Brand Positioning

What is Brand Positioning?

Brand positioning describes the strategic process by which a company anchors its brand in the consciousness of its target audience. The goal is to occupy a clearly defined, differentiating space in the market that is relevant to customers and difficult for competitors to challenge.

The concept dates back to Al Ries and Jack Trout, who established “positioning” as a marketing discipline in the 1980s. The core idea is that positioning does not happen in the market, but in the mind of the customer. It is not about inventing something new, but about occupying a specific place in the mental model of the target audience.

Why is Positioning So Important?

Without clear positioning, a brand becomes interchangeable. The consequences are measurable:

• Price competition: Those who do not differentiate compete solely on price.
• Wasted marketing spend: Without a clear message, campaigns reach the wrong target groups.
• Lack of customer loyalty: Interchangeable brands are replaced at the next opportunity.
• Lack of strategy: Without positioning, there is no compass for innovation processes and product development.

A strong positioning, on the other hand, creates recognition, justifies premium prices, and provides a consistent direction for the entire company—from content strategy to product design.

The 5-Step Positioning Process

The development of a brand positioning follows a structured process:

1. Market analysis: Who are your competitors? Which positions are already occupied? Competitive analysis and SWOT analysis provide the foundation.
2. Define target audience: For whom are you positioning yourself? Create detailed buyer personas and analyze your customers’ Jobs-to-be-Done.
3. Find differentiation: What makes you unique? Define your USP and your Value Proposition Design.
4. Formulate positioning statement: Condense the target audience, benefit, and differentiation into a concise statement.
5. Consistent implementation: Anchor the positioning in brand building, communication, sales, and customer experience.

Proven Positioning Models

Various frameworks help with systematic positioning:

• Positioning map: Two relevant dimensions (e.g., price vs. quality) as axes—where does your brand stand in comparison?
• Brand Key Model: Eight elements from target audience and insight to brand essence—a holistic brand steering wheel.
• Category Entry Points: Which buying situations does the customer associate with your brand? Based on Byron Sharp’s findings.
• Blue Ocean Strategy: Positioning by creating new market categories instead of competing in existing ones.
• Positioning statement template: “For [target audience], [brand] is the [category] that offers [differentiation] because [proof].”

Brand Positioning for SMEs and Startups

Special principles apply to SMEs and startups:

• Niche over mass: SMEs win through specialization, not through broad positioning.
• Founder as a brand: In small companies, the personality of the founders is a positioning advantage.
• Product-Market Fit as a basis: Startups should only position themselves once the market has validated their offering.
• Leverage agility: Smaller companies can reposition faster than large corporations.
• Regional strength: Local roots can be a real competitive advantage—for example, as an innovation consultant in the DACH region.

A clear positioning helps smaller companies in particular not to get lost in business model competition.

Typical Positioning Mistakes

• Over-positioning: The brand is defined so narrowly that it excludes relevant customer segments.
• Under-positioning: The brand stands for everything—and thus for nothing specific.
• Wishful positioning: The promise sounds good but is not fulfilled in the customer experience.
• Copycat positioning: The brand positions itself like the market leader—without having their resources.
• Internal view instead of customer view: Positioning is based on internal strengths instead of customer needs.

When is Repositioning Necessary?

Repositioning becomes relevant in the event of:

• A changed market environment due to disruptive innovation or new competitors.
• Opening up new target audiences or market segments.
• Expansion of the business model—e.g., through servitization or platform models.
• Business succession or strategic realignment.
• Negative brand image that must be accompanied by change management.