Brand positioning check up: how does your brand strategy score?

Ever wonder how you can tell if your brand positioning is strong? Is this left for the world to judge or is this something you can actually measure? Building and maintaining a well-positioned brand should be a priority for every organization but all too often, brand leaders are lost in the shuffle of day to day operations and without knowing, slide into the category of a “me-too” brand. These copycat brands talk, act, and appear similar to rival companies and the customer is left to decide who to do business with based on the flip of a coin. At Quill Creative, we challenge this approach and encourage you to do so as well to take control over your brand positioning for better results.

The foundation of any successful brand position is to make it impossible for customers to miss what makes you different. Differentiation should be at the core of all strategic efforts to drive a brand forward. Gone are the days of “industry standard.” If that was how everyone thought, we’d still be calling the taxi companies for a ride. Brands that challenge the status quo can even go on to create entirely new categories which is what we saw with Uber.

In an effort to spotlight the strengths and weaknesses of your brand positioning, we’ve developed a short check up survey so you can score your brand’s positioning and know where to focus if you want to improve that strategy. 

Typically, an organization will send out a “brand survey” to poll their audience before and after making an adjustment. This will provide baseline metrics and hopefully, after the effort, survey results will show improvement in the intended direction. This takes a ton of time and resources so we aimed to make our brand positioning check up simple.

This check up focuses on 4 key areas of brand positioning strength. Competitive landscape, customer definition, strategic offering, and brand delivery are the areas we feel are the most important to ensure an organization is positioned for success.  

For each of the 4 brand positioning categories, you’ll see multiple statements. Rate your strength on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score if you’re unable to agree with the statement and 5 being the strongest score if you’re able to agree with ease and confidence. 

There are a total of 50 possible points.

Competitive Landscape

I completely understand my competition and know what makes them unique.

• Take all things into consideration. The way they appear, sound in their advertising, their pricing structure and the way they treat their customers and employees will all contribute to their organizational dna.

We appear authentic and visually different from competitors.

• Not only must you differentiate your offering and customer experience but it should be obvious for someone who’s interacted with your brand to pick it out from a lineup in the future. A litmus test we use is for an organization to take their logo off of a marketing piece and see if a customer can still tell that it’s from you.

Customer Definition

I know the exact problem my service/product solves.

• Think big picture. Yes, if you’re a company that does plumbing, you show up and fix the leak but take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of your customer and be empathetic. Are you just fixing a pipe or are you improving their home and quality of life?

I’ve narrowed my customer focus down to someone specific.

• Trying to be everything to everyone is one of the biggest mistakes a brand can make. Many people can have the same problem that you provide a solution for but if you narrow your focus on a specific personality type or group of people, you’ll have a better chance of speaking to them in language they connect with and you can create a deeper relationship by having your offer appeal specifically to them. At Quill Creative, we use the metaphor of high heels in wet grass which references that you can create more impact by narrowing the focus.

I know how my customers approach the purchasing cycle.

• By knowing more about the inner workings of your customers, you’ll be able to reach them where they are. If you know that your customers will take to the web and search Youtube for answers to their problem, then you’ll know where to create a presence. Choosing advertising outlets and targeting a demographic is much easier if you know how they shop or what interests them. This way, you’ll be top of mind when they are actively looking for a solution to their problem.

Strategic Offering

Our offering and the way it’s delivered is tailored to our unique audience’s needs.

• Instead of simply delivering the product or service as expected, you have an opportunity to go above and beyond and create a memorable experience. If you can align that experience with something they care about, you’ll win every time.

No one else can honestly claim that they offer what we do or the way that we do it for our audience.

• Ensure that your offering is differentiated and darn near impossible for anyone to replicate with the authenticity that you do. There will always be ‘me-too’ brands trying to follow in your footsteps but you can be one step ahead by strengthening the customer experience and driving branded objectives.

Brand Delivery

Our brand’s messaging and visuals are consistent across all touchpoints.

• Do you have documented brand guidelines for everyone to follow? Having a manual for everyone to reference will ensure consistency and impact everywhere the brand happens to land. This is a crucial document and will allow an organization’s efforts to scale consistently no matter how many people are involved in creating assets.

All of our team members know the ‘why’ of our business and can express it to people they interact with.

• Everyone who represents your brand should be able to express what the organization stands for. It may sound simple but most organizations will have a myriad of different answers throughout the team. Having a simple and concise statement that’s easy to understand can provide clarity to team members through good times and bad.

After an experience with our brand, our customers rave about it to everyone they know.

• We’ve all been there. We made a purchase, it does the job, but there was nothing to ‘write home about.’ During an experience with your organization, there will always be an opportunity to create a memorable impact. Be sure that memory is intentional and tailored to highlight what makes your brand different.

If your total score is between 10 and 30, you might be missing out on an ocean of opportunity within your market. Contact us today for a free brand strategy consultation so we can help you improve those numbers. 

Brands that score between 31 and 40 stand a better chance of creating the flywheel effect where customers turn into ambassadors and drive profits to the bottom line. If your brand positioning report card adds up to numbers between 41 and 50, you’re on track to create a deep impact with your organization. Keep up the great work and never forget that there’s always opportunity to strengthen your brand’s positioning by accomplishing branded initiatives. Creating and executing these initiatives will be some of the most rewarding efforts you and your team achieve.

Interested in learning how much it costs to go through the rebranding process? Check out our blog on that specific topic and contact us for a free estimate.