How Anyone Can Create a Strong Advertising Positioning Strategy for a Small-Town Business

Plan your work and work your plan

Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

What do I mean by positioning? It’s the most powerful tool in your advertising arsenal.

If I asked you to name the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, you would answer Charles Lindberg.

You might not know the second person to fly solo across the Atlantic. It was Burt Hinkler.

If you didn't know Burt, what are the chances of you knowing the third person to make the Atlantic flight?

Chances are you do — Emilia Earhart.

Was Emilia the third person to fly solo across the Atlantic — or the first what?

The first woman.

Emilia is in a category all by herself as number one.

That's how positioning works. Position your product away from your competition by creating your own category.

We place businesses and products in categories; once that position is solidified, it's almost impossible to change it.

Consider the following positioning mistakes.

Would you buy the following: Ivory Shampoo, Life Savers Gum, Bic Pantyhose, Chanel for Men, Coors Water, Adidas Cologne, Pierre Cardin Wine, or Levi's Shoes?

All were on the market at one time or another and failed miserably.

But as you can see, none of these band names work with the product attached to them because the brand name has been positioned so powerfully that any deviation won’t work.

Betty Crocker Tires, Budweiser Window Cleaner, or Pennzoil Cake Mix will not work.

Betty Crocker Cake Mix, Budweiser Beer, and Pennzoil Motor Oil work just fine because we have those products etched in our brains.

Tide has been the number-one selling laundry detergent since the 1920s.

When Procter and Gamble decided to make a detergent for your dishwasher, they didn't call it “Tide for Dishes.”

They called it “Cascade.”

Using this premise, let's properly position your product, business, or service using the following steps:

Who is the actual market? 

If we're going to market a candy bar, who is our market?

A candy bar is a snack, a source of energy, a reward to kids, and sometimes a substitute for a meal.

In some cases, chocolates are advertised as fat-free. Chocolate could be a health food.

As a result, candy bars can be positioned differently in different markets.

This first step is to find all the possible needs your business, product, or service fills and position the product correctly to the market.

Who are the real competitors? 

Who are the real competitors of McDonald's?

Burger King and Wendy's, of course, but what about Pizza Hut, Arby's, Dairy Queen, and Subway?

Other hamburger places are direct competitors, and different types of foods could be considered secondary competitors.

McDonald's tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce us to adult foods with their failed Arch Deluxe sandwich line some years ago.

Trying to move away from what and who you are is never a good idea.

How do consumers evaluate their options? 

Once you understand this, positioning is a more straightforward process.

Customers who have problems seek products and services to fill their needs.

How they evaluate you and your competition is the real key to positioning.

Bayer Aspirin, Excedrin, Advil, Tylenol, and Alive are all pain relievers positioned in different ways.

·      Bayer is recommended for treating heart issues

·      Tylenol is aspirin free.

·      Excedrin is the headache medicine

·      Advil is a fever reducer

·      Alive is two tablets every twelve hours – longer lasting

They all do the same thing, but each is positioned for a specific market away from their competitors.

How are your competitors perceived in the marketplace? 

Kraft Foods is a good example here. They're primarily known for cheese but try to enter other markets.

For example, Jams and Jellies. Number one brand, Smuckers - Not Kraft.

Mayonnaise. Number one brand, Hellman's - Not Kraft.

Their best brand, with 80% of the market, is Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

They've done an excellent job of positioning their cream cheese.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese is the best in this category.

Where are the gaps? 

The Sharper Image catalog came along in the late 70s - early 80s featuring upscale, trendy, expensive gift ideas primarily for men in executive positions. These products fill a gap that other merchants were not serving.

Plan your work and work your plan. 

When the position is finalized, every piece of literature, every TV ad, newspaper, whatever must reinforce that position in the consumer's mind.

Tell them how it solves the problem, how it differs from competitors, where it is, how much it is, why it's worth the price, and how to get it.

Watch what happens. 

Evaluate the positioning plan and get feedback as often as possible from as many sources as possible.

Monitor and adjust as needed as the market changes.

As mentioned above, would you buy the following: Ivory Shampoo, Life Savers Gum, Bic Pantyhose, Chanel for Men, Coors Water, Adidas Cologne, Pierre Cardin Wine, or Levi's Shoes?

All were on the market at one time or another.

Don't make the same mistake in your business.

Create a position you can stand on and take a stand.

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