Content Jam 2014 - Susan Silver - Who Are You? 5 Keys to Positioning Your Business

Who Are You?

5 Keys to Positioning Your Business

October 2, 2014

A tight value proposition provides focus for all of your sales & marketing efforts

•  Sales: •  Which customers to talk to •  What to say when you talk to them

•  Marketing: •  Where to spend your money to reach

customers •  What key message point to focus on

© 2014 Argentum Strategy Group. All rights reserved.

5 Key Elements of every value proposition

Unmet Need

Competitive Set

Point of Difference

Reasons to Believe

Target


Basic Positioning Formula

To ________ with ______, your company is the ____________

that __________________________ because ___________,

___________, and ___________.

Target Need Competitive Set

Unique Point of Difference Evidence 1

Evidence 2 Evidence 3


Filling in the template for

To ________ with ______, Give Forward is the ____________

that __________________________ because ___________,

___________, and ___________.

Target Need Competitive Set

Unique Point of Difference Evidence 1

Evidence 2 Evidence 3

People who have friends with cancer who are in

financial need

wish they could help

in a meaningful

way online medical

fundraising tool

empowers people to help financially easy to use

process

fundraising coaches

Has helped people raise more than $2M in the last 6

months


1. Unmet Need

Definition: What customer problem does your product solve?


Running Example: Allen Brothers Steaks


Allen Brothers Unmet Need

Want to eat the very best steaks possible


2. Target

Definition: Who is the customer who has this need?


Who is your bull’s eye customer?

X X X X X


Examples of solid target descriptions

Property managers of dwellings with 500+

units

Upper income moms with kids 2-‐12

Owners of businesses

with under 1K employees

People touched

by Dystonia

People who have friends with cancer

Owners/operators of mulD-‐unit

health club chains w/ 5-‐40 locaDons


Target is the first step in building a persona

Age

Role/Function Geography

Size or Income

Behaviors

Kids

Attitudes

Activities & Interests


Use basic research to gather facts about your key buyer

•  Customer interviews •  Zip codes from online shipping info •  Call reports from sales people •  Survey data* •  Tallying shoppers by hand •  Trade show observaDon


But I have several targets…


Targets tie directly to your Marketing Plan

Single Focused Target Two

s Single Focused Target


Allen Brothers Target

Affluent men 55+


Allen Brothers: More detailed target

Demographics •  55+ •  Male •  Income $200K+ Attitudes •  Great steak is worth paying more for •  It’s possible to purchase great food online

Behaviors •  I am comfortable shopping online for food •  My wife and I eat out frequently •  I shop in gourmet stores in addition to chain grocery stores •  We primarily eat Allen Brothers for special, but non-holiday

meals •  I often give Allen Brothers steaks as gifts


3. Competitive Set

Definition: What are you?

Kids’ Meal

Family Dinner

Teen Snack

Side Dish © 2014 Argentum Strategy Group. All rights reserved.

Allen Brothers Competitive Set

The online prime meat company


4. Point Of Difference

Definition: Why is your company/product unique?

It’s NOT Your Price!


The best Points of Difference clearly meet the Unmet Need

Unmet Need Point of Difference

Company A Want the Dme their kids spend without them to be enriching

Company B Spending too much Dme recruiDng and hiring

Company C Need to provide appropriate healthcare in a correcDonal environment

Helps kids become beNer thinkers

Never read an unqualified resume again

Experts in correcDonal healthcare


Allen Brothers Point Of Difference

Delivers to your home the very best steaks you can get anywhere


5. Reasons to Believe your Point of Difference

Definition: What evidence do you have that this is true?

Awards/CredenDals QuanDfiable Proprietary Process


5. Reasons to Believe your Point of Difference

Definition: What evidence do you have that this is true?

Have in-‐packed over 1B 2D and 3D items

Only 1 in 40 qualified teachers is

hired

They write the ads for

you

Proprietary easy-‐to-‐use hiring soWware

CerDfied 6k+ correcDonal healthcare

professionals including a former surgeon general

Proprietary contract

aNorney veYng and training process

One click/5 minutes to switch

Consistent monthly

bill


Allen Brothers Reasons to Believe

1.  Leading purveyors of USDA prime beef in the US

2.  Their meat served in the very best steakhouses in America

3.  Every piece of meat is hand selected, hand cut and aged by their master butchers


Allen Brothers Positioning Statement

To affluent men 55+ who love steak and want to eat the very best steaks possible, Allen Brothers is the online prime meat company that delivers to your home the very best steaks you can get anywhere because

1.  They are the leading purveyors of USDA prime beef in the country 2.  Their meat is served in the very best steakhouses in America, and 3.  Every piece of meat is hand selected, hand cut and aged by AB’s

master butchers


Thank You!

Susan Silver [email protected]

312-337-7730 www.argentumstrategy.com