To succeed in our over-communicated society, a company must create a position in the prospect’s mind.

What is positioning? It’s how you differentiate your products and services in the mind of the prospect. It’s not your perception or your organization’s—it is the prospect’s perception. Positioning is how your target market defines you in relation to your competitors. A good market positioning statement tells customers and prospects what makes you unique and the benefits of your products and services.

If you effectively position your product and service offerings, it puts you top of mind with your customers. In order to do this efficiently, it is important to understand your products and services from the customers’ point of view, relative to the competition. Spending quality time on market positioning helps you define yourself both internally and externally, and distinguishes your abilities as unique and different from the competition.

Positioning is a powerful tool that allows you to create an image. And image is the outward representation of your organization and the leadership characteristics that you bring to the market. If you don’t define your product or service, a competitor will do it for you.

The real question service providers need to ask themselves is how to effectively position their business for differentiation. How can you make your business stand out and effectively reach your target market?

How do you want the world to think of your organization? There are really four parts to a positioning statement—superlative, label, qualifiers, and benefit.

Superlative
For what attribute do you want to be known? There are actually plenty of choices ranging from biggest, to ease of use, to best. Internet-based print service provider VistaPrint emphasizes ease of use. Their tag line says that they are the, "Easy design and print solution." Dallas-based Padgett Printing focuses on relationships and tells clients that they are, "Partners in the communications process." Sir Speedy sees its key attribute as turnaround time. If prospects need posters fast and marketing materials tomorrow, Sir Speedy should be the supplier of choice.

Label
It is important to choose a position which actually exists in the minds of the people in your target market segment. If you have to invent an entirely new category for your product, then you have chosen a position which doesn’t really exist. The positioning that one firm uses is, "Where design and data converge." I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that category of application before. I can’t find anybody else that describes their product with that label. If I asked you to name the number one design and data convergence company, what would you say?

Alternatively, organizations like Banta have clearly positioned the services that they want to provide to the market. The company tells clients that it is the leader in printing and supply chain management for documentation. Internet service provider PsPrint tells prospects it is a professional printing company that delivers fast, affordable online color printing products and services, including offset and digital printing solutions. The emphasis is on full color.

Qualifiers
A common mistake is to avoid using qualifiers, as if their omission will magically increase market share. You need to get specific about who you want to reach with your product. Banta is clearly targeting the large enterprise market and VistaPrint is focused on the small business and consumer market. Salt Lake City-based Rastar’s 1:1 personalized communications services are targeted at the marketing executive.

Benefit
Finally, your positioning needs to tell your clients what value they will gain by working with your organization. Keep in mind that it is easier to sell a solution to a problem than to sell a positive benefit or substantial features. What problems are your potential clients facing? Find out what their needs are by spending time asking questions and intently listening to their answers.

If you are wondering if this works, think of the success of products on the market today that are linked to helping people quit smoking, diminish wrinkles, lose weight, or grow hair. These suppliers offer a benefit and a solution to a negative situation or problem.

Rastar tells clients its services help them build stronger, more profitable relationships with prospects, customers, and employees. The company also tells prospects they can streamline workflow and reduce marketing expenditures. Toronto-based Custom Data Imaging Corporation (CDIC) also directs its services to the marketing executive. CDIC tells prospects, "It’s more important than ever to break through the media clutter with messages that are personally relevant to the recipient, and CDIC can help clients do exactly that."

Firms That Have Done it Well
Worcester, MA-based LaVigne Inc. targets the marketing executive with variable data and digital color products and services. LaVigne knows that marketers are under intense pressure to justify expenditures, and they position themselves as a trusted partner to assist in doing so. LaVigne says it helps clients justify the return on their marketing communications investment. The LaVigne Web site states, "We’re not just about great looking printing. Our mission is to help you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time and the right cost. We call this Return on Communications Investment (ROCI), and nowadays this mission goes far beyond the pressroom. Maybe that’s why so many progressive clients trust us."

Nevada City, CA-based LectraMedia targets tradeshow event planners and marketers. The firm works to drive qualified leads into the tradeshow booth with effective 1:1 marketing. The value to the prospect is a good return on investment for event participation. LectraMedia looks at upcoming tradeshows and the exhibitor listings and helps companies drive the right traffic to their booth. LectraMedia promotes its digital color printing services via high quality personalized direct-mail campaign techniques. The company demonstrates its market positioning by effective utilization of its technology and application execution in its own marketing efforts. Instead of telling the prospect about its market value, LectraMedia demonstrates how campaigns can be implemented.

Strategic Content Imaging has grown 50 percent per year for the past three years and recently moved to a 90,000 square foot facility in Carlstadt, NJ. According to senior VP, Steven Amiel, "Our success is attributed to identifying customers and markets that place a high value on our work. We clearly focused on a specific bull’s eye. Our target customer is the 50 million dollar to 2 billion dollar company or division with multiple products sold through multiple distribution channels."

Market Positioning
Your market position is the place you occupy in the minds of your prospective clients. It’s how they think of you as compared to your competitors. Adjectives like established or cutting-edge; high quality or inexpensive; convenient or full-service are all relative terms. But when applied to you and your business, they can help distinguish you from the competition.

If your products and services are properly positioned, prospective purchasers or users should immediately recognize their unique benefits or advantages and be better able to assess them in comparison to your competition’s offerings. Identify your strengths and use them to position your business. Positioning, when used effectively, can help you be first in the customer’s mind. Being first in mind equals ownership.