The 7 Steps to Expert Positioning

By : Walid

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Marketing is a continuous battle. Every month you devise your plans, execute your strategy and look for victories small and large. Just when you think you have a good plan in place, a new method comes on the scene or an unwelcome competitor shows up unannounced. To win decisively, you need a secret weapon. That weapon, for savvy marketers, is called positioning.

Why is positioning so important? Because marketing is something that we do every day. Here's a good definition of marketing:

Marketing is everything you do to gain and retain a customer.

In marketing you have a choice. You can spin what I call the "marketing roulette wheel" (that's where you do marketing based on what feels right at the moment with no real plan in place) hoping to come out a winner, or you can aim for the marketing bull's-eye by carefully positioning yourself as the expert in your market. If you have the money to waste, then spin away.

However, if you're like the clients we serve and you want to gain the highest return from your marketing dollars, then you need to aim carefully. And over the next few weeks you're going to learn to do just that-aim carefully.

This is the beginning of a marketing mini-series on positioning. In the next few articles you will learn the 7 Steps to Expert Positioning that we teach our clients. Each step is vitally important and builds on the others. Follow these steps and you'll be able to position yourself as the expert in your market. Let's get started with a simple overview of these 7 Steps.

1. Know the Battlefield - The Marketing Battle is fought-and won or lost-not in the marketplace, but in the mind of your prospect. Their decisions are made not based on your product as much as on how they THINK about your product. Match your offering(s) to how they think and you'll place yourself in a winning position.

2. Choose Your Ladder - The prospect thinks in terms of product categories (Rental cars, Pizza, Overnight delivery, etc.). We call these categories "ladders." To Position Yourself as The Expert in the mind of your prospect you must choose your ladder properly.

3. Determine Your Position - Your position (which rung you occupy on the category ladder in their mind) will determine the marketing strategy you use. You want to "own" the top rung of your category ladder in their mind (Hertz, Dominos, FedEx). If that position is taken, then you should create a category that you can own.

4. Define Your Market - Choosing WHO you will target is one of the most important decisions you will make. To hit the bull's eye you need to aim carefully, be patient and communicate in ways that are meaningful to your prospect. Your objective is to win their heart as they come to know, like and trust you.

5. Focus Your Message - You want to BE KNOWN for something. Clarity is paramount. By "owning" a word or phrase in the mind of your prospect, you can dominate your market more easily. To focus properly you will need to purposefully eliminate other distractions.

6. Create Your Media - You will use a variety of media to continually Position Yourself as The Expert in the mind of your prospect. Structuring your Personal, Direct & Credentialed media to communicate your message effectively to your market takes a well thought-out plan that is executed properly.

7. Remain Consistent - Marketing is a process, not an event. To Position Yourself as The Expert in the mind of your prospect takes time. People forget quickly. Repetition is the mother of learning. You can dominate your market and become a household name when you remain consistent.

Those are the 7 Steps to Expert Positioning. They'll work for you if you'll apply them. Always remember that...

Marketing is a process, not an event.

If you want to learn more about the absolute best way to Position Yourself as The Expert, request our FREE eBook at http://paperbackexpert.com/10ways-mwm/.

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