In any business sector, competition is fierce. The increasing number of embedded solutions and innovative startups that target different sectors simultaneously result in the broad, and blurred, competitive market. By blurred market, we mean that now businesses compete not only with other rivals who have similar target consumers and positioning but with every player in the market segment. A simple example of grocery stores: Carrefour would now compete not only with Lidl (who already has different positioning) but also with Amazon (online food delivery).
This change created new levels of competition analysis:
Macro level that looks at all possible competition and moves in it;
Meso level that identifies relevant competitors;
Micro level that helps to identify the main direct competitor and analyse their strengths and weaknesses.
The goal of every brand is to gain a distinctive place in the consumer’s mind. This concept has become more important since the market competition grew rapidly. Success stories are copied. Many businesses face a gap in positioning: when positioning perceived by the audience deviates from the desired outcome. In that case, there are two outcomes: the first one is tightening the business’ marketing policy. However, if the business owner acknowledges that its desired positioning is not right, the company may undertake the whole process again. The process of identifying the brand’s position on the market is the following: analysis of the company’s identity, current trends, and competition; selection of the desired positioning; implementation of the marketing policy; and continuous evaluation.
So, what is the most effective way of positioning in a blurred market? It is highly important to conduct a thorough analysis of trends. Do not confuse it with searching “what’s hot right now” though. The correct analysis of trends involves identifying changes in the external company environment that are likely to impact consumer needs and matching those with your company’s competences. Demographic, economic, cultural, tech, ecological and political developments all have to be considered in trend analysis. Then, emerging consumer needs have to be identified based on those developments. For example, in our previous blog, we mentioned that the rise of individualistic culture has created a need for personalized products, and consumers are ready to pay for it more. Then, analysis is followed by identifying the impact of trends and needs on the company’s competencies. The match between all three parts (trends, needs, and competencies) creates a trend bundle. The bigger the bundle, the more growth opportunities your business has.
Trend-bundling is a great base to create a vision or a strategy for the company. A well-developed positioning then includes common processes: formulating a mission statement, defining the core proposition, and creating desired brand associations.
