Positioning is a matter of perspective

Having a perspective on the world as well as on society and its market is the starting point for successful brand positioning. Because it is based on an approach that better responds to the imperatives that companies must address: the recruitment of talent, the pressure of social and environmental expectations, the growing power of stakeholders.

The limits of an outside-in approach

Defining the similarity and differentiation points of a product from its competitors remains an essential phase. But is it enough to identify and respond to the various external expectations while analysing the competition? Market research and benchmarking have their limits and sometimes lead to erasing the differences that express a real brand positioning. Moreover, the capacity for technical and technological imitation makes product-based differentiation more fragile. Finally, nowadays all brands claim to be customer-driven – which is in fact far from being true – because they use CRM tools in a more or less adapted way. All these factors reduce the character of brands – and therefore their positioning – and often result in a simple but fratricidal war over prices.

An inside-out view is essential

Unlike techniques and technologies, the culture, expertise and vision of a brand – its identity – are very difficult to imitate. This identity emerges from the way the brand looks at its environment, what motivates it to participate in it and what it really wants to bring to it. This point of view is the foundation of what the brand is, of its way of acting and of its vision. Depending on whether we look at the world from the top of the Himalayas or from a beach in the Maldives, from the Empire State Building or from a mountain chalet, our view of our environment changes. Our purpose, culture and values are not the same either. And we are more clearly asserting a specific positioning that not only finds its customers but also attracts talent and investors, and then nurtures and reinforces their loyalty throughout their journey and relationship with the brand.

Finding the right balance

Once again, the branding approach and the tools defined by marketing are complementary. We must therefore take into account what these two approaches can bring us. A brand is first positioned by what it is and what motivates it (its identity). It then refines the positioning of its products or services by taking into account not only what it is but also who it is for and its competitive universe. It is the right balance of these various factors that will enable it to establish itself on a market in the long term.

What to remember:

• A brand positioning is first and foremost the expression of a raison d’être based on a vision of society and a desire to contribute to it;
  
  
• A product or service positioning expresses the identity of the brand while integrating the dimensions related to the target audience and the competitive universe.

…and to conclude, a little Chinese proverb:

“To know others is science; to know oneself is intelligence”.