What’s Your Position?
Janis Plume headshot
By Janis Plume
Senior Account Manager

I

t’s important to take a stand in life, to be steadfast in who you are. The same can be said for your business—and how you position it in the marketplace. In a marketing sense, positioning is how your business, products, and services are perceived to be different from those of your competitors.

Here are three steps that will allow you to establish a strong marketing position:

1. Develop a Positioning Strategy—
Analyze the characteristics of your business and those of your competitors. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses as you determine how your business stacks up. Research your competitors to determine what they’re doing and identify how you do it better. What does your business offer that’s unique? How do you excel and what expertise do you have over your competition? How do you want your clients to think about and view your business? Formalize this strategy in writing and discuss it with your staff to make sure everyone is on the same page.

2. Write a Positioning Statement—
After a long, hard look at your strategy (or several looks), distill it down to a concise statement that sums up your marketing position in a sentence. This should serve as a backbone for all your marketing communications.

3. Spread The Word—
State your position consistently and frequently across your advertising and marketing. Regularly remind your customers how you stand out from your competitors.

Using your positioning statement in your ad materials can be as simple as a declarative headline or tagline. The key to ensuring your customers know your position is to frequently and consistently use your positioning statement in your marketing communications.

Advertising Contacts at Alaska Business:
Janis Plume
907-257-2917
janis@akbizmag.com
Christine Merki
907-257-2911
cmerki@akbizmag.com
Charles Bell
907-257-2909
cbell@akbizmag.com
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