What Is Competitive Positioning? (+How to Create Yours)

Competitive positioning is a crucial aspect of any business, as it determines how you market your company to stand out from competitors and leverage your strengths. It involves factors such as branding, marketing strategies, and highlighting your unique selling proposition. By understanding competitive positioning, you can effectively communicate why your products or services are different and better than others in the market.

Why is competitive positioning important?

Competitive positioning is essential for the success of a business, as it allows you to differentiate yourself from competitors and attract customers. Without a clear competitive positioning strategy, businesses may struggle to articulate their value proposition and convince customers to choose their products or services. By establishing a strong competitive positioning, you can build trust with customers, increase brand awareness, and stay ahead of the competition.

Tips to find your competitive positioning

1. Understand the market: Conduct a market analysis to identify your target audience, competitors, and market trends. Develop an ideal customer persona to tailor your messaging and offerings to meet customer needs.

2. Research competitors: Analyze your competitors to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and customer feedback. Identify gaps in the market that your products or services can fill to differentiate yourself.

3. Set objectives: Define your short and long-term goals and consider how they can impact your competitive positioning. Align your positioning with your company’s objectives to ensure consistency and relevance.

4. Focus on your niche: Identify your key differences and the problems your target audience faces that you can solve. Leverage your unique strengths to position your brand in a niche market segment.

5. Use gaps to define your positioning: Look for opportunities where competitors are not meeting customer needs and create offerings that address those gaps. Position your brand as the solution to unmet customer demands.

Competitive positioning map

A competitive positioning map is a visual representation of where competitors fall along two variables, such as cost, service level, or features. By plotting competitors on a map, you can identify gaps in the market and opportunities for differentiation.

Competitive positioning is an ongoing process

Competitive positioning is not a one-time task but a continuous process that requires monitoring and adjustments over time. Keep track of changes in the market, competitor actions, and customer preferences to adapt your positioning strategy accordingly. Regularly review and update your competitive positioning to stay relevant and competitive in the industry.