Its not easy, the temptation is to work on the solution without thinking through the problem. To bullet point it down to Six easy questions... only the answers are hard.
1. What position do you own? Positioning is thinking in reverse. Instead of starting with yourself, you start with the mind of your prospect.
Instead of asking what you are, you ask what position you already own in the mind of your prospect.
Changing minds is difficult it is much easier to work with what’s already there. Position yourself from egos and business speak. You get the answer to the question “What position do we own?” from the market place not from the marketing manager. Don’t be narrow-minded. You must look at the big picture.
7-Up’s problem is not the prospects attitude towards lemon/lime drinks, but the overwhelming share of the mind occupied by the colas. “Get me a soda or a pop means to many people Coke or Pepsi.
Most products today have a week or nonexistent position in the minds of most of their prospects. What you must do is to find a way into the mind by hooking your product, service, or concept to what’s already there.
2. What position do you want to own? Focus your position – If you try to be all things to all people, you wind up with nothing. Better to narrow the focus of your expertise. To establish a unique position as a specialist, not a jack-of-all-trades generalist.
3. Who must you out-gun? Don’t take on a market leader head-to-head. Try to select a position that no one else has a firm grip on. Remember, prospects don’t buy they choose.
4. Do you have enough money? It is better to overspend in one area than to under-spend in several areas.
5. Can you stick it out? Once you have a successful position don’t give it up. You need to keep it fresh year after year but maintain it as a precious piece of real estate in the mind of your prospects. In other words find different ways for Ronald McDonald to eat hamburgers.
6. Do you match you position? Your Look, Your Branding, Your Cloths — Do they tell people you a Banker, Lawyer or an Artist?
Set down and go through the process by looking at it from your prospects point of view.
