Overview
The consumer market is highly dynamic, with fierce competition across almost every sector. One may wonder how companies carve out their unique brand position in such a crowded space. What types of brand positioning strategies do they use? What makes their brand positioning statement different from others?
According to Edelman, 81% of consumers will not consider buying from brands unless they trust the company. These staggering statistics underscore the pivotal role of market positioning in influencing consumer behavior. The good and bad news is that effective product positioning strategies bring endless possibilities for brands seeking to stand out and connect with their target audience.
This article explains how to develop strong brand positioning to build a solid brand presence. You will also learn how to craft a compelling brand positioning statement that drives growth and success. Read on to learn new tactics for brand and product marketing.
Understanding Brand Positioning
Having a well-crafted brand positioning framework is the foundation for all marketing efforts, guiding messaging, product development, and customer interaction. Brand positioning is a strategic process that defines how companies differentiate themselves in the market. It’s about how the target audience perceives a brand.
Establishing solid brand positioning is a key factor in building brand equity. This equity translates into increased brand loyalty, higher perceived value, and the ability to command premium pricing for products or services. Positioning is crucial for product marketing as it forms the basis for consumer communication and engagement. It creates a consistent image and fosters trust and credibility.
Types of Brand Positioning
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to branding positioning. Considering that various brand positioning strategies are essential for brands to develop a unique identity in the market that connects with their target audience from several distinct viewpoints. Each division of the strategy serves a specific purpose and can be tailored to different marketing conditions, consumer needs, and competitive landscapes.
A single previously understood strategy may not be sufficient for every situation, as it may not effectively address a brand’s unique challenges and opportunities. Thus, trying different positioning approaches increases the chances of resonating with the target audience and driving brand awareness by creating a new hybrid market position.
The following are the main types of brand positioning strategies:
Customer Service Positioning
In customer service positioning, the company emphasizes the quality of service as a critical differentiator in the market. By highlighting exceptional customer service, brands can develop a positive brand perception, justify premium pricing, and build brand loyalty.
For example, Apple’s customer service is known for its friendly, quick responses, which justify the premium pricing of its products. Disha’s publication is another example to consider. The brand has positioned itself as a trusted name in the publication world by emphasizing its exceptional customer service through sponsored ads.
Providing reliable customer service is essential for creating a positive customer experience that can help increase brand recall. Delivering on the promise of exceptional customer service is critical, as failure to do so can result in negative reviews, customer complaints, and damage to the brand’s reputation.
Convenience-Based Brand Positioning
Convenience and effortless experience are powerful tools for attracting potential customers toward your brand and product. This strategy highlights the ease of use, accessibility, and time-saving benefits of a company’s product or service. Companies can use such methods to attract busy consumers who value efficiency and simplicity in their purchasing decisions.
Companies may offer convenience based on location, ease of use, broad accessibility, multi-platform support, or product design. For instance, the Swiffer WetJet is advertised as a convenient alternative to a traditional mop due to its disposable mopping pads. Consumers can easily clean without the hassle of dealing with dirty mop heads.
Convenience can come at a cost. Companies must ensure they have the resources to deliver on their promise. It must have a strong development team for multi-platform support or automatic refill programs for products that require constant replenishment. When prioritizing convenience, a company must more intentionally understand the product journey, identifying friction points before first use and as the product is used over time.
Price-Based Positioning Strategy
Price-based positioning is another powerful strategy that CPG brands can use to position themselves. Companies can use this technique to present their product or service as the best bang for the buck.* As a result, they can attract a large customer base because no one likes to spend more than they have to, especially in the current financial crunch. Offering the best value is an easy way to get more consumers to engage in brand switching.
* This is different than being the “low-cost leader,” which brings about more problems than it’s worth.
This strategy also has its share of risks and drawbacks, giving prospects the impression of lower production quality than that of well-built standalone solutions. Brands may also encounter economic issues that can hinder their brand positioning over time. For example, Subway’s $5 footlong couldn’t survive inflation.
Quality-Based Positioning Strategy
Quality-based positioning is one of the most straightforward and compelling brand positioning strategies. It’s a strategic move for emerging brands whose products cost a premium. Companies can present the quality of their products through exceptional craftsmanship, small-batch production, high-quality materials, and even sustainable practices that make them more expensive to produce. All of this occurs through effective brand storytelling.
Companies offering services can leverage evidence of exceptional results, high ROI, and glowing customer testimonials. The only issue with this strategy is that budget-conscious shoppers may bypass your brand for cheaper alternatives. So, looking at your buyer personas, target customers’ income, and shopping habits is highly recommended. This will determine whether emphasizing quality with premium pricing is the right approach for your brand.
OXO, Earth Breeze, and Moleskine are excellent examples of brands using quality-based positioning.
Competitive Positioning
In the case of competitor positioning, companies rely on their product’s uniqueness or innovative qualities compared to the traditional competition. It must introduce outclass and distinguishable attributes that make the product one of its kind. For instance, Iwon Organics has positioned itself to offer a better-for-you protein-rich product, differentiating itself from competitors that offer more traditional snack products.
Another perfect example is Crest, which has positioned itself as a brand offering superior oral health benefits, distinguishing itself from competitors with less effective solutions. Similarly, before Tesla, there weren’t any attractive electric vehicles. Tesla introduced reliable electric cars and became well-known for its autonomous driving technology.
Adopting a competitive positioning strategy will attract consumers who appreciate innovation. But there is one limitation to consider. If the product is entirely new, it is recommended to share the research and testing that went into its creation. Innovation-driving consumers are highly interested in understanding how new tech works.
Functional Positioning
Functional brand positioning is a branding and marketing strategy that highlights a product’s specific benefits and features that meet the consumer’s needs and desires. This approach emphasizes the functional aspects of a product, such as its performance, reliability, and practicality, to create a distinct and competitive position in the market. Its impact can be significant, as it allows brands to appeal to consumers seeking specific product attributes.
Some examples of brands currently leveraging functional positioning include:
- Oatly: known for its plant-based milk products, promoting health and sustainability
- RXBAR: Emphasizes simple and natural ingredients in its protein bars
- HelloFresh: Focuses on convenience and time-saving meal solutions
- Halo Top: Low-calorie, high-protein ice cream
These brands effectively showcase the impact of functional positioning in the CPG industry by catering to consumers’ specific needs and preferences while gaining a competitive edge over aging products through brand distinction.
Symbolic Positioning
Symbolic positioning creates an emotional bond between consumers and the brand using symbols, values, or lifestyles. It goes beyond the product’s functional benefits and aims to establish a strong brand identity and personality that resonates with the target audience.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream uses symbolic positioning by highlighting values of social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and community involvement. Their flavors and packaging reflect social issues and causes, appealing to ethically conscious consumers.
Lush, a cosmetic brand, has positioned itself symbolically by promoting natural ingredients, cruelty-free products, and environmental sustainability. Their brand messaging focuses on self-care, individuality, and ethical beauty practices, resonating with consumers who prioritize conscious consumption and personal well-being.
Companies might struggle to convey the desired symbolic meanings to consumers. One way to overcome these challenges is to use a brand positioning map to visualize positioning relative to competitors and identify potential areas for differentiation in the symbolic space.
Experiential Positioning
Experiential positioning is a strategy that focuses on unique, memorable interactions between customers and the brand. By providing exceptional experiences at every touchpoint, companies can develop lasting relationships.
Effective brand positioning aligns the brand’s values, messaging, and offerings with the target audience’s needs and preferences. Understanding the connection between customer experience, brand positioning, and engagement in marketing management creates an impactful brand strategy.
There is no restriction on the types of products that can engage in experiential positioning. Whether it’s water or consumer electronics, making it part of your ethos sets you apart from brands that aren’t considering this strategy.
Picking the Right Brand Positioning Strategy
Selecting the right strategy can be challenging at times. So many factors are involved, which can make the process a bit cumbersome. Here are the necessary steps that can make the process easy for you:
Understand Your Target Customer
Use research insights to understand what your target customer wants. Is it innovation, uniqueness, or ease of use? Consider your brand personality and the nature of your products as well. Innovation doesn’t mean introducing a futuristic product all the time. Sometimes, there can be innovation in the packaging design. For instance, the Box wine was an innovative solution that allowed easy pouring.
Analyze the Market and Competitors
You must understand the market from various angles to better position your brand. Carefully analyze the competitive landscape and see what your competitors are offering. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. It identifies the white spaces and opportunities that your brand can leverage. For instance, if there are a few organic and gluten-free snack options, you can position your brand as a provider of them.
Develop a Positioning Statement
An effective positioning statement can be a great way to communicate your brand’s mission, vision, and goals. It must include the target customer, the category in which you compete, the unique benefit you offer, and the reason to believe. For example, your positioning statement could be: “We offer organic and gluten-free snacks that are healthy, convenient, and delicious because we believe that everyone deserves to enjoy healthy snacks without compromising on taste or convenience.”
Test and refine your positioning
A positioning statement isn’t finished the moment you write it; it’s finished when your target customers validate it. Put it in front of real people through surveys, focus groups, or online testing to understand whether the message lands, differentiates, and reflects what actually matters in their decision-making.
Use that feedback to refine your approach, especially if competing brands already occupy similar territory. Whether you’re exploring competitor-based, quality-based, or price-based positioning, testing reveals whether your strategy creates meaningful separation and supports a strong, scalable brand positioning.
Once validated, reinforce the positioning everywhere on the website, packaging, advertising, and digital marketing. Consistent communication transforms a statement into successful brand positioning and ensures consumers understand exactly why your brand matters and where it stands in the competitive landscape.
Implementing Effective Brand Positioning
While choosing the right market positioning strategy is necessary, implementing it effectively is even more essential. Here are the steps to develop and implement a compelling brand positioning strategy to bring maximum results.
The Role of Market Research
Strong brand positioning starts long before a statement is written; it begins with disciplined market research. You need a clear grasp of your brand personality, your target audience, their interests, and the consumer perceptions shaping how they judge your category. Use every tool available, social listening, focus groups, interviews, and polls, to surface the insights that actually matter.
From there, evaluate your current position with honesty. How do consumers really see you? Where do you sit relative to different brand positioning strategies already dominating the space? This clarity is the foundation for building a positioning strategy that works.
With insights in hand, craft a focused positioning statement, a meaningful brand promise, and a brand management framework that aligns your team. These pieces must communicate a unique value proposition while giving you room to leverage different types of positioning strategies from benefit-led to price-based to lifestyle-oriented. When everything aligns, you claim a distinct market position, build brand recognition, and strengthen long-term customer loyalty.
The Need For a Brand Positioning Framework
Brand positioning isn’t something you improvise. Without a structured framework, even the strongest ideas can confuse your audience, blur differentiation, or collapse under competitive pressure. That’s why a disciplined brand positioning framework is essential; it removes guesswork and creates clarity before you ever go to market.
A strong framework starts by defining your unique value proposition and mapping how it stacks up against competitors across different types of positioning in marketing, functional positioning, symbolic positioning, and every variation in between. When done well, it gives your team a clear guardrail for decision-making and a blueprint for consistent execution.
The payoff is real: stronger customer loyalty, a defensible competitive advantage, and higher conversion across every touchpoint. In a crowded category, brands that take positioning seriously are the ones consumers remember again and again.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Brand Positioning
Brand positioning matters only when it creates clarity, distinction, and relevance. But most brands stumble long before they earn that level of consumer perception. These are the pitfalls that derail even well-intentioned strategies.
- Mismatched Identity Across Channels: When your identity shifts from your website to your social feeds to your packaging, you erode trust. Inconsistent signals make it impossible for customers to anchor your brand in their minds.
- Ignoring Competitors: Competitor-based positioning isn’t optional. Markets evolve quickly, and dismissing competitive moves, whether in price-based positioning, quality-based positioning, or niche positioning, creates openings for others to define the category.
- Relying on Intuition: Intuition is not a strategy. Without testing, measurement, and iteration, you’re guessing, and guessing is expensive.
- Assuming Customer Preferences: Believing you “just know” what people want leads to generic messaging that never earns attention. Consumer perception must be validated with research, not assumptions.
- Lack of Insight in Brand Positioning: A positioning statement without a unique angle is noise. Weak insights lead to interchangeable brands no one remembers.
- Failing to Differentiate Properly: Hoping differentiation will magically appear is wishful thinking. You must deliberately engineer a unique position that solves a real problem better than competitors.
- Ignoring Alignment Within the Organization: Positioning dies when only marketing believes in it. Without operational alignment, brand strategy collapses during execution.
- Focusing on Category Consumers Instead of Real People: Effective positioning requires understanding real motivations, context, and aspirations, not just “category buyers.” When brands connect with the human behind the purchase, everything clicks.
Famous Brand Positioning Failures
Brand positioning demands precision. When brands skip the strategic groundwork, deep consumer insight, precise benefit positioning, competitive analysis, and real testing, the disconnect shows up fast on shelves and in declining market share. Some of the most famous misfires prove exactly why disciplined brand identity and positioning matter.
Take Frito-Lay. A powerhouse in salty snacks, yet they greenlit a Cheetos-flavored lip balm. The product had zero alignment with the brand’s lifestyle positioning or target market expectations, and immediately collapsed.
Burger King followed with Satisfries, a lower-calorie fry meant to tap into health-focused consumer preferences. The problem? It clashed with BK’s indulgence-forward brand strategy. Reduced fat wasn’t a benefit their audience valued, so the product faded fast.
Then there’s Colgate, whose attempt to enter the frozen-dinner aisle became a textbook case of poor price positioning and brand stretch. A brand known for fresh breath should never lead with lasagna; consumers rejected it instantly.
And Cosmopolitan, a media brand with strong cultural influence, launched yogurt because its audience already ate it. But consumption habits don’t equal permission. Without a credible brand identity tie-in, the product disappeared within 18 months.
These failures highlight the real advantages of brand positioning done right: clarity, credibility, and resonance. Skip those, and even the most prominent brands can lose their footing.
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Data-Driven Brand Positioning Framework
Are you struggling to position your brand in a competitive landscape? SmashBrand can help. The company utilizes a data-driven approach to develop a practical brand positioning framework that brings results. As your brand positioning agency, our package design testing process will build a strong brand image and a brand positioning framework you can use across your entire product line. Book a time to discuss your project with our team.
A seasoned veteran in the CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) industry, Jason Vaught brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience as the director of content and marketing for SmashBrand. His comprehensive role at the forefront of brand communication ensures that CPG brands remain well-informed about the suite of services SmashBrand offers. Furthermore, his insights derived from the company's strategy, design, and testing services are invaluable to brand owners and managers seeking expert guidance.
From his early endeavors in launching a successful sports nutrition brand that gained prominence in significant bodybuilding and fitness retail spaces to his entrepreneurial ventures in kick-starting multiple brick-and-mortar and e-commerce startups across diverse industries, Jason's career is studded with substantial milestones. Notably, he has innovated numerous products later embraced by leading industry brands, showcasing his knack for anticipating market demands and setting trends.
Jason's journey in the CPG industry commenced at age 21. Over the years, he has worn multiple hats, ranging from a manufacturer and retailer to a distributor and brand owner. This multifaceted experience equips him with the rare ability to offer practical advice grounded in real-world expertise. His mission is to guide and support other CPG brand owners, directors, and managers on their path to success.
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