Strategic positioning is a key factor in the development and effectiveness of business and marketing activities. Every decision made regarding the strategic direction of your company must be put into perspective with its alignment to your positioning.

Thus, defining the positioning of your company is a fundamental step in the success of any commercial development.

Every company must have a clear strategic positioning. Let’s zoom in on this decisive notion.

What is strategic positioning?

A strategic positioning is your company’s roadmap. It represents all the key elements chosen to differentiate from the competition in the minds of your end customers. This notion even more important in the ultra-competitive context of our cutting-edge technology industries.

Two aspects are essential in positioning:

• Perceived positioning

Placed in a situation of choice, the final customer is guided by images’ perceived from different offers. This perception is the result of the company’s communication and therefore of the way you highlight your differentiators.

• Desired positioning

It is the place your company wishes to occupy in the target market. This dimension is based on a market study to determine the expectations of the demand and the positioning of your competitors.

When these two aspects match, it means that the company has been able to communicate and transmit the desired positioning to its customers and prospects.

In order to reach the position you wishe to occupy in the target market, two levers of action are at your disposal: adaptation of the your offer, so that your offer matches to market expectation and communication in order to evolve your perceived position.

Define your positioning

To build your strategic positioning, 4 key questions must be asked:

1.Who are the target customers ?

Identify and clarify them. A good proposal that is not properly targeted will not succeed. Many business strategies fail because the difference between customer and user isn’t well understood within the company.

2. What will be the company’s value proposition ?

A good value proposition must be clear, simple and differentiating in order to facilitate the buying process of your prospects, by enlightening them on your specificity.

3. What will be the differentiating asset compared to competitors ?

It’s fundamental to define your competitive advantage through a strategic diagnosis before defining your positioning.

4. What is the target ambition ?

These questions will help determine a clear positioning, coherent in all its aspects and relevant to the target customers. This last point is crucial, in the industrial context. Knowing how to size your resources and position yourself on projects that correspond to your capabilities.It is fundamental to be efficient and to be considerated by end customers.

Thus, defining your positioning allows you to give coherence and meaning to your company’s future actions, to align your teams and stakeholders towards the same objective and to maximize the chances of success.

The risks of a bad positioning

Without a clear and coherent positioning, the customer will have difficulty to identify your offer and may turn away from your products/services. Offers are generally abundant, so it is necessary to guide your prospects by differentiating yourself.

Thanks to its expertise in business development within high-tech industries, the SURFEO team assists its clients in establishing and updating their strategic positioning. We identify the relevant value propositions to adopt for their activities.

Contact us to learn more and discuss your business development plans.

alex.roman@surfeo.eu           Office: +33 (1) 55 17 14 73