How do you determine a company’s positioning?

You determine a company’s positioning by researching the marketing expressions and behavior of the company and its competitors. You then organize this information for all companies in the same way before drawing conclusions about positioning. Positioning models such as the competitor matrix and brand archetypes are very valuable for this final step.

Positioning research varies by situation, company, and market, but generally, you follow these steps:

Research marketing expressions and behavior

First, research and analyze all marketing and communication expressions of a company. This includes actions or other expressions of a company. It encompasses everything that shapes the image your target audience has of your company or a competitor. If multiple people are conducting this research, it’s wise to agree in advance on what exactly will be investigated. For instance, if one person spends a lot of time on Instagram and advertisements while another focuses on websites and Twitter, you’ll quickly end up comparing apples to oranges.

Organize market information

Now you have a lot of information about the company and its competitors, but how will you assess this? In this phase, it’s important to organize the information so that a comparable image emerges, and you give the correct weighting to various elements. For example, a single LinkedIn post says less than a trade show booth or a television commercial. Ensure you use the right elements as input for your positioning model. More on positioning models in the last step.

Conclusions: determine positioning

With all the market information in order, it’s time for conclusions: what is a company’s positioning relative to its competitors? A positioning model can be very helpful in this. For example, use the competitor matrix, where you use two axes to create an as objective as possible market image and place the market players on it. Or use the brand archetype model, where you place brands based on identity and behavior.

We have compiled various positioning models in a handy article. Perhaps there’s another model that better suits your needs.