Strategic Positioning Statement-the iceberg of your marketing plan

Posted by Rahna on April 3, 2008 under Strategy | Be the First to Comment

One of the great things about teaching is that you also learn when you teach something.  I teach a Branding and Positioning class at the University of Hartford’s Center for Entrepreneurial studies.  We were talking the other day about strategic positioning.   

Strategic positioning statements are usually only one or two sentences, but they are one of the most important one or two sentences for your business.  All of your marketing flows out of your positioning statement.  Earlier in my career, I was taught to picture the positioning statement as the iceberg.  The positioning statement was, for the most part, unseen, but it is that which everything is built upon.  The marketing materials are just what you see as a result of the positioning statement. 

So the position statement is critically important.  It has several critical elements in it: competitive advantage, focus on who your customer is, what your key benefits are and why one should believe you.   

When was the last time you look at your positioning statement?  Do you use it in every creative brief?  Is it something that drives all of your marketing?   

What is your iceberg?