It's all about the positioning
No, I don’t mean asking your clients to hold each other differently! When it comes to marketing, positioning is very important.
To get a bit philosophical, there is no true reality. There is only the reality we see through our eyes and process through our minds. We can make that analogy with photography. When you look through the lens, you see a version of reality. And if several people take a photo of an identical subject, we know we can get plenty of different results. Why? Because we all interpret what we see a bit differently.
Positioning is how you want your target market to perceive you. You work to create an image in the client’s mind which would draw them to you over others.
If you’re not careful, doing certain things, like offering rock bottom prices, could inadvertently create your position for you. People might see low prices and associate that with “cheap” and “low quality”. Now, you might be keeping prices low for a very good reason, like you’re just starting out and charging commensurate with experience, but if you haven’t carefully crafted that as a position, then people may perceive something else. The last thing you want is for others to perceive you in a way that you didn’t want. That can be really hard to come back from and can hinder your efforts to fill those bookings.
Take Walmart as an example. Their positioning is low prices - very deliberately. Make no mistake that this isn’t a highly managed business strategy and a careful cultivation and maintenance of a perception that keeps people coming - we will keep our prices low for you - come shop with us. What is the first retailer that comes to mind if someone wants something inexpensive? Walmart made over 13 billion dollars in profit in 2017. I think it’s a good example that their positioning is quite successful.
Basically, you want to have utmost control in how people see your business and that means thinking always how your actions and decisions will affect your positioning. If you position yourself as a luxury brand, then running Fall minis for $85 because business is slow, or giving a discount for no good reason other than you couldn’t say no, can all ‘break’ that positioning, which leaves room for client confusion and mistrust of your brand. Take another example. You walk into a luxury car dealership and sit into the driver’s side of their premium vehicle with a premium price. Leather seats, intricate detailing and….a cheapo, plastic cupholder that looks like it will break after one use. Really, luxury car manufacturer? You couldn’t give me a better design and material on that? Where else might you have skimped? You’re luxury until I buy my Starbucks that will end up on my lap….and you want how much?
How do you want clients to perceive you when they look through their lens, at you?
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