“If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which path you take!” So it is with too many marketing programmes. Without direction or focus businesses lose their competitive edge and become vulnerable.
A well crafted competitive positioning strategy defines your company’s direction and establishes a clear, defensible, differentiated set of key messages that will set you apart from your competitors.
So how do you know that the statement is effective? You start by testing your strategies. We’ve put together some areas for consideration and tools that will help along the way.
Speed
Any entrepreneur knows that timing and speed is critical to the success of any business. Evaluating a competitors strategic intent, expansion plans and new market / product segments, is vital to keeping one step ahead. But it’s the balance of analysis and swift, timely action that can ultimately make the most significant difference. Too many businesses suffer from analysis paralysis and don’t take action until too late. Enlightened trial and error (often) outperforms the planning of flawless intellects. In this, the tried and tested swot analysis is a valuable tool in asking those hard strategic questions.
Alliances
In many cases the advantages of an alliance can help share costs and reduce risk. Alliances can compliment and extend your offering, gaining global footprints and/or extending the capabilities of both organisations. Use the following model to explore options.
Market share
Pursuing segments of the market that are underserved or in a way that reduces the risk of competitive response can profitably exploit unattractive or innovative business models. Particularly if this can be achieved in a ‘win win’ co-operative approach. A tool to help in this approach is designing a competitive intelligence system, which helps keep you informed about changes in the marketplace. Identifying gaps in the market helps uncover a path from which your marketing communications can evolve.
