Positioning

In high technology markets it is critical to understand that you do not position your company or brand the way you can in Fast Moving Consumer Goods  (FMCG) markets … The market positions you.  You will waste precious resources, funds and time while accomplishing very little.

That is why positioning work should begin after a corporate/brand positioning audit to yield the best results.  The snapshot developed during the audit will determine how the company / brand is positioned in the  minds of target customers and will uncover gaps in the desired position compared to what the market thinks.  This gap can not be closed through words, it must be done through deeds … products, business practices and other actions that provide “evidence” to reinforce the desired position over a prolonged period of time.  This last point is why so many efforts come to naught.  Impatience is the enemy here.  Changing direction and messaging undoes whatever progress had been made.  Using advertising in any form (offline or online) as the primary means to change positioning initially will be a failure for two reasons … very few companies have the budget needed to make an impact (> $10 million per year purely for media placement … not including the cost for creation of the ad content … banners, videos, radio spots, newspapers, magazines, outdoor,  TV, etc.)  AND, there is no evidence to support the changed position.

In addition, by definition, high technology products change or they die.  This constant necessary changing at the product level is dramatically different from FMCG where products do not change over very long periods of time, or do so at their own peril (i.e. “New Coke”).