In today's fast-paced market, having an impactful, authentic positioning is more crucial than ever. As consumers' behaviors evolve, brands must adapt to stay relevant. This blog discusses the importance of positioning and how to effectively test and iterate in various stages of positioning/product development.
Why Positioning Matters
Positioning is the backbone of a brand's identity. It communicates the value proposition and differentiates a brand from its competitors. Consumers are constantly adapting their behaviors, and the pandemic further complicated consumer behavior, as the world shifted online and more interactions became digital. Brands must compete not only with their direct competitors, but with the last best experience a consumer had. Failure to adapt can render a brand irrelevant.
Positioning Challenges
One common challenge is achieving an emotional connection. While functional benefits are easier for consumers (and brands) to articulate, higher emotional connections are often elusive. Techniques such as role-playing, imagery and situational scenarios can help brands tap into these deeper emotions.
Another challenge is the gap between research and market impact. A positioning that tests well in research may not always resonate in the market. This discrepancy can be due to various factors, including market forces, differentiation, timing and retailer dynamics. To bridge this gap, it's essential to go beyond traditional metrics and use additional diagnostics to understand the visceral reactions of consumers.
The Importance of Positioning Research
Without the right research, brands risk being reduced to mere price points and statistics. Effective positioning allows brands to lean on intangible attributes they own such as reliability, status and luxury. Positioning evaluations provide a data-driven foundation for strategic decision-making, reducing risks and increasing the likelihood of success.
Our Approach to Positioning Research
Buzzback's approach to positioning research is grounded in behavioral science and involves six key pillars. These pillars ensure that brands can differentiate in a crowded market with shorter consumer attention spans. In this approach, it is crucial to measure emotions, as they are integral to brand loyalty and affinity.
Positioning research can consist of several testing phases, although rarely does a brand have time or resources to conduct research at every phase. The phases are:
Ideation - Identify directions and uncover key consumer & brand truths
Co-creation - Identify language consumers use and guide positioning development
Iteration - Gauge visceral reactions and home in on articulation
Optimization - Identify implicit reactions & key equities and guide improvement
Validation - Identify how to move forward
Focusing on iteration, optimization and validation, we'll look at how positioning research comes to life, leveraging our qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Qualitative – Nurture and Optimize
In Qualitative positioning testing, we focus on the elements and understanding which are working and what each one brings to the positioning. We start with the narrative – is it something that people connect to, and if not, how do we make it so? We use visuals to help bring the narrative to life and to ladder up to see which elements are unique, motivating, liked and fit within the brand vision.
Quantitative – To Validate and Further Optimize
Quantitative testing is about whether the positioning is communicating what the brand intends it to communicate. We consider four main components:
Impulsive Reactions – How are they reacting to the positioning immediately?
Imagery & Emotional Expressions – Get beyond functional attributes to allow brands to understand and connect in a meaningful way
Traditional Validation on KPIs – Diagnostics, metrics and attributes to help determine which positioning has the greatest potential
Language Optimization – Holistically optimize based on each of the elements and what is meaningful and relevant for the brand
Avoiding Pitfalls
As you approach your positioning, there are some common pitfalls to avoid.
Lack of Differentiation – To ensure that your brand stands out, laddering behavioral science implicit techniques ensures you have a holistic understanding of you brand's perceptions to drive desired outcomes.
Ignoring Consumer Needs – Focusing too much on the brand's perspective and scores along, brands miss out on the importance of tapping into emotional benefits and fine-tuning the message to ensure the brand is speaking the consumers language.
Assume Positioning Works Globally – Regional nuances are critical where phrasing and imagery can heavily impact perceptions which can lead to confusion, distrust and even anger towards a brand.
Testing Too Much at Once – Sharing too much stimuli for consumers to evaluate can lead to confusion and over-reporting of negative (or positive) associations that might only attribute to one element of your positioning.
Want to learn more?
Watch our Webinar on Positioning