Positioning is all about claiming a piece of (desirable!) real estate in a prospect’s mind. As marketers, our goal is to create top of mind awareness for a brand in its target category. When a potential customer has a need or desire that falls into that category, we want our clients … and their products … to be the first desirable option that comes to mind. Being top of mind on its own is not enough (forget what you’ve heard about how any press is good press … people make buying decisions based on trust). Preferred, positive brand awareness is what we shoot for … every day.
And yes, it’s much more efficient to use a ‘rifle versus shotgun’ approach. A rifle approach focuses marketing energy on a specific target while a shotgun approach scatters that same energy over a much broader audience … including many people who are not (and may never be) potential customers. A lot of resources and energy can get wasted with the wrong strategy.
Choose a target audience and frame your message carefully so that the benefits of your offering are appealing and relevant to those prospects. Remember: It’s all about them, not you. Position yourself for success by 1) setting your sites on a piece of market space that makes sense for your company; and then by 2) creating a positive brand identity that is sticky and has staying power. The result will be marketing success. ….. Lori.
