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Positioning Your New Online Business
By admin | October 31, 2009
When you begin a new Internet business, there are so many things to do that it is easy to overlook or postpone addressing some of the most important aspects of marketing. One of the decisions that you should not omit from your initial planning is the positioning of your business.
While the word positioning seems like just another example of marketing jargon, its value can’t be stressed too much. Positioning is identifying what there is about your business that makes it stand apart from all of your competitors–and, of course, communicating that to all of your potential customers.
-Service – Nearly any business you can think of claims to have good service. However, think how many you’ve patronized who don’t live up to those promises. The first step in making quality service a part of your unique position is to fulfill everything you promise. However, you still must make clear to the customer what makes your serviceoffer special. Maybe you have 24/7 live help; perhaps you have next day shipment or they receive their shipping free. Find something that makes your business stand out in this regard.
-Features and Benefits – Positioning is not just about what makes you different, it’s also about what you emphasize. Folgers announces to the world that it’s “mountain grown coffee” ( a feature). Guess what? Any brand of coffee is mountain grown. Folgers just claimed this feature first. What’s something that none of your competitors are talking about?
-Price Point – Not everyone can offer the lowest prices and still make a profit. But you must be certain to convince your prospect that your products and services are worth whatever it is that you charge.
-Negative Features – Is there something you don’t have that annoys customers of your competitors? I’m not saying use negative advertising, but just mention the feature and tie it to a benefit. I’m annoyed when I have to pay for parking to go shopping at Mall. Instead of touting free parking, a mall that wants to speak to me might declare, “you’ll never have to pay for parking”. This drives home the pain of shopping with a competitor without going negative. Of course any totally online business can make this claim.
-Authority – Many companies tout how long they’ve been in business. All of these things build trust in the mind of the consumer. What trust-building factors do you have that the competition does not?
-Others – Literally anything that differentiates you from your competitors can be part of your positioning strategy – your clever URL, your hours of live help, the way your site looks. Small business owners need to think creatively here.
You will spend a great deal of time later developing your online business. You may even make adjustments to your positioning as you experiment and discover what is working for you and what isn’t. Immediately, though, you must start working on your marketing positions. They are too important to postpone.
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