Learn Five Marketing Positioning Strategies to Carve Out Your Spot
In my last blog, I discussed 6 rules to create a competitive advantage and win. In this week's blog, I want to cover five marketing positioning strategies that will help you differentiate your product/service and carve out your spot in a competitive landscape. These five positioning strategies will help you focus your company and help you create market value.
5 Key Competitive Positioning Strategy Guidelines and Caveats
As you watch TV commercials and marketing strategies unfold in competitive markets you'll see one of these five positioning strategies at work. As you learn, study, and use these strategies you'll see powerful results as you position your brand for success—even against heated competitive spaces.
1. Front Attack: A front attack strategy is a direct approach based on the customer's perception of your overwhelming superiority in solution, price or reputation.
Guidelines and Caveats
• 3:1 advantage
• Requires size, speed or surprise
• Resource intensive
• Blatant/obvious
• Most often used and easily defeated strategy
2. Flanking: A flanking strategy shifts the focus of the customer's buying criteria to new or different issues that favor your solution.
Guidelines and Caveats
• Don't play by their rules
• Right timing
• Right target
• Right Issues
• Focus on business value
• Don't open the "playing field"
3. Fragment: A fragment strategy divides the opportunity into smaller pieces and focuses the customer on a subset of the issues that you can address.
Guidelines and Caveats
• Leverage your position
• Requires support of your product or service
• Pick the correct base for the future
• Monitor the cost of each sale
4. Defend: A defend strategy protects your position from the inevitable assault from your competitors
Guidelines and Caveats
• Articulate your credibility
• Articulate your business value
• Beware of isolation
• Keep your eye on your competitors
5. Develop: A develop strategy establishes a position for a possible future value your competitors might not recognize.
Guidelines and Caveats
• Not in the position to compete
• Establish presence for the future
• Focus on credibility
• Qualify your business value
How are you currently positioned in your market? Which of the five positioning strategies are you using? Think about your nearest competitor, the one that's a thorn in your side, how are they positioned against you? How will you counter position yourself and win by presenting a stronger consumer/user value than the competition.