When you look at your company, what sets it, your product and/or service apart from your competition? What perceived or tangible value do you provide to your customers and how is it different than your competitors?
The goal of Competitive positioning is to define how you will differentiate your company, product, and/or service and create value for your consumers.
In order to make a lot of money in your business, you have to claim a unique spot in the competitive landscape and focus your company to deliver on that strategy. A good strategy includes the following examples and more:
- Market profile: size of market, number of competitors, market growth phase
- Customer segments: groups of similar consumers
- Competitive analysis / SWOT: Internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats in the marketplace
- Positioning strategy: take advantage of the opportunities you find and create in the marketplace
- Value proposition: What’s your competitive advantage. Why should consumers buy from you?
Separate yourself from your competition by creating a new category
and differentiating yourself to stand apart from everyone else in
the minds of your customers
When it is obvious to your market how your offering is different than that of your competition, it’s much easier to generate new prospects and lead them to buy. Without differentiation or a competitive advantage, it takes more time and money to show prospects why they should choose you.
Remember, if your customers can’t see a visible difference between your company and your competition, you most often end up competing on price.
Price is a tough position to sustain over the long term unless you have deep pockets and you can constantly innovate to make your product or service easier to manufacture and less expensive to deliver.