Think about your own responses to the advertising and promotions you receive. Much of it probably goes right past you, deflected instinctively and even unconsciously by your Ad Filtering System. Yet some messages resonate with you. They connect somehow, in ways that you're not even aware of, and you respond to them. The product or service being promoted may not be any different than that of a dozen other providers. But for some reason you like this one.
This is the power of positioning.
Positioning, when it is done well, is a combination of the message, the choice of words, the channels used, the imagery involved, even the tone and voice of the message. It takes into account the branding elements of a company, and how the image and sensory aspects are structured. It is an art, a craft, and a skill. And, yes, there is even a bit of science behind it: focused research and analysis.
But can’t you simply create a great looking advertisement and put it out there? Well, have you looked out there lately? Have you tried to sift through the mind-numbing multitude of messages constantly yelling and grasping for your attention? You can’t. Because there's far too much to take in.
And your prospective customers can’t either.
According to Al Ries and Jack Trout in their book, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, “To succeed in our over-communicated society, a company must create a position in the prospect’s mind, a position that takes into consideration not only a company’s own strengths and weaknesses, but those of its competitors as well.”
To cut through the clamor and clutter of all the messages vying for our attention you must learn who your customers are, where they are, why they buy, and what it is about your product or service that really matters to them. Then use that understanding to position yourself well in their minds.
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