In my first post on positioning I covered the type of information needed to develop good positioning statements, specifically the information needed about:
- Your product or service
- Your target customer
- Your market and
- The competition.
Now I’ll discuss:
- Organizing the information
- Analyzing that information
- Developing the positioning statements
- Testing those statements.
Develop a competitive feature matrix.
Having collected the needed information, develop a matrix with your product and the competition along one side and the key features along the other. Add information accordingly, as in the example below.
Competitive Feature Matrix Example
|
|
Our Car |
Car “A” |
Car “B” |
Car “C” |
|
Performance |
0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds |
0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds |
0 to 60 mph in 9.5 seconds |
0 to 60 mph in 10 seconds |
|
Special Features |
Stability control Tire pressure monitor Back-seat airbags |
Leather seats Automatic AC Sun and moon roof |
Hybrid 46 mpg Driver knee airbags |
Stability control 34 mpg Back-seat airbags |
|
Warranty |
3 yr / 36,000 miles
|
3 yr / 36,000 miles |
5 yr / 50,000 miles |
3 yr / 36,000 miles |
|
M.S.R.P |
$ 24,500 |
$ 28,500 |
$ 25,700 |
$18,000 |
Analyze all the information you’ve gathered, especially the data in the matrix.
Look for the holes, the niches that no one else fills. Specifically, look for:
- Your strengths
- Your competitors’ weakness(es)
- Areas with little or no competition.
During this part of the process, it may help to develop a grid, placing each product on an axis using two differentiating elements at a time. For example, the grid below compares price and performance.
Price/Performance Chart
|
|
Average Performance |
Good Performance |
High Performance |
|
$30,000 |
|
|
Car “A” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$25,000 |
|
Car “B” |
Our Car |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$20,000 |
Car “C” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Analyzing the chart, it’s clear our product:
- Is the best-value high-performance car
- Has better performance than the other cars in its price range
- Is less expensive than cars with equivalent performance.
Develop your positioning statements.
Now develop the positioning statements, which describe how you want your product or service to be perceived. The statements should define your targeted place in the market. They must differentiate and distinguish you from the competition. They must present your product or service in such a way that the benefits and features appear unique or at least unusual. They must make it clear how you reduce the customer’s pain or enhance his/her gain. And they must do all that in one or two sentences.
In our example, some possible positioning statements are:
- “Our Car gives you the best performance for the money.”
- “Our Car is the lowest-priced, high-performance car on the market.”
- “Our Car has the best resale value in its class because of its standard features and competitive warranty.”
Test the positioning statements.
Ask key people in your company to review the positioning statements and evaluate whether they are:
- Simple
- Straightforward
- Defensible
- Original
- Available
- Differentiated from competition
- Compelling, attractive or desirable, and
- Focused on customer benefits (either alleviating pain or enhancing gain).
Refine or redo the statements as needed.
Summary
Developing positioning statements takes patience, insight and perspective. Because detachment and focus are critical, it can help to work with an outsider during this process. An independent consultant can often bring the detached viewpoint essential to success.
In any event, do not skimp on this process. Carefully crafted positioning statements can help ensure the consistency, longevity and integrity of your communication program.
For more information, see the classic book, Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout, McGraw Hill, 1996.
