Our previous blog explored five crucial branding strategies every B2B business should know to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
By narrowing your target audience, focusing on problem-solving, developing a unique selling proposition, solidifying your brand promise, and creating strong visual branding guidelines, you set your B2B business on the path to success. These strategies enhance your brand's visibility and build lasting client relationships.
Today, we'll focus on brand positioning and give you 3 effective ways to position your business for success.
What is Brand Positioning?
Successful branding isn't just about a catchy logo or a clever tagline. Imagine this – you're at a networking event, and someone asks about your business. Your response isn't just about what you do; it's about what you represent, what you promise, and how you're different. That is the essence of brand positioning, and it's the key to making your mark.
Brand positioning encapsulates your company's values, mission, and the unique benefits you offer your customers. It's about creating a distinct and memorable impression in the minds of your audience, one that compels them to choose your brand over others.
At its core, brand positioning is about understanding what your brand stands for and how it differs from competitors.
When you effectively communicate your brand's positioning, you align your brand with the values and aspirations of your customers, creating an emotional connection that exceeds the basic features of your products or services. This connection is crucial because it promotes brand loyalty and turns customers into advocates for your brand.
Moreover, effective brand positioning provides a clear framework and direction for your messaging, ensuring consistency across all channels. This consistency builds trust and credibility, which are essential for long-term success.
When done right, brand positioning differentiates your brand and creates a strong emotional connection with your audience. This emotional connection is key to building brand loyalty. Customers who strongly bond with your brand are likelier to choose it over competitors, even if other options are available.
How to Position Your Business
1. Perceptual Mapping
Perceptual mapping is a powerful visual tool that helps you understand how your brand is perceived relative to competitors based on key attributes that matter to your customers. These maps typically use two axes to represent different attributes, such as price versus quality, innovation versus tradition, or luxury versus affordability. By plotting your brand and its competitors on this map, you can gain valuable insights into the competitive landscape and identify opportunities for differentiation.
Creating a perceptual map involves several steps:
Identify Relevant Attributes: Start by identifying the most important attributes to your customers. These could be functional attributes like durability and performance or emotional attributes like trust and prestige. Surveys, focus groups, and customer feedback can help determine the most relevant attributes.
Collect Data: Gather data on how your brand and its competitors are perceived along these attributes. Customer surveys, market research reports, and social media analysis can be involved.
Plot the Map: Use the data to plot your brand and competitors on a two-dimensional graph. Each axis represents one of the selected attributes. Each brand's position on the map shows how it is perceived in relation to others.
Analyse the Map: Look for clusters and gaps. Clustered brands are seen as similar, while gaps represent opportunities for differentiation. For example, in the skincare industry, a perceptual map might reveal that many brands are positioned as high-end luxury products. However, there may be a gap in the market for eco-friendly and affordable skincare solutions.
You can position your brand to fill unmet needs by identifying these gaps. This strategic insight allows you to tailor your marketing messages, product development, and overall brand strategy to exploit these opportunities.
2. Pyramid of Positioning
The Pyramid of Positioning is a comprehensive strategic model designed to define and communicate your brand's unique identity, differentiators, and benefits. It's a hierarchical framework that ensures your brand's messaging is cohesive, clear, and compelling. Here's a detailed look at how the Pyramid of Positioning works:
Base of the Pyramid: Core Identity At the pyramid's foundation is your brand's core identity – the essence of who you are and what you stand for. That includes your brand's mission, vision, and core values. It answers fundamental questions like "What is our purpose?" and "What do we stand for?" This core identity is the guiding principle for all your branding efforts and helps ensure consistency in your messaging.
Middle of the Pyramid: Differentiators The next level of the pyramid focuses on your brand's differentiators – the unique attributes that set you apart from your competitors. That could include unique product features, exceptional customer service, innovative processes, or a distinctive brand story. Identifying and highlighting these differentiators is crucial because they provide a compelling reason for customers to choose your brand over others.
Top of the Pyramid: Emotional and Functional Benefits At the top are the emotional and functional benefits your brand provides customers. Functional benefits are your product or service's tangible, practical advantages, such as quality, reliability, or efficiency. On the other hand, emotional benefits are the intangible advantages that appeal to the customers' emotions and psychological needs, such as a sense of security, pride, or happiness. You create a holistic value proposition that resonates deeply with your audience by addressing both functional and emotional benefits.
The Pyramid of Positioning is a structured approach that ensures every aspect of your brand's identity and value proposition is clearly defined and effectively communicated. This framework helps you create a cohesive and compelling brand narrative that resonates with your target audience, builds strong emotional connections, and drives customer loyalty.
3. Storytelling and Archetypes
Every great brand has a story that connects with its audience on a deeper level. You can create a powerful narrative that speaks to your customers' values, aspirations, and emotions using storytelling and brand archetypes. Here's a closer look at how you can use storytelling and archetypes to strengthen your brand positioning:
Understanding Brand Archetypes: Brand archetypes are universal characters or personas representing specific human motivations and desires. These archetypes, rooted in Carl Jung's psychological theories, help brands convey consistent and relatable narratives. There are twelve primary archetypes, each embodying distinct traits and values. For example, the Hero archetype is about courage and overcoming challenges, while the Caregiver focuses on nurturing and compassion.
Crafting Your Brand's Story: To use brand archetypes effectively, identify the archetype that best aligns with your brand's core identity and values. For instance, the Ruler archetype might be the best fit if your brand stands for innovation and leadership.
Building Emotional Connections: Storytelling based on archetypes helps create emotional connections with your audience. When customers see your brand consistently embodying the traits of a specific archetype, it fosters familiarity and trust.
Consistent Narrative Across Touchpoints: Ensure your brand's story and archetype are reflected across all customer touchpoints. That includes your marketing campaigns, social media presence, customer service, and product design. Consistency in your brand narrative reinforces your positioning and makes your brand more memorable.
Effective brand positioning involves understanding your market, defining your brand's uniqueness, and consistently communicating this through compelling stories. By using tools like perceptual maps, the Pyramid of Positioning, and storytelling, you can ensure your brand stands out and connects with the right audience.
Ready to turn your vision into a brand reality? At Metaka Branding Studio, we specialise in crafting brand identities that capture attention and build lasting relationships with your target audience. Don't navigate the complexities of branding alone. Reach out now, and let's bring your vision to life.
