Several weeks ago I wrote a post about the process for naming a company. This week I thought I’d focus on one particular element of naming: positioning. A great positioning statement articulates the essence of a company. As the ancients would have said, it’s the “eidos” of a company. All evidence to the contrary, I did in fact suffer the slings and arrows of a classical liberal arts education. I’m not going to make the mistake of trying to define the word “eidos” here. I will assure you, however, that this Wikipedia definition is off the mark. And I’ll make a plea for some assistance from my more erudite colleagues. We need to harness the wisdom of someone who’s actually seen beyond the back of the cave to define/describe that concept.
Before you can choose a name or build a brand, you have to figure out what you are (and are not) and the process of creating a positioning statement often helps a company do just that. There are several critical questions to ask when crafting a positioning statement.
Who is your intended audience or market?
What is the motivation – e.g. need, problem or opportunity the brand intends to fulfill?
What is your business, product or service?
What is the benefit – e.g. how does the brand deliver a relevant and emotionally compelling experience?
What differentiates it – what are the functional benefits and personality that combine to make the brand distinctive?
In the Consumer Generated-Open Source-Web 2.0 marketing environment the media really has become the message or in this case the brand. The Janus-like nature of users (who both consume and create) means that every interaction becomes part of the brand. The CGM-savvy marketer needs to identify brand advocates by engaging in the process of Active Listening. This process synthesizes traditional consumer insights techniques/resources with learning from Consumer Generated Media to identify and describe the “center of gravity” for your brand, product or service, and the relevant networks of active producer-participants. Their conversations and interactions will help build your brand.
The positioning statement is the strategic framework in which to consider naming options and to create a visual and verbal identity system – the early steps of brand building. So it’s critical to get it right, and it’s one of the hardest things for a company to do. It’s easy to get caught up in meaningless jargon or to end up talking to yourself (or your competitors). To prevent that, test your positioning statement with the following criteria:
Is it credible – will people believe it?
Is it relevant – will people care about the premise?
Is it unique – can you legitimately own this, and will people see it as distinctive?
It is sustainable and leveragable – will it enable the brand to stand the test of time?
To quote Jerry Blanton’s comment on my original naming post:
“It should be crafted with care and with simplicity in mind and err on the side of real words versus mumbo jumbo. Does your positioning statement have phrases like "solutions provider, "best of breed" or "a leading company"? Take them out. They neither differentiate you from your competition nor do they actually mean ANYTHING. You won't have lost anything; quite the opposite, you may end up with real words that mean something to you and your employees.”
Thanks Jerry, I couldn’t have positioned it better myself.
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