McDonald’s is positioning itself to take over the coffee market. With an advertising budget of $100 million, they want to attract consumers tired of spending too much of their budget on coffee at Starbucks. They’ve been successful so far, and it’s true that Starbucks is losing ground. However, it’s important to consider that while both companies are selling coffee, only one is selling the experience – discussing politics and art just doesn’t work as well in a McCafé, if you ask me.

WalMart and Target are facing a similar battle. WalMart has always competed on cost, and Target has been slightly more upscale, with a focus on quality. Newer WalMart commercials focus on the fact that the consumer is buying the same product that’s offered in other stores (like Target), but that their prices are lower. Target commercials, on the other hand, while definitely promoting value, are trying to raise the appeal of the Target brand. By incorporating high-end designers in their stores with low-cost capsule collections (in housewares, apparel, and shoes), Target is offering consumers a high-quality experience while still offering low prices.

When taking all four of these companies into consideration, it’s important to find which most readily compares to your business now. You might be a McDonald’s, who can take advantage of price wars by offering lower costs in a new market. You could be a Starbucks, who might have to take a back seat during these slow times, but who will remain strong in the future because of your specific appeal. You could also be a WalMart -  a company with a loyal base who comes to you for prices, who can appeal to new customers by offering comparable goods to people looking to cut costs. Maybe you’re a Target – you can improve the quality of your product without raising costs to keep your consumers and attract new ones looking to get the most out of their money. It’s likely that these four companies will still be doing well ten years from now (though of course nothing is certain), and companies can definitely learn from their strategies and differentiation.

By Mary the Intern

-    If you do not position yourself and communicate that position, your customer WILL do it for you. Like it or not, you already have a position. This may or may not be the opinions you would like them to have, but the formation of  those opinions is inevitable
-    The companies that try to be “everything to everyone” become “nothing to no one.”
-    Your positioning statement gives your company focus and without a solid focus, chaos exists.
-    Your company is already being perceived. Companies that win know how to influence that perception and turn it into positive differentiations.

Creating the statement is done through thoughtfully answering the following questions:
(1)    Who are we?
(2)    What do we do?
(3)    Who is our customer?
(4)    What needs do those customers have?
(5)    Who are we competing against?
(6)    What’s different about us?  -or- What is our key benefit?
(7)    Why is that benefit important to your customer?

Once you have a grasp on the answers to those questions ask yourself, “Is this positioning statement matching the position that already exists in the minds of my customers? If not, make that your goal to alter your communication and take small steps to bridging that gap. If so, congratulations! You are on the right track.