The essential part of any marketing strategy for your company is correctly positioning your company’s services or products. While overlooked by many companies, this is the very foundation of what makes your company survive the competition.

Generally, many SMEs create products and services and then consider how to market them later. However, positioning, the basis of marketing, is not something to think about later; it should be included when creating products and services.

Good Positioning Considerations

The key to good positioning is how to differentiate the company’s value from others and offer it to customers. Only then can customers imprint it in their minds without leaking company information.

A good positioning strategy should consider four things: market/customer base/competitive analysis/value provision method.

 An additional explanation is given below.

• Market information: market size, competitors, and growth stage of the business field
• Customer group: A group with similar needs or needs.
• Competitive analysis: Analyze the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis)
• Value provision method: Analyze how to provide the highest level of products and services to customers

Based on the above analysis, it takes more time and budget to attract customers if the target customer does not have a product/service that differentiates them from others. As a result, companies that exhibit this behavior compete on price in the end and eventually in the long run. It won’t be easy to endure.

 Below, we want to generalize excellent and bad examples of positioning.

• Best practice: A company provides only one value (service, product) that the market wants. This value also sets it apart from other competitors. The market knows the company’s name and comes up with a specific product/service. The company provides high quality while continuously emphasizing its value.
• Disappointing example: The company’s value differs slightly from its competitors. However, the value it provides does not solve the problem of the target customer or does not focus on delivering value continuously.
• Worst case: Some customers in the market know the name of the company but perceive the company differently than the company intended. And it’s not known as an area of ​​focus. Also, consumers are unaware of the significant differences between the company and its competitors. 

Because of this, the company spends a lot of time and budget to attract customers. Also, the company wants to compete at a low price because of the insignificant difference. There will be no 

How do you feel now? Positioning must be approached strategically. For this, an understanding of the market must be preceded, and the characteristics of potential customers/their problems/solutions proposed by competitors/values ​​that can be differentiated/strengths and weaknesses are sufficient. It has to be recognized. If this doesn’t work, it’s likely to be a business that pours water into the bottom of the pot.

Practical Considerations

The above five companies understand exactly how to appeal to the market, but one more thing to note is that it is challenging to focus on these five strengths simultaneously.

Therefore, deciding which one you want to imprint on the consumer’s mind is advisable. I recommend you choose one of the five strategies and establish a company brand based on it.

• Market information research

 Analysis of market size, major competitors, and their positioning strategies

Decide whether your business is in its infancy, growth, or decline.

• Understanding the market

 Understand the challenges the market is facing. Try to talk to your market’s prospects, or eavesdrop on what they’re saying in online communities, etc.

If you have the time and budget, it is possible to conduct a survey. It is a necessary process to defeat competitors. Divide the prospects into groups according to “problem type,” and present a solution (demo) to each group and receive feedback.

•  Assess your competition

 Make a list of competitors. List any companies that can solve your prospect’s problem.

Evaluate your services and competitors based on these five factors: specific customer target/concentration on customer convenience/reduction in price through sector concentration/product leadership/customer intimacy. At this point, evaluating from an objective point of view, not from a biased point of view, is essential.

•  Positioning

 Identify areas where competitors are weak. Decide whether your company can focus on those areas of weakness.