Many designers think they have decent positioning in the minds of their clients and prospects, but in reality, it’s often a first cousin to “me too” marketing. When everybody’s saying the same thing, they’re ultimately saying nothing. That makes it pretty tough for you to stand out in the crowd.

Think about how often you hear things like, “We’ll do it faster, cheaper, yada, yada, yada.” What happens with that kind of message? You run the risk of working yourself to death for little money. That would be bad. You also run the risk of being confused with the other guy or gal who’s wooing your prospect, too.

The big idea here is to find a way to zig when your competitors are zagging. Sit down and give some serious thought to what makes you different … really different. The truth be told, anybody with a computer some software can call themselves a designer. The competition is stiff and it’s not going away.

What value do you bring to the table? Maybe it’s your experience and insight in a particular industry such as healthcare, or or service like designing annual reports. Clients and prospects are reassured when they know the person they’re working with has done this before and knows the ins and outs. Perhaps you have a peachy process that make working with you a snap and totally on target. When you bring real value to the client relationship, it goes a long way to justifying higher fees.

When you can distill down what you really sell … the benefits … you’re well on your way to crafting a value proposition and positioning statement that really sets you apart from everyone else out there.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Branding and positioning are endeavors that often require a plan of their own. But, for independent designers, they can often be addressed within the marketing plan. It helps to cut down on all that paper flying around in your office.

Branding is more than simply slapping your logo on a letterhead, sign or the side of a truck. Although there are loads of definitions, for our purposes, a brand is a promise. And guess what? You don’t even own it. It resides in the minds of your clients. It’s their expectations about doing business with you. It’s your reputation in their minds. It’s their complete experience with your business.

Will it be a good experience or a bad one?

In as much as you don’t really “own” your brand, you do own your brand assets. Those are the elements you use to express your brand promise and make a connection with your clients. Brand assets can include your company name, logo, tagline, colors, typography, how you dress and marketing materials such as brochures and your website. They’re all the sensory touch points that your audience has with your business. In addition to the visuals, companies are now moving toward using scent and sounds as part of their branding arsenal.

Beyond these, branding elements include your customer service, the interior design of your location, architecture, even how you answer the phone and such.

Your branding efforts should be authentic, differentiating, sustainable and consistent.

It’s important to look at your business’ touch points from the point-of-view of your audience. Are you consistently fulfilling your brand’s promise? Do you make it easy to do business with you? Are your branding elements consistent across the board?

Positioning, on the other hand, is finding that place in your customers’ psyche where your brand will set up housekeeping. Think of it as the frame of the branding house.

The concept of positioning was introduced by Al Reis and Jack Trout in 1981. Going to the source seems to make sense. Here’s their definition of positioning from their book, Positioning: The battle for your mind,

“Positioning is an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is
based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right
time and under the right circumstances.”

The thing with positioning is being first to the customer’s mind. In most cases, unless you’ve really got something new, you’re not going to be in first place. Trying to unseat Numero Uno is a tough act, if not impossible, for several reasons. Not the least of which is by trying to unseat them, you’re essentially telling your prospects that they’re wrong. Folks generally don’t like to be told that. How can you spin your positioning message to find your niche in the customer’s mind?

Think about Hertz and Avis. Hertz held the number one spot. Avis, as we all know, is number two, but hey, they try harder. That’s their position - “We try harder.” Or what about 7-Up®’s losing battle to unseat Coke® and Pepsi®? Enter the “Uncola.” The rest is history.

Finding your position takes some creativity. What spot isn’t owned by your competitors? Which of your strengths can you play up without directly attacking the competition or telling your prospects they’ve been wrong all along.

That might mean developing a specialty in an area nobody else is covering. Or, it might mean focusing on an under-served industry segment and learning all you can about it. In conjunction with your marketing and public relations, over time, you can become the number one choice for those prospects.

Sometimes, it can be accomplished by changing your job title or the names of your products or services. Instead of a “graphic designer” maybe you’re a “visual communications consultant,” or a “brand essence developer.” This is akin to what ValuJet did after one of its aircraft went down in the Florida Everglades. When that jet went down, their positioning quickly changed to “The risky airline.” In an almost immediate re-branding and positioning juggling act, they changed their name to AirTran. The company is now thriving as one of the top low-fare airlines, second only to Jet Blue (at the time of this writing).

The big idea here is to find a way to zig when your competitors are zagging. If you don’t, you run the very real risk of “me-too” marketing. When that happens, you can only compete on price and that’s a lousy place to be.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

When it comes to marketing, you’ll often hear about the four Ps – Product, Price, Place (Distribution) and Promotion. The one that’s often forgotten when it comes to marketing is price.

Price can be used as a positioning tool because of perceived value. Consider cars. You can buy a low end Chevy or drop tens of thousands (or more) on a decked out Mercedes. Both will get you where you’re going. But, the latter will get you there in a lot more style. Folks drop that kind of dough because of the perceived value and prestige associated with the Mercedes brand.

For instance, a designer can price themselves on the low end and focus on volume or go for the high end and target fewer, but higher profile and more profitable clients. Granted, being good at what you do is important, too, along with the value and experience you bring to the table.

Unfortunately, many designers, especially those just starting out, don’t have a fee strategy in place. They tend to pull a number out of the air, make their best guess about the going rate or what the client will pay.

A while back, I read a report by copywriter Richard Armstrong titled, How to Make More Money by Writing Less. It’s thought provoking and I suggest you read it.

In the report, Armstrong mentions a potential client he didn’t want to take on. So, he jacked up the price tag … way up … and told the guy he couldn’t possibly start the job for at least a month. The client said, “No problem.”

Many people associate higher price with higher quality. Conversely, if you’re offering the sun, moon and stars for a buck and a quarter, people tend to be a little suspicious as to whether you can deliver the goods.

Before you develop your fee strategy, it’s a good idea to figure out your base rate. That’s the number you can’t go below. If you’re charging a fee that’s too low, each hour you work digs the hole a little deeper. On the flip side, go too high and you risk pricing yourself out of the market. So, working out a fee strategy is a bit science and a bit art.

To figure out your base rate, you’ll need to account for three things:

Salaries – the money you pay yourself, staff if have one, along with costs associated with salaries like insurances and taxes.

Overhead – All the stuff you need to pay for to keep your boat afloat.

Profit – The money that enables your business to grow or pay for unexpected things, like when your computer takes a nose dive.

As luck would have it, I wrote an article on figuring your rate a while back. Here’s a link to it onCreative Latitude. This will give you the nitty gritty on how to do it.

Once you know your real numbers, you can begin to make sensible decisions about the direction you want to take.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

One of the biggest problems I run into with my marketing consulting clients is positioning … or rather the lack of it. Many think they have decent positioning in the minds of their clients and prospects, but in reality, it’s often a first cousin to “me too” marketing. When everybody’s saying the same thing, they’re ultimately saying nothing. That makes it pretty tough for you to stand out in the crowd.

Think about how often you hear things like, “We’ll do it faster, cheaper, yada, yada, yada.” What happens with that kind of message? You run the risk of working yourself to death for little money. That would be bad. You also run the risk of being confused with the other guy or gal who’s wooing your prospect, too.

The big idea here is to find a way to zig when your competitors are zagging. If you don’t, you run the very real risk of sound just like everybody else. When that happens, you can only compete on price and that’s a lousy place to be.

Sit down and give some serious thought to what makes you different … really different. The truth be told, anybody with a computer some software can call themselves a designer. The competition is stiff and it’s not going away.

What value do you bring to the table? Maybe it’s your experience in a particular industry such as healthcare, or or service like designing annual reports. Clients and prospects are reassured when they know the person they’re working with has done this before and knows the ins and outs. Perhaps you have a peachy process that make working with you a snap and totally on target. When you bring real value to the client relationship, it goes a long way to justifying higher fees.

Finding your position takes some creativity. What spot isn’t owned by your competitors? Which of your strengths can you play up without directly attacking the competition or telling your prospects they’ve been wrong all along.

What are you really selling? A copywriter sells more than words. They sell increased sales for their clients. They sell a perception or image that helps their client get the word out. A designer sells more than a logo or brochure design. The create their client’s face before the public.

When you can distill down what you really sell … the benefits … you’re well on your way to crafting a value proposition and positioning statement that really sets you apart from everyone else out there.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Positioning is a first cousin to branding. It’s about finding that place in your clients’ psyche where your brand will set up housekeeping. You might also think of it as the frame of the branding house.

The concept of positioning was introduced by Al Reis and Jack Trout in 1981. Going to the source seems to make sense. Here’s their definition of positioning from their book, Positioning: The battle for your mind,
“Positioning is an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances.”

The trick with positioning is being first to the customer’s mind. In most cases, unless you’ve really got something new, you’re not going to be in first place. Trying to unseat Numero Uno is a tough act, if not impossible, for several reasons. Not the least of those is that by trying to unseat them, you’re essentially telling your prospects that they’re wrong. Folks generally don’t like to be told that.

To help you find your position, consider conducting a Competitive Analysis to find your competitors’ weaknesses. Then, do a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis to find your strengths. How can you use this information to spin your positioning message and find your niche in the customer’s mind? Our e-book, “Marketing Tune-Up,” contains instructions and handy forms for both.

Think about rental car giants, Hertz and Avis. Hertz historically held the number one spot. Avis, as we all know, is number two, but hey, they try harder. That’s their position - “We try harder.” Or what about 7-Up®’s losing battle to unseat Coke® and Pepsi®? Enter the “Uncola.” The rest was history.

Finding your position takes some creativity. What spot isn’t owned by your competitors? Which of your strengths can you play up without directly attacking the competition or telling your prospects they’ve been wrong all along? But, don’t make it a bunch of hooey. Your position should be genuine and honest.

If you’re a designer that might mean developing a specialty in an area nobody else is covering. Or, it might mean focusing on an under-served industry segment and learning all you can about it. In conjunction with your marketing and public relations, over time, you can become the number one choice for those prospects.

Sometimes, it can be accomplished by changing your job title or the names of your products or services. Instead of a “graphic designer” maybe you’re a “visual communications consultant,” or a “brand essence developer.” This is akin to what ValuJet did after one of its aircraft went down in the Florida Everglades. When that jet went down, their positioning quickly changed to “The risky airline.” In an almost immediate re-branding and positioning juggling act, they changed their name to AirTran. The company is now thriving as one of the top low-fare airlines.

The big idea here is to find a way to zig when your competitors are zagging. If you don’t, you run the very real risk of “me-too” marketing. When that happens, you can only compete on price and that’s a lousy place to be.

By carefully selecting your positioning and reinforcing it with savvy branding you’ll find your marketing, over time, becomes a much easier task. It’s easier because you’ve laid a solid foundation. Each new activity builds on the ones done before. You’ll avoid the scattered, “try this and try that” approach. Let your competitors take that road to Feast Or Famineville.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
All the best,
nt