Landscape Management, October 2012

BUSINESSPLANNER2013 Position your company for growth By Judy Guido hile the economic fallout has converted many companies into corpses it also has attracted many new players to the market of which about 25 percent will survive Regardless of the state of the competitive landscape you need to position your company strategically for sustainable growth Lets begin by defning positioning which is the act of designing a companys offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target market according to Philip Kotler the father of marketing One of the frst steps in positioning a company is understanding the position your brand occupies in the stakeholders mind This requires objectively assessing and evaluating your brand from their point of view not yours After working with hundreds of companies and conducting primary research about positioning Ive learned only 40 percent of companies assess their brand positioning accurately Key reasons for this include large gaps of time between assessments poorly designed assessments and assessments conducted by inexperienced people Positioning is a strategic competitive tool In its simplest form it pits a brand against its competitors It forces the customer to answer the question Why should I buy from your company instead of the competition One of the key attributes of positioning is meaningful LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET OCTOBER 2012 36 differentiation so stakeholders can distinguish your offerings from the competition In a recent research study I conducted with commercial and residential customers less than 8 percent could articulate or identify any real differentiation among companies There are various ways you can differentiate and position yourself target markets geographical footprint product or service pricing sales channel and promotion Additionally you can differentiate by expertise equipment technology or supply chain For example does your supply chain provide a price or time to site advantage over your competition Your position might be that of an innovator whose customer receives the benefts of cost reductions and operational effciencies If youre a landscape maintenance provider Do you offer services your competitors dont such as storm water management Do you deliver your services faster and at a lower price Do you offer expanded hours and days of operation Do you perform your services seven days a week whereas the competition limits its service delivery to fve days a week Perhaps your company positions itself as customer centric reliable convenient and easy to do business with Research shows customers place high value on ease of conducting business reliability and convenience Communicating your position You create your brand identity via marketing tools such as brochures feet design and a website A brand image is the view the market has of your company Identity and image need to be aligned and consistent within the target market you serve It might come as a surprise but your brand identity and image might differ by target markets For example in an industrial market you might be positioned as the low maintenance provider whereas in a Class A retail target you might be positioned as the high design colorscape subjectmatter expert