By Megan Moyer, senior marketing communications specialist, for the Resolutions blog series
When was the last time you considered your product’s positioning? If sales are going well and your market share is growing, you probably haven’t felt the need to scrutinize how your brand is positioned against competitors, however, that’s exactly when you should make the time to take a closer look.
It’s often when sales, distribution, and growth aren’t meeting goals that brand managers reassess all of their marketing strategies and tactics. Unfortunately, reestablishing your marketing plan is not best done during reactionary times, but rather when you can be more thoughtful, strategic, and vet ideas through research.
Regardless of whether your sales are on the upswing or in decline, if you haven’t considered your product position in over a year, why not evaluate it now? You never know when a new competitor may enter your space or the market could swing and shift the status quo in your market segment.
Your product positioning is the reference point when developing all of your branding and messaging. Every marketing tactic should be in support of your product positioning, so it’s important to get it right. Consumer research is necessary to determine if shopper perception of your brand aligns with how you have been positioning it. If it doesn’t, and you don’t get a clear picture why, competitive research may help you understand why your brand isn’t regarded in the way you have been working to establish it. Store visits, while time consuming, can also shed light on why perception isn’t aligning with positioning.
If your positioning is working, your next consideration is whether it is in need of tweaking or if it’s strong enough to stand as is in the current and future competitive environments. Retail is evolving faster than ever, so think about possible twists and turns that could be ahead. Taking the time to evaluate your product positioning is a worthwhile effort that solidifies your brand.