The increasing competitiveness in the commercial sector creates the need for companies to redefine their strategies to reach their target audience. But before planning any strategy to strengthen a company’s image, it is necessary to be clear about the difference between brand image and brand positioning.
Brand image: the value perceived by consumers
A brand is a name, it is a design, it is a symbol, but it is also a combination of those elements, which identifies the products of a company. On the other hand, the brand image is made up of all the sensations that a certain brand can arouse in consumers.
When you create a brand, you are aware that it must reflect the set of values that govern the company it represents. These values, in addition to the sensations, experiences and solutions that your brand’s products offer, create an impression on consumers, that is, an image of your brand.
Depending on the experiences and feelings your brand conveys, the image of your brand can be positive or negative. While you cannot make customers think the way you want them to, there are marketing strategies to position your brand among the preferences of your target audience.
Brand positioning: your place in the minds of consumers
Winning the trust of the public and achieving their loyalty are two of the most important objectives for any enterpris; the company that wants to achieve them needs to implement marketing strategies that allow it to demonstrate to customers that its brand is capable of meeting the expectations they have about a product and that it is better than competing brands.
The concept of positioning, in terms of marketing, refers to the place that a certain brand occupies in the minds of consumers in relation to the competition. A good brand positioning is achieved through the implementation of constant marketing and communication strategies to show the consumer the benefits, attributes and differential values of the brand and its products.
A good positioning strategy includes the study of the market in which the brand is to be positioned (local, national, regional, international). Once the market has been identified, the preferences of the target audience should be studied; for this purpose, it is advisable to carry out studies by segments, taking as reference factors such as age, gender, areas of interest or income. When these data are processed, you will have a fairly clear picture of what each population segment expects and you will know how to target each one of them with your marketing strategy in order to achieve a good brand positioning.
A good brand is one that stands out from the competition, serves to identify specific products and projects a comprehensive corporate image.
Once you have managed to position your brand, you will only have to work on strengthening the image with which you will conquer new markets.