Hi guys! Here’s part 2 of our Positioning Tool Be sure to do the exercise at the bottom to get the most you can out of this.

3. Select your target customers. All too often companies tell me their target customers are anyone who’s willing to buy what they sell. This approach oozes desperation (you’re better than that) and lack of focus (you’re smarter than that). Are you moving your image upstream (to be higher ticket/exclusive) or downstream (to be lower ticket/more accessible)? How does your target market define value? How do they choose among vendors?

4. Factor in current trends. Countless companies are jumping on the environmental/ sustainability bandwagon with “green” products, and alternative energy. What trends are on the way in that you could identify with? Which are on the way out that you should distance from?

5. Formulate your four levels. Your Business Objective drives your Business Strategy which drives your Market Strategy which drives your Positioning Strategy. For instance, if your Business Objective is to have fewer customers who spend more per sale, then your Business Strategy will reflect this in the products or services you will be offering. Your Market Strategy will be where you determine how to find those new customers and how to communicate with them. Your Positioning Strategy will determine the messages you communicate to this new target customer to drive sales of your more costly product line.

If you aren’t happy with your business, or you want to stretch to the next level of revenue, you’re ready to re-position your company. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to get started:

* Determine emerging trends to capitalize on — this will yield your Vision viability assessment;

* Determine core competencies — this will yield your competitive threat assessment;

* Clarify the problem/pain you solve — this will yield your target markets and analysis of them;

* Articulate the benefits/drivers/impacts — this will clarify how your customers buy and who they listen to/are influenced by.

From the above analysis you’ll be able to synthesize your opportunities plus understand the value chains in your target markets. The result of combining these two outcomes will yield your differentiating attributes, which forms your positioning strategy and statement. The net-net of your positioning statement is filling in the following statement:

“For ______________________[customer segment] (which was derived from your target markets), __________________ [product/service] (your vision and offering) is _____________________ [2-3 most important benefits and reasons to buy] (your incentive value chain and core competencies). Because compared to _________________ [primary competitor/alternative], ______________________ [key reasons for differentiation] (these are your differentiating attributes)”

I’m excited to share this tool with you all, and I’m even MORE excited to hear what your positioning statements sound like when you do the exercise. Please feel free to send them to me, and if you haven’t signed up for my CEO Freedom Summit yet, grab your seat now for only $997 (that’s literally a $2,000 discount from full price). http://www.ceofreedomsummit.com/

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter

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