The Positioning Funnel
Simple Steps to Help Bring Out Your
Company Positioning Story - A must for every
business no matter the size!
What is a Business Position
From
our experience, as Canada's leading supplier
of branded products for businesses, it is clear
that the majority of businesses in Canada have
not spent enough (or any) time in developing
a positioning story for their business.
We
also know that having a clear, concise position
statement (which then is developed into
your brand) is one of the major factors,
which will determine long-term success and
allow your business to be one of the survivors.
Statistics Canada reports that only 1 out
of 5 businesses will survive 10 years.
So
what is a position? A position is the simple,
credible plot of your story of why customers
should do business with you. This story
must be unique to you, something that you
are passionate about and something that
can be summarized in one or two key words.
Every
expert and every success story of positioning
speaks to the need to pick one important
characteristic that will help you differentiate
your company from the competition. Never
imitate, never duplicate but differentiate
your company.
"If
you can't write your movie idea on the back
of a business card, you ain't got a movie."
Samuel Goldwyn
Positioning
is About Finding the PLOT of Your Story
We
all know these successful companies. They
are long-time leaders in their extremely
competitive (they all have dozens if not
hundreds of competitors) market by owning
a single, credible, position.
| NIKE |
is |
PERFORMANCE |
| COKE |
is |
REFRESHMENT |
| MERCEDES |
is |
ENGINEERING |
| JAGUAR |
is |
STYLE |
| PORSCHE |
is |
DESIGN |
| VOLVO |
is |
SAFETY |
"Success
means never letting the competition define
you. Instead you have to define yourself
based upon a point of view you care deeply
about."
Tom Chappell, Tom's of Maine
Translate
This PLOT into the STORY that Your Customer
Will See
Once
you understand the position that you want
to own (the plot to your story) then it
is time to begin to write the novel.
Volvo
is an incredible success story. They have
built this success based upon absolutely,
unequivocally, living their position of
Safety. They own this in the automotive
market. They are able to charge appropriately,
they do not require the massive discounts
of a GM or Ford. And they have life-long,
raving fanatic customers; which does not
exist with the North American brands.
When
Volvo tells their story to the customer,
they translate their internal position of
"safety" into the slogan of "Volvo
for life."
An
example of how far they go with this is
their "Volvo Saved My Life Club."
If a company saves your life - you are a
customer for life! sell to you
The Positioning Funnel - Develop Your
Position
First
step is to look inside yourself and ask
these five simple questions:
1) What do I stand for?
2) What is my character?
3) What is my promise and how do I back
it up?
4) Why would customers want to buy from
me?
5) Why does what I do matter?
Then
look outside for help in things you might
not be able to see yourself:
1) Ask everyone that works for you for a
story about what they think you care deeply
about, what you are doing well and what
they think your brand story is.
2) Ask three close friends the same question.
3) Ask your top 2 or 3 suppliers the same
question.
Take Your Findings and Run Them Through
The Positioning Funnel
Now
that you have assembled all of this important
information try the following exercise and
then share your findings with those who
have helped you get to this point.
Case Study - NEBS DELUXEPINPOINT Payroll
- Developing our New Position
NEBS
DELUXEPINPOINT acquired a small payroll
processing company in 2004 and has been
expanding and rolling out this service to
200,000 plus customers. In late 2005 we
took our early learnings, completed the
research and exercises that were recommended
earlier and then developed a new position.
From
our research the following key messages
and themes emerged that were used to run
through the Positioning Funnel exercise.
- On-line
hosted web service, with the highest level
of security and privacy was critical
- Aimed
and designed for the unique needs of smaller
businesses with 1 to 99 employees - where
they need someone to do this work for
them - they cannot afford a payroll expert
on staff
- Focused
on solving payroll issues all businesses
have and with unique features targeted
at specific lines of business (like contractors,
retailers or restaurants) to match NEBS
DELUXEPINPOINT
historical strength
- With
leading functionality that these segments
can use - like statutory pay calculator,
direct deposits and emailing of pay stubs
- With
total security and peace of mind so our
customers will never have to worry if
their employees are paid
- That
offers a total value that is a low cost
solution
- Which
offers "hand-holding" best in
class service because our target market
shouldn't have to worry if their payroll
is ready or right - that is our job
Now
Put This Information Into the Positioning
Funnel and Develop Your Plot
Live Your Story…Live Your Position…You
Can Never Stop Writing It
You
can do this and we know from our work with
over 200,000 Canadian businesses that if you
spend time and do this you will have a significantly
higher chance of succeeding.
Once
you have your position, it is not over. Picture
it like a soap-opera, the story never ends
and it is important that you maintain absolute
consistency so your customers never fail to
recognize your brand or understand your story!
Good luck with your story.
Other
Articles:
Direct
Marketing: Start using Direct Mail to build
your Brand Identity
Promo
Products: Using Promo Products to Attract
and Keep Customers
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