An overview of brand positioning, the benefits, how to position your brand with examples of well known businesses and their positioning.

1. Brand Positioning

2. Do you need Brand
Positioning ?
• Some SMEs believe that brands are only for Big Business.
• We disagree, Small Businesses need brands even more,
because
– Good brand positioning identifies and communicates a brand’s
differentiation and value to its chosen customers
• And Small Business needs that more than anyone

3. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
Coffee Shops compete on two
key dimensions – variety of
coffees and speed/comfort.

4. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For the coffee
drinker in a
hurry

5. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For the person
who wants a
coffee with his
lunch

6. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For the person
who wants a
coffee with his
lunch

7. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For those for
whom the coffee is
more important
than the food

8. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For the person
who is looking
for books and
wants a coffee
as he browses

9. Brand Positioning Example
Comfort
Café Nero
Speed
Wide ChoiceNarrow Choice
Starbucks
McDonald’s
Pret a Manger
Book
Shop
Cafe
For the coffee
cognoscenti

10. Brand Positioning and
Differentiation
• Each brand is positioned to appeal to the five market
segments in the coffee shop market
• They don’t turn away each others customers, but try to
ensure their own customers always use their coffee shops

11. Brand Positioning - Airlines
Long Haul
British Airways
Short Haul
Comfort /ServiceDiscount / No frills
Ryanair
Easy Jet
Emirates
For a given route, airlines
compete on frequency,
comfort and service and
price. A large business may
choose to contract with
airlines which have most
routes to save admin costs.
Tourists may prefer lower cost
operators

12. Business travellers
look for locations near
business districts,
airports and rail/bus
networks and having
lots of meeting rooms
or conference facilities,
etc, fast checkout,
accurate billing and
convenience
Tourists want leisure
facilities such as pools
and spas and to be
near tourism hot spots.
The price / luxury
continuum is the other
dimension
Brand Positioning - Hotels
Tourist Traveller
Holiday Inn
Business Traveller
Price
/ Luxury
Price /
luxury
Hyatt
Marriott
Mercure Pullman
SofitelIbis
Travelodge
Premier
Formula One

13. Why Position ?
• As soon as you have chosen a market position, your
competition is reduced dramatically and becomes those with
a similar positioning.
• Most small businesses should use geography as a positioning
dimension
– Google + My Business then becomes very influential in your
positioning
– Your competition becomes those who want to be found by customers
searching for <Google+ business category> <location>

14. “How To” Position
Either, with some colleagues, brainstorm
• Your desired positioning
• Your unique value proposition / differentiation
• List positions you want to avoid
• Position your competitors
Compost (mentally) what you have brainstormed for a few days
• Write a positioning statement for your business like this:
<Brand name> is the only business which <meets a customer
need><in this unique way>

15. “How To” Position your
Brand
Or, with some trusted customers,
• Ask your customers to name the top 10 customers in your
market
• Ask them to rank the brands
• Ask them how they ranked them and what the factors they
used
• Ask them to rank each brand against each factor
Compost (mentally) this.
• Evaluate with colleagues what you have learnt
• Write a positioning statement

16. Summary
• Brand Positioning is even more important for small business
off line and on line
• Positioning your brand is about differentiating your business
• Meaningful Differentiation make selling easier and allows
prices / profits to be raised
• Positioning is a short piece of objective thinking
• Living out you positioning statement will create differentiation

17. For more information, contact SMEsOnline
James Gunn
james.gunn@smesonline.co
+44 7855 406652