Most professional services companies sell something that can’t be picked up off a shelf or put through its paces. You can’t fully “experience” the product until you buy it. This intangible is usually a promise to do something in the future that will make the customer’s life better.
People buy professional services based on their reputation and trust, A strong brand helps prospects remember these things. The prospect believes the promise because they trust the service provider. Because of this, building a brand for a professional services firm is often more important than building a brand for a product.
In a service industry that is becoming more and more competitive, companies that want to keep getting clients must find a way to set themselves apart. People who do this have a much better chance of standing out in the market. They also tend to grow faster and make more money faster than their competitors, who don’t do anything different.
What should a business do? How do you compete when you barely have room to move?
Brand positioning comes into play here. It does a great job of explaining how people see the market and how businesses can get a place in the minds of their customers.
Why Is It Important To Position A Brand?
You have a reputation whether you work on it or not, so you might as well make a brand positioning plan that can help you control your reputation and brand image.
More than 100 years ago, a soda company decided to make something that had never been made before the first cola drink. By doing this, it was able to establish itself as the original. Coca-Cola is now sold in millions of places around the world and is a staple in many homes. We think of it as the best soda.
The concept of brand positioning lets a company stand out from its competitors. This helps a business build brand awareness, show what it offers, and defend its prices, all of which affect its bottom line.
But not all strategies for positioning a brand are the same, nor do they all aim to do the same thing. Your positioning and messaging will depend on what you’re selling and the industry you’re in. Let’s talk about some common strategies for positioning that can help you get started.
Strategies for Positioning a Brand
For a positioning strategy to work, you need to know a lot about the market you want to compete in. There are five main strategies that businesses can use to decide where they want to be in the market.
Convenience
A positioning strategy based on convenience tells customers that you can help make their lives easier. Whether it’s the location, how easy it is to get to, or how well it works, convenience is a big part of what makes some brands stand out. For example, customers may be more likely to buy your product if they know that your business’s return policy is easy and flexible or if they know that you offer free shipping or local delivery.
Many new customers will be interested in your business if they know you make things as simple and easy as possible. This may require getting feedback from your customers and being more flexible and adaptable to deal with their everyday problems and problems with how easy it is to use your product. However, your problem-solving skills could set you apart from competitors.
Differentiation
Most brand positioning strategies are meant to show and tell what makes your product or service different from the competition. However, a differentiation concept of brand positioning strategy relies especially on showing what makes you unique. People who like new ideas or who have been waiting for this particular new idea to be addressed or for the product to be made in a new, easier way will be happy to see a brand that speaks to their needs and wants.
Possible customers might be hesitant to buy or use a service they don’t know enough about or for which they haven’t seen a history of use. But if you tell people about your high-quality product or service, how innovative it is, and how it’s different from what your competitors offer, you could build a strong customer base and get people interested in a new and exciting way.
Price
Competitive pricing means putting your products or services in the market based on price. Usually, when a brand uses a pricing positioning strategy, they try to be the cheapest or one of the cheapest on the market, and its position is its value.
For example, many supermarket chains have their brand of products that are sold at very low prices.
Because they have lower costs for logistics and distribution, they can sell their products for less than their competitors. Buyers who care about price will often buy from them even if they don’t know the price because they know it is often the cheapest option.
Brands can also position themselves based on price if they see a gap in the market at a certain price point. Being the only choice in a certain price range gives you a strong position in the market. Brands often add new products to their line to fill a gap in the market.
Customer needs
If you want to get and keep customers, you must be able to meet their needs quickly and well. Most people are happy to pay a higher price for a product if they know that any problems they have with it will be fixed quickly and well. On the other hand, even if your products or services are the best, customers will choose someone else if they think you are cold and uninterested.
Putting your business in a way that meets the needs of your customers is a smart move that will help you stand out in the market.
How often have you chosen a restaurant, service provider, or even a customer based on how well they treat their customers? Several times! Great customer service can help a business, especially if you work in an industry that isn’t known for good customer service. Customer service not only helps you justify a higher price point, but it also helps you connect with your customers on an emotional level.
Quality
When a position a professional services firm wants to highlight the quality of its products, it will use this method. Sometimes, you have to pay a lot for this kind of high quality. The quality of a product can be shown by how well it is made, how few of them are made, how good they are, or even by how they treat the quality, which makes it more expensive to make. Proof of good results, a good return on investment, and glowing customer reviews can show how well the service works.
Shoppers who want to save money can skip your brand in favor of a cheaper one. But that’s where buyer personas come in. If focusing on quality (with a higher price) is the right strategy for your brand, it will depend on the income and buying habits of the people you want to reach.
Conclusion
Any business that wants to be successful, no matter how big or small, needs an effective brand positioning strategy. Brands that are consistent in how they present themselves not only build customer loyalty and improve their image but also make more money. In reality, being different from your competitors is not enough to win in the market. It’s not enough to just be different. A business that wants to take over the market should do something amazing to get its brand known. It could be your product or service, your mission or values or anything else that makes you stand out in the market. When you try to stand out from the crowd, you’re just competing, but when you tell people what makes you special, you position your brand.
