What is Positioning and Why Do You Need to Know?

There is an information overload problem in today's society. Consumers are blasted with advertisements coming at them from all directions. How do you make yours stand out? How do you get the consumer to notice YOU?

The answer is positioning. Positioning is a tool you can use to reach your target consumers in today's crowded marketplace. Because of this high volume of information, the average consumer generally only accepts what they are familiar with, based on prior knowledge and experience. This makes it difficult for a new business to reach its market.

But this is where the beauty of positioning shows itself: consumers oversimplify the information presented to them, and they only accept things based on their perceptions. This means that, as a business targeting that consumer, you just need to present a simplified message that is consistent with what the consumer already believes. Instead of focusing on your product, you focus on serving the perceptions of the consumer. In basic terms, it's about them, not you.

What's the easiest way of doing this? Be first. If you are the first-ever in a category of products, good for you. If you are not, that's okay too. Find a unique position that you can claim, and be the first one to it. People rank brands in their minds, so if you aren't number one, relate yourself as an alternative to the number one brand. For example, 7-Up was number three, behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi. So it marketed itself as the "Uncola". That's smart positioning - and it worked.

Attacking the leading brand to dethrone it is usually a mistake, particularly in the short-term. Instead, try to grab some of their market share by presenting yourself as a smart alternative. If you're not the first in line, then you need to find a unique, unoccupied position in the minds of consumers. Here are a few different ways you can reposition yourself as a unique brand to the consumer:

• Target a specific, under-served age group
• Target a gender that the others are missing
• Offer a quantity that the others are not
• Offer a particular price point that your competition is not

It's often said that when you try to please everyone, you please no one. This statement couldn't be more true for your marketing. Find a unique target, don't try to make your product appeal to the masses. If you try to be everything for everyone, you will wind up being nothing to everyone.

This does not stop at products: anything you plan on selling, including services, need proper positioning. And it takes time - but it is time well worth the trouble. That position that you settle on will influence your entire marketing mindset. Hammering the consumers with your unique position will carve out a place in their minds for you and your brand.

Find that angle that makes you special, and craft your marketing around that idea. When you find that angle, you've found your position in the marketplace. Focus on it, and the consumers will take notice.