make cleaning easier and reduce the cost of time and effort. If these are personal hygiene items, how will they transform the appearance. Financial benefit can be a useful property: “you can save money and buy more for yourself...”.

Here are some examples of successful benefit strategies:

Volvo positions itself as a brand with the highest level of safety for drivers and passengers. But it doesn't focus on speed or power like other manufacturers do. This strategy has allowed Volvo to build a strong reputation among consumers who value safety and confidence on the road. 

Airbnb leverages value positioning to offer a unique lodging experience and savings compared to hotels. The platform promotes the idea of ​​immersing oneself in the culture of a place, which makes customers feel at home.

Price positioning

Perhaps the most common version of the positioning strategy. A lower cost for an identical product is a working way to attract an audience and lure them away from competitors. If the target consumer is not a fan of one or two specific brands, then he will choose analytically. And he will choose the product in which he sees a more advantageous offer that also satisfies his needs. 

Note that the concept of brand positioning by price does not always imply only the lowest possible cost. There is a category of buyers who, as a matter of principle, do not purchase cheap products. Thus, they deny the possibility that a product at a low price can be of high quality. Therefore, some companies stand out in terms of price as an expensive product, premium and not for everyone, which also sets them apart from their competitors. 

People may choose extremely expensive goods and services to demonstrate their social status. This audience will buy clothes from a world-famous fashion house. Simply because everyone knows about it, and everyone knows that it is expensive. Because it emphasizes status, and does not somehow especially warm in winter.

Competitive positioning

The basis of this approach is opposition or even opposition to a specific brand. You compare your product with your competitor's and clearly show which aspects you are stronger in and why. At the same time, significant parameters are listed that favorably present a particular brand. The positioning strategy of competitors is to show their strengths more clearly in contrast to the opponent’s weaknesses. 

For clarity, let's look at examples:

Burger King vs. McDonald’s. A clear illustration of competitive positioning in which both companies use direct comparison to differentiate their products. They openly play off each other’s slogans and also set up banners opposite, as if communicating with each other and with the audience.

As part of one of the advertising campaigns, Burger King showed how it cooks its burgers over an open fire, and emphasized that this enhances the taste. This move allowed Burger King to win the loyalty of consumers who are looking for an alternative to McDonald's.

Audi vs. BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The automobile market is a special story that is interesting to watch. For example, Audi has long positioned itself as a company that combines advanced technology and elegant design. This allowed it to stand out from the BMW (sporting spirit) and Mercedes-Benz (prestige-oriented) brands, which positioned their cars differently.

Or choosing a smartphone. Let's say you need to find the best offer within a fixed budget. In reviews, and somewhere in advertising videos of companies, we will see that the type of display is described in comparison with competing models, which have worse color rendition and more glare. Also with camera characteristics, battery capacity and body materials. As a result, we see that some sell basic models for the same price, while others are ready to offer all the functionality of a flagship.

Companies make good use of humor and sass in their competitive positioning. However, such techniques have a very fine line between a positive perception and a negative one, so comparisons must always be justified. No one wants to destroy their reputation with an unsuccessful comparison.

Positioning by category

Category positioning is a way to establish a brand as a leader in one thing. For example, if we need a toothpaste that helps fight bleeding gums, one that immediately comes to mind is Lacalut. Despite the fact that the brand has long gone beyond the scope of gum paste, this particular feature of it remains in the minds of the consumer.

Another example - Tesla, which reinvented the world of electric vehicles through innovation, conveying not only prestige, but also safety and environmental friendliness. 

If you have a product that has no analogues, or your product has a unique property that no one else has, the category positioning path is suitable for you.

Positioning by consumer

To choose such a strategy, you need to understand exactly who the consumer of this product is. Here everything is built around the target audience, its needs and interests. A clear buyer persona should emerge. In advertising campaigns, for personification and better association with the brand, this character may appear - a typical consumer in whom the rest of the audience will see themselves. 

Let's remember baby food products. They are intended for children, but their parents choose and buy these products. Therefore, promotion and positioning will be based on the benefits of a healthy diet for the child and, as a result, joy for mothers and fathers. And the whole happy family will appear in the advertisement.

With this strategy, advertising uses expressions such as: “For those who...”, “For tired mothers” or “For entrepreneurs who want...”. That is, a specific segment of buyers is attracted who have a specific problem or request. Often, this positioning uses a character in the content that is similar to those who use the product. 

Positioning according to the situation

Here, the brand positioning strategy will not directly depend on either price or audience. The starting point will only be the situation in which these goods or services will be most relevant. 

For example, gifts. More precisely, holidays, during which goods that are not the most popular in everyday life become traditional gifts. But New Year - Christmas trees and decorations for them, on Valentine's Day and March 8 - flowers, gift sweets or something in the shape of hearts. 

That is, the product may not be constantly needed for consumption, it may not be of interest to people every day, but in certain circumstances the demand for it has never been higher. 

How to choose and develop a positioning strategy

A correctly chosen strategy will create an image that will convey the desired values and qualities of the brand. A successful strategy will distinguish the product from competitors, make it recognizable, and make the audience loyal and receptive.

What steps are needed to develop a positioning strategy?

1. Research the market. To understand how to position a brand correctly, you need to study the behavior of competitors. Find out why people buy from them, how they are positioned, what they do well, and where they fail. Based on this information, you will understand exactly what you can do better.

2. Define the brand's values and mission. What makes your product interesting and unique? Maybe it helps a very narrow audience with a specific problem, is cheaper than its analogues in price, or has outstanding characteristics.  

3. Research who your customer is. What pains and needs do your target audience segments have, what are they looking for, how do they live, what do they think about? How do they make decisions and what motivates them to buy? The answers to these questions will help you understand how best to communicate with clients, what phrases to use, what benefits to show and what to emphasize.

4. Start the positioning creation process. After the above research, the brand image will be formed: the strengths of the product will be visible, which should be emphasized. Take a look at them and select the appropriate marketing tools. It is important that the strategy is reflected not only in words, but also in visual and emotional design.

5. Maintain your chosen strategy. Positioning takes time and consistency to maintain audience interest. 

A correctly chosen brand positioning strategy is the key to recognition and winning customer loyalty.

Conclusion

Using different positioning strategies, you can determine your promotion vector. For example, if it is obvious to you that you are ready to offer the most profitable product without losing to competitors in terms of quality, then your positioning will depend on price. To determine a positioning strategy for your brand, you need to highlight at least one of the criteria in which you can show the superiority of your product, and build market behavior around this. 

We know how to build a brand and develop a suitable strategy, and have done it hundreds of times. We'll help you choose a strategy, just leave it application on the website. We will call you, find out your goals and objectives, and offer a solution.