Positioning
Positioning is a marketer's method to define the way to create an impression in the customers mind
Uses of the method
- To focus on the rational or emotional benefits that buyer will receive or feel by using the product/service
To sell the benefits of the product or service to a potential buyer
Benefits
- Positively influence consumer perceptions
- Reposition a company, product or brand
Disadvantages
None, if done well
Steps to complete
- Complete the template being very honest about the organization's strengths, weakness, opportunism and threats. Look for and document unique differences between your organization and other rivals.
- Now draw your work together by determining where the organization has, or could develop, Unique Selling Points.
- Now wind tunnel your USP's by checking that they hold true against every field in the template. Modify or drop a USP as appropriate
- Prioritize the remaining USP's, drop any of lesser importance and determine which is your keep USP
- Determine the fixed elements (almost certain hard trends) that will inform your strategic response: slow-changing phenomena e.g. demographic shifts, constrained situations e.g. resource limits, in the pipeline e.g. aging of baby boomers, inevitable collisions e.g. climate change arguments.
- Capture critical variables i.e. uncertainties, soft trends and potential surprises. Both these and the fixed elements will be key to creating scenarios and examining potential future paradigm shifts.
- Capture unique insight into new ways of seeing that can be utilized by the organization.
- What conclusions can we draw from the exercise(s)?
- How might the future be different?
- How does A affect B?
- What is likely to remain the same or change significantly?
- What are the likely outcomes?
- What and who will likely shape our future?
- Where could we be most affected by change?
- What might we do about it?
- What don't we know that we need to know?
- What should we do now, today?
- Why do we care?
- When should we aim to meet on this?
- Finish by noting your next steps. Next steps could include a further round of iteration, a recommendation on how to get the answers or use of other research and methods such as 'Starburst' to create more vantage points on the issue.
Collaboration
'Positioning' can be shared with others or kept private using the 'Visible to' fields and through the 'tag', 'report', 'share'', 'link and 'comment' functionality. Use 'tag' and/or 'report' to aggregate your analyzes, 'share' with others via email, Facebook and Twitter etc. or add a 'comment' to ask others where they agree/disagree and encourage them to make their own analysis from their unique vantage point.
Further reference
History
Contact us
Even with all the advice and tools we have provided here starting a foresight project from scratch can be a daunting prospect to a beginner. Let us know if you need help with this method or want a group facilitation exercise or full project or program carrying out by us. We promise to leave behind more internal knowledgeable people who can expand your initiative for better organizational performance.
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