The idea of positioning a brand has ruled marketing for over 20 years. We put our hopes into positioning because it offers a formula for building a bridge from our corporate meetings to the sale of our product. What we generally end up with, however, is a string of words that is irrelevant to customers.
Here’s why: What a person perceives is that person’s reality and perception is unique for each individual. We each hold different perceptual filters based on factors like beliefs, values, behaviors, experiences, and senses. Two potential customers can see the same billboard ad of a woman holding a beer bottle and have completely different responses. One person becomes stimulated; another becomes enraged.
The unfortunate reality is that no marketer has the power to position anything in the customer’s mind, which is the core promise of positioning. The notion that positions are created by marketers has to die. Each customer has their own idea of what you are.
Positioning is not something you do, but rather, is the result of your customer’s perception. Positioning is not something we can create—the act of positioning belongs to the customers.
Repositioning Positioning
Behind your positioning statement or tagline is your intention—how you desire your business to be represented to customers. Once the real role of positioning is understood, having a tagline or a positioning statement can be useful by clarifying your brand’s essence within your organization.
By examining the essence of what you are and comparing it with what your customers want, the doors open to building a business with a strong positioning in the mind of the customer. Why? Great brands merge their passion with their positioning into one statement that captures the essence of both.
A few famous examples:
  • “Always low prices. Always” is not jut a tagline; it’s Wal-Mart’s battle cry for all their buyers, merchants, and everyone who touches the customer.
  • Nike does it with, “Just do it.”
  • Apple communicated to the world that you can think different with every single one of its products.
Strong positions can last many years. Nike has waved the just do it banner for over 15 years. They continue to find new and amazing ways to say it repetitively without boring their audience. Their position gives them permission to express something that is powerful. Just do it belongs to the customer—people love that. To be able to just do itmakes you want to jump hurdles or sprint a marathon.
To integrate your positioning statement within the customer’s mind, you must start from within your business. Every member of your organization that touches the customer has to be the perfect expression of your position. And since everyone touches the customer in some way, everyone should be the best expression of your position.
Now comes the hard part: Put up everything that represents your brand on a wall. List all your brand’s touch points—every point of interaction with your customer. With a critical, yet intuitive eye, ask:
  • How can I more fluidly communicate my brand’s desired position?
  • Does every touch point look, say, and feel like the brand I want my customers to perceive?
Most marketers don’t have the clarity and conviction of following through on their words. Without certainty, you default to the status quo. Turn everything you do into an expression of your desire positioning and you can create something special. This takes courage; to actively position your brand means you have to stand for something. Only then are you truly on your way to owning your very own position in the mind of your customer.
Onward!
This article was originally published in Idea Magazine.
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