When is change a good thing?

You've heard that commercial a million times. That ad is starting to look old. Your logo - does it really address who we are? The Sales Manager doesn't seem so hungry anymore, blah, blah blah. What is really going on here? Do the marketing materials need a kick in the pants? Well maybe, but let's hold our horses a bit. Remember, you live with your brand day-in and day-out. Your prospects aren't as aware of your brand as you are. My rule of thumb is, when you starting to get sick of your message, target customers are only now becoming aware of you.

It is so easy sometimes to change the commercial, change the advertising and logo, when you really must look deeper into your brand. Discover what about your brand is holding you back. Only careful analysis and stakeholder research will give you the answers you're looking for.

What you have to do is analyze your brand and determine if you are benefiting from a differentiation strategy, or are you blending in with all the competition in your category. If you are blending in then you know doubt have become simply a commodity item to your customer and this "lowest price trap" is the cause of your doldrums. The only way out is to develop a uniqueness that compels them to buy from you. It is your positioning strategy that must change - with marketing materials following its lead.

Of course it could be that sales manager. The mortgage is paid, the kids are out of the house - what's his incentive? This is a good topic for a future article.

Position yourself as the clear choice.

What are you nuts? We can't do that!

Or can we?

In helping companies to position themselves, half of the challenge is inspiring them and the other half is encouraging them to embrace what may seem at first to be impossible. Much of what I do is listen to how your company works. What is it that your customers love about you? What would they miss if you were to disappear over night? I have to get into how you think. If you are an owner - the visionary of the company, your dynamic plays a large role in your brand. Your decisions have affected for a large part the reputation your brand carries into your marketplace.

Many times in developing the positioning strategy for companies much of what inspires the Bold Idea comes directly from the mouth of the company's visionary - other times the Bold Idea is inspired by the visionary's passion. How ever the idea comes, it almost always emboldens you, the visionary to do remarkable things with it. This is due to the fact that we are bringing to the table a very compelling proposition for the customer. My job in developing the Bold Idea Positioning Strategy is to find a marketable point of differentiation. Many customers have built a very good business being all things to all people. If they wish to go to the next level they must be bold. They must stand out in the customers mind as the clear choice, not one of many.

The very nature of a bold idea challenges and then inspires. Your competition will probably think you're nuts (at least that's what their hope is). Even they know that while a bold idea is what everyone craves very view have the fortitude to act on it.

The Bold Idea Positioning Strategy is your opportunity to show the real value of your company and it's relationship with your customers and competition in a spectacular way.

No, you're not nuts and YES you will succeed!