Editor’s Note: We are excited to welcome Reggie Holmes, Enthuse Creative, LLC as a guest blogger in part two of his blog on brand positioning.
In part one, Reggie shows us how to define our brand position. As he dives deeper into brand positioning strategies, we need to see why this is important when using your CRM. Your CRM is a tool that you use to nurture and guide prospects through the Buyer’s Journey and customers through the Customer’s Journey. As you put your brand in front of them through messaging and customer service, they need to know who you are, what you do, and how you can help them.
With that in mind, there are several positioning strategies that you can you to help strengthen your brand position. Below are some of the most common, courtesy of Hubspot, though there are a number of others.
Again, the goal is to be proactive and forward-thinking. Your positioning strategy is a plan that is implemented into your CRM strategy. It influences and guides every aspect of your branding and marketing operations, from marketing to prospects to engaging with them after you’ve made a sale and they become your customers.
Customer Service Positioning Strategy (highlights customer service/support)
Convenience-Based Positioning Strategy (highlights ease of use/accessibility/delivery)
Price-Based Positioning Strategy (highlights low price relative to competitors)
Quality-Based Positioning Strategy (highlights high-quality materials/craftsmanship)
Differentiation Strategy (highlights uniqueness/novelty of service or product)
Positioning Statement
After you have chosen a positioning strategy, the next step is to develop a positioning statement. This statement articulates your chosen positioning concisely that can be executed at every level of your operation. Clarity declares (your offering), defines (who you serve), differentiates (your offering from your competitors) and delivers (value for your audience).
Though there are several approaches to how you put your positioning statement together, the basic components of a positioning statement are as follows:
Target (how you serve – broad)
Category (who you serve – specific)
Differentiator (how you do it differently/better)
Payoff (why it matters – what it does for your customers)
Here’s one simple template we like:
[your brand name] provides [main benefit that differentiates your offering from competitors] to [your target market] who [the target market’s need] because [reason why target market should believe your differentiation statement.]
It might look something like this:
Enthuse Creative provides outsourced brand strategy and design services to new and growing professionals and services firms who don’t have in-house brand or marketing leadership because we have a system to deliver value through a clear brand vision.
Now, you try it, using the template and example above to guide you:
[your brand name] provides [main benefit that differentiates your offering from competitors] to [your target market] who [the target market’s need] because [reason why target market should believe your differentiation statement.]
A strong brand position serves as a reminder to every stakeholder in the organization not only what you do, but why you do it, how you do it, and who you do it for. Done well, it can give you an advantage over your competitors in the market, and help you align your branding and marketing with customers who know and understand, and value your unique brand.
A strong brand position also helps you stay focused on your interaction with prospects and customers. It guides how you use your CRM from referral building to automated messages. Most importantly, it helps reduce follow up fatigue because prospects and customers understand who you are and what you can do for them.
If you would like to learn more about brand positioning and how that plays an important role in your CRM implementation, give us a call at 301-332-0613 or fill out the form. We would love to talk to you.
