Positioning components, what does positioning consist of?

What exactly is positioning? We have already written a lot about the concept, but what is the end result of ‘positioning’ exactly? In practice, it is often a detailed report with the end result upfront: the positioning. That last part is what we focus on in this article because what components does a positioning actually have? What we usually mean is the positioning story, but we also discuss the parts that come before and after it.

Positioning is often a benchmark for marketing and communication. By this, we mean that a brand can use the positioning to determine which behavior best fits the (desired) position of the brand in the market. But the same applies, of course, to the rest of the organization. If you were to take it to the extreme, positioning could also be leading for departments like production, although a translation probably needs to be made there. We briefly discuss the components of a clear and concrete positioning.

Components of positioning

Positioning should be applied as broadly as possible. That is why you not only elaborate the positioning story but a complete positioning document covers the following components:

• Positioning Concept
• Positioning Pitch
• Positioning Story
• Value Proposition
• Core Values

We explain each component separately:

Positioning Concept

The positioning story reduced to its absolute essence is called the Positioning Concept: a statement as short as possible that encompasses the core of the positioning.

In some cases, this is a tagline or slogan, such as;

• Just do it (Nike)
• Everything for a smile (Coolblue)
• Gives you wings (Red Bull)

But it can also be a high-concept pitch, a phrase Hollywood uses to pitch films. For example, Speed got the green light through the pitch: ‘Die Hard on a bus.’ and Alien was made because of ‘Jaws on a spaceship‘.

With a high-concept pitch, we immediately understand what is meant but can also immediately think further. LinkedIn was pitched as ‘Facebook for business’, a designer can probably immediately form an idea about form and style.

At the same time, the positioning concept is also a good anchor, the phrase to which both colleagues and relations can return when they think: “What was the positioning again?”.

Positioning Pitch

The Positioning Pitch is the short, unforgettable story with which you introduce your brand to a potential customer in a few minutes.

This pitch contains the core of your positioning and therefore tells;

• what you do
• for whom
• how you do it
• who you are

The main pitfall is that you do not tell a story but spit out some dry sentences that are as generic as they are forgettable.

We like to talk about the penguins:

How penguins stand as a group on an ice floe so that they cannot hold each other. How they all do the same; if one jumps into the water, the rest follow. And companies are actually just like penguins: they imitate each other and are therefore hardly distinctive. Merkelijkheid helps brands not to be a penguin.

Where ‘positioning and marketing experts’ are immediately forgotten, we often still hear months later “Hey, aren’t you the penguins?”!

Positioning Story

The positioning story is the complete elaboration of your positioning. This story offers the internal organization a perspective for action (“What behavior fits our positioning?”) and at the same time tells what customers can expect when they come into contact with the brand.

In the positioning story, we further elaborate the Positioning Pitch preferably to a maximum of one A4 page. More is difficult to remember, less and not everything is covered. In the Positioning Story, the most important aspects of the Pitch are elaborated into paragraphs. By giving each topic slightly broader or deeper attention, it sticks better and offers more perspective for action.

The main challenge is not to get bogged down in an operational manual. The positioning story must tell about the world, mindset, and ambitions of the brand without becoming too specific. Do we say you and your? People must be able to derive that from the positioning itself, not from a manual.

Value Proposition

A transaction-oriented statement that briefly summarizes why a customer should prefer a specific product or service over all competition and alternatives.

We have already discussed the difference between positioning and proposition, but the core is that the value proposition (partly) stems from the positioning. Because the positioning broadly tells ‘how your brand does business,’ it is also the first indication of which proposition you present to customers. The proposition is the concrete, general offer that a brand makes to its customers.

An architecture firm could consider various propositions;

• award-winning design
• solid design, low construction costs
• optimal use of space

The value proposition is often characterized by focus: Which aspect do you highlight above all others?

The optimal proposition is thus a logical consequence for the customer of the entire positioning. Think of Coolblue, where service comes first; isn’t it logical that they are not the cheapest?

Core Values and Positioning

Core values are clichés in many cases. Many companies mainly choose container terms as core values such as quality, customer-oriented, or innovative. But honestly, which company says the opposite? It is logical that no company positions itself in the market with junk that breaks quickly, does not listen to its customers, and is not innovative.

Funny enough, you can probably think of a company that embodies this, but are those their core values?

In short, core values often go wrong. How do you use core values properly?

You distill core values, like the proposition, from the positioning. The goal is: to provide direction. A colleague or even a customer uses the core values as a starting point for both thinking and doing. They provide support when a decision must be made. For example, if a company has the core value ‘informal,’ what behavior belongs to that? I think everyone’s answer to this is quite similar. That is the goal of core values.

Further considerations

• Not all words mean the same in every role. What a word means for production can have a completely different impact for sales. Therefore, consider whether the core values (of thinking and behavior) are different per department.
• The core values ‘remind’ of the positioning; the words are not an end in themselves.
• People are made to remember stories. It is no coincidence that we tell fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel when we want to make something clear to children. Positioning is much better suited as a guideline for thinking and doing.

In conclusion

The end result is of course different for every company, just like the path to get there. In this article, we attempt to present the different components needed for a practically usable positioning. If you have paid attention to these components, you will certainly be well prepared.

Want to know more about positioning and how you can get started yourself? Read our page positioning and find there, besides in-depth articles, dozens of examples and models for every possible positioning challenge.