It was once said that a brand could only be one of three things – better, different or cheaper. That said, a brand can also be ‘new’, which is helpful but, of course, only temporary. In the service economy ‘faster’ can also be brand positioning. Lastly, if a brand fits into none of these categories it could be considered “doomed.”
Admittedly this seems overly simplistic. But for every contested brand category, the dominant brands clearly fits into this classification. Take airlines for example. Emirates and Virgin are positioned as better. Spirit and West Jet are cheaper and Southwest is different.
As demonstrated in the adjacent Venn diagram, brand positioning can overlap. There are indeed well crafted power brands that occupy two circles. As consumers, it takes us minimally two planes of improvement in order to choose a particular brand or business for its value proposition. Think Tesla, which many see as both better and different. Or, Old Navy, which may be seen by many as both cheaper and different. While certainly possible, there are few examples of better and cheaper.
What is impossible is to occupy all three circles simultaneously. Moreover, why would a brand want to be all three? If, for example, your brand is perceived as both better and different you can charge a premium price so it would be foolish to throw away this well-earned margin by also claiming to be cheaper. Let us also agree that (in most cases) “cheaper” positioning is a ‘race to the bottom’ with increasing commoditization and diminishing returns.
“Better” might entail a high level of expectations surrounding design as it relates to your product. It might also represent a superior service professional who is providing the direct client interface. It could mean that it’s the “full service,” highest value package to all customers and that you drop the lower-range product offerings. It could factor in a seamless user experience in your app, or perhaps even a customization level that was previously unavailable.
Figure out what “better” means to you, as well as to the customers you serve – because this will mean different things to different people. Your answer just has to arrive at the fact that it’s far superior to your current version, your competitors, and to the status quo. This, if you’d like to change any sort of consumer behavior by offering a better option.
In today's world the pace of innovation, change and growth have gotten so much faster, that even if you checked all three boxes (of, faster, better, and cheaper) these are no longer sufficient to guarantee success in the on-demand economy. Especially as new D2C brands are shaking up the landscape.
No matter which position you choose– figure out what your brand is, internalize it, and then stick with that plan to continuously surprise and delight your clients. Ultimately, while you may not be able to dictate brand positioning to your potential customers you can still influence your audiences with a strategic brand narrative to mold their opinion over time. Need some help crafting you perfect positioning? We can help.
