Positioneren is een vak en altijd moeilijker dan het lijkt. Want positioneren is geen verlanglijstje voor Sinterklaas (ik wil eigentijds, innovatief, gezellig, optimistisch, vrolijk etc. etc.) zijn. Het is kiezen.
Vaak is het belangrijker te realiseren wat je niet bent (als je eigentijds en innovatief bent, wat logisch en aantrekkelijk klinkt, is de keerzijde van de medaille dat je voor de meeste mensen waarschijnlijk ’te ver-van-me-bed’ bent).
Daarom graag aandacht voor een aantal positioneringstips van Branding Strategy Insider.
“The Positioning Process
A business strategy’s success or failure depends on how well a company understands these five elements of the positioning process:
1. Minds Are Limited. The mind rejects new information that does not compute. It accepts only new information that matches its current state of mind. The mind has no room for what is new and different unless it is related to the old. One way to overcome the mind’s limitations is to present a message as important news.
2. Minds Hate Confusion. People resist that which is confusing, and cherish that which is simple. They want to push a button and watch it work.
3. Minds Are Insecure. Minds tend to be emotional, not rational. When people are uncertain, they often look to others to help them make a decision about how to act. Testimonials and the “bandwagon effect” show that others obviously think a product is good.
4. Minds Don’t Change. We are more impressed by what we already know (or buy) than by what’s “new.” And, according to The Handbook of Social Psychology, “procedures that are effective in changing some attitudes have little effect on others.”
5. Minds Can Lose Focus. The more variations you attach to a brand, the more the mind loses focus. The more you lose focus, the more vulnerable you become. In toilet tissue, corn oil, or shortening, the specialist or the well-focused competitor is the winner.
A successful strategist understands it’s better to be exceptional at one thing than good at many things.”