Below are five strategies that are most relevant to positioning a firm like yours:. Ready to develop a brand positioning strategy for your own firm? The steps below will give you a solid roadmap to get there. Step 1. Start with your overall business imperatives. What are you trying to accomplish as a firm? Your positioning is a fundamental pillar of business strategy, and it affects how you drive growth and attract the talent you need to sustain your expansion.
That way, when you begin formulating your positioning statement you will a clear destination in mind. Step 2. Research your target clients and competitors. This type of investigation is often called brand research , and it is typically conducted by an independent entity to ensure its confidentiality and encourage more honest feedback from participants. It usually involves interviews with current clients, prospects and referral sources. It also includes an analysis of your competitors — what they are saying about themselves and how your audience perceives them.
Step 3. Identify your differentiators. This is where your business goals and brand research turn into marketing gold. Strong differentiators must also meet three other criteria: they must be 1 true, 2 provable and 3 relevant to your target audience. If you find your existing differentiators lacking, you may decide to pursue a new area of focus or concentrate in a particular area of strength.
While this approach will be aspirational at first, it can work so long as you truly commit your firm to it and can prove you are doing it going forward. If you are struggling to think of possible differentiators, consult this list of 21 professional service differentiators for ideas.
To learn more about uncovering your differentiators, check out our free Differentiation Guide for Professional Services Firms. Also, I suggest you read this blog post on competitive differentiation. Step 4. Craft your brand positioning statement. A positioning statement distills your key buying propositions into a short paragraph.
Instead, think of it as a source you can return to again and again when you need inspiration to describe your firm or persuade people to buy from you. A brand positioning statement can take two different forms: a crafted paragraph or a prompted statement.
Developing a crafted paragraph takes more skill and time, but some firms find that it translates more easily into marketing messages. A prompted statement is quicker and simpler to assemble — your team fills in the blanks with the appropriate information. Our team of attorneys, engineers, CIOs, executive directors and project managers is uniquely positioned to make your practice more productive and profitable.
When you need the best legal IT advice and support, Newco is the easy choice. Whichever format you choose, your brand positioning statement should include the following elements:.
Why do clients choose them over other firms? Being alert to body language enables you to probe a little deeper, rather than simply accepting verbal responses at face value. Be aware of misinterpreting body language or relying on it as your sole source of information. Check for disparities between what is said and what you observe. It is important to triangulate information from different sources to form a holistic picture by listening to what patients say and considering what you know about them.
Look at clusters or combinations of behaviours rather than a single indicator Borg, A sweating patient may be nervous — or just hot or experiencing symptoms of the menopause. It might be safer to conclude it is nerves if the sweating is combined with hand-wringing and poor eye contact.
How close people stand or sit varies across cultures. Commonly we let sexual partners and close friends get closer to us physically than we would allow strangers although in crowded situations we may tolerate strangers being closer than we would otherwise. Be sensitive to this. In some cultures, direct eye contact is considered rude; averting the eyes may indicate respect rather than shiftiness or untruthfulness. Body language may vary across different age groups and according to gender, but basic human emotions tend to share universal facial expressions regardless of culture, age or social class.
Consider asking permission before touching a patient, even for task-related touching such as taking blood pressure or pulse. Non-verbal messages can be more powerful than words. Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion. You are here: Assessment skills. Communication skills 3: non-verbal communication. Abstract It is impossible not to communicate in an interaction, and non-verbal communication can sometimes be more powerful than words.
It includes all of the visual elements e. Considerations for multi-product companies:. Organizations with multiple products should thoughtfully consider how they structure their brand hierarchy with naming conventions and product maps.
There are many brand hierarchy models to follow, including a Branded House e. The chosen brand hierarchy influences how the organization structures future growth and names and positions products. Different hierarchies may call for different approaches to brand personas, messaging and visual identities. However, a refreshed visual brand can be a strong signal to the marketplace that an organization is doing something different or changing gears.
It creates an eye-catching platform that starts conversations with audiences about what is changing. Like brand voice guidelines, visual brand guidelines provide standards for how an organization should use graphic elements of a brand, including the logo, brandmark and typography, regardless of where and when the brand shows up to ensure consistency of look and feel.
This consistency matters. Mood boards are an effective way to inspire and guide the creation of a brand identity that reflects and aligns with the strategic brand position. Mood boards bring all of the visual elements of a brand e. Do those feelings match the emotions the brand is trying to convey? Will the brand resonate with the targeted audiences? Will it stand out in the industry?
Organizations that support their brand position and promise through clear and consistent actions, behaviors and operational decisions will see a measurable impact on their business.
Organizations that align their workplace culture , core values and internal experience with their brand position create stronger relationships with employees, resulting in greater employee engagement and retention.
Externally, brands will attract values-aligned customers, build greater trust and deliver a more positive customer experience when they deliver on the brand position and experience they promised.
Traditional methods to evaluate the business impact of brand include brand awareness and equity studies and corporate valuations that tie a brand to a dollar amount. Another way to evaluate the strength of a brand is to see how well it performs during a disruptive time. No organization wants to find itself in a crisis, but the reality is that most will at some time. An organization in crisis may or may not have the brand equity and trust to emerge from the crisis successfully.
Challenging business times like crises require organizations to take a hard look at themselves and assess the following: Have we proven that we do the right thing over time? Have we kept our promises? Have we built trusted relationships with our audiences?
How effectively a brand has delivered on its position and promises can determine how difficult it is for an organization to emerge from a crisis. It may even be the determining factor of whether the organization can emerge — or if it was the final straw for the audiences and business.
Strategic positioning paired with a strong brand identity holds power to establish memorable connections that build better brands for a better world. Beehive Strategic Communication has supported numerous organizations with strategic brand positioning services.
We develop brand positioning that resonates with both internal and external audiences, first looking outside and then inside to differentiate brands and support their growth. Is your organization searching for a strategic brand positioning firm? Nicki Gibbs leads strategy and services development at Beehive Strategic Communication.
She has more than 20 years of strategic communication experience at Twin Cities PR agencies and on behalf of clients ranging from family-held businesses to multi-national organizations. Nicki helps companies discover, articulate and activate their authentic brand positions to reflect their purpose and values, and to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.
By using our website, you agree to our privacy policy and our use of cookies, which helps us improve your browsing experience. More information. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. How Strategic Brand Positioning Supports Purposeful Business Growth 1: The role of brand in business 2: Strategic inputs needed to secure strong brand positioning 3: Using insights to inform brand expression 4: Activating a differentiated brand to grow with purpose.
Business benefits of a strategically aligned brand There are significant business benefits to having a strategically aligned and differentiated brand that resonates with internal and external audiences. These include: Clear competitive differentiation: People have many choices for products and services — and they have more each day.
Organizations must quickly communicate, via their brand stories, why an audience should choose them over other high-performing competitors and new market entries.
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