Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wile E. Coyote, genius. I am not selling anything nor am I working my way through college. So let’s get down to cases: you are a rabbit, and I am going to eat you for supper. Now, don’t try to get away! I am more muscular, more cunning, faster, and larger than you are, and I am a genius. Why you could hardly pass the entrance examinations to kindergarten.
—Operation: Rabbit
Most people consider positioning an unnatural act foisted upon them by marketing dweebs or highly paid and clueless consultants. In truth, positioning goes far beyond a marketing exercise, management offsite, or retention of consultants. When done properly, it manifests the heart and soul of a new organization by explaining:
Why the founders started the organization
Why customers should patronize it
Why good people should work at it
Wile E. Coyote understands positioning better than most entrepreneurs: he’s a coyote, and he eats rabbits for lunch. Startups should position themselves with comparable clarity by answering one simple question: What do you do?
Developing a good answer to this question involves seizing the high ground for your startup and establishing how it differs from the competition. Then you must communicate this message to the marketplace.
CREATE ONE MESSAGE.
While it’s hard enough to create and communicate one message, many startups make the mistake of trying to establish more than one because they are afraid of being niched and want the entire market. “Our computer is for Fortune 500 MIS departments and for consumers to use at home.” Volvos are safe and sexy. Toyotas are economical and luxurious . Pick one message and stick with it for at least six months to see what happens.
“Do you describe your offering in a way that is opposite to that of your competition?”
AVOID JARGONS.
If your branding uses extensive jargon, the odds are that (a) most people won’t understand your branding, and (b) your branding won’t last long. For example, “best MP3 decoder” presumes that people understand what “MP3” and “decoder” meant in 2004. What happens when MP3 is no longer the standard coding format?
TAKE THE OPPOSITE TEST.
Most companies use the same terms to describe their product. It’s as if they all believe that their customers have never heard a product described as “high quality,” “robust,” “easy to use, fast,” or “safe.” To see what I mean, apply the Opposite Test: Do you describe your offering in a way that is opposite to that of your competition? If you do, then you’re saying something different. If you don’t, then your positioning is useless.
CASCADE THE MESSAGE.
Marketing departments typically assume that once they’ve put out the press release or run the ad, the entire world will understand the message. If you’ve crafted what you believe is the perfect branding message, first cascade it up and down your own organization. Start with your board of directors and work down to Trixie and Biff at the front desk and ensure that every employee understands the branding.
EXAMINE THE BOUNCE BACK.
You know what messages you send, but you don’t know what messages people receive. Here’s a concept: ask them to bounce back the message that you sent so that you can learn how they interpret it. In the end, it’s not so much what you say as much as what people hear.
FOCUS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, NOT ADVERTISING.
Many companies waste millions of dollars trying to establish a brand with advertising. Today brands are built on what people are saying about them on social media—not on what companies are saying about themselves.
FLOW WITH THE GO.
While you should not let the market position you, it’s also true that you cannot ultimately control your positioning. You do the best you can to craft a good message and cascade it to your employees, customers, and partners. But then the market does a strange, powerful, sometimes frustrating, but often wonderful thing; it decides on its own. This can happen because unintended customers are using your product in unintended ways.
We have always emphasized the importance of having a good website for your company because it can act as your best tool for marketing and sales. A poorly designed website can repulse people from your business and can cause you to lose customers before you even have them. Get in touch with HyperEffects to work on creating, enhancing, and making the website of your company more user-friendly.