Lessons from Luxury #2: The Art of Strategic Positioning

'Elegant Insights: Luxury Lessons for Life and Business', uncovering invaluable lessons from looking deeply beyond the glitz and glamour. For better margins, stronger loyalty, and elevated leadership - personally and professionally. It's my hope this lifts you positively!

?? Reading time is 5 minutes

What are the benefits of positioning? And how can you go about finding your own position? Here’s a hint: Positioning is YOUR narrative. Don't let others define it for you. Or In the words of Jeff Bezos : “your brand is what others say about you when you’re not in the room.” Positioning yourself is, in many ways, taking an active role in shaping this narrative.

What is Positioning?

Positioning drives your direction; it tells everyone who you are, it differentiates you and cuts through the clutter. Positioning makes you the clear voice in a sea of noise. Clear and consistent positioning instills trust, simplifies choice by reducing risk, spurs demand and if done correctly, creates pricing power. As you begin to occupy a place/position in an audience’s mind and heart, it builds loyalty and creates value over time.

Position to be First

July 1969, three men wrote history going to the moon. Most of us will remember Neil Armstrong, few Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (who set foot on the moon only minutes after Armstrong). No one remembers Mike Collins, yet he was critically important. Aldrin and Buzz would never have made it onto the moon, let alone back, without him (he piloted the capsule while his colleagues got moon-dust under their boots). What do we take from this? Simple: Positioning works best when you’re first.

Look at these examples of brands that have managed to become first and occupy entire categories: Search – 谷歌 , Energy drink – Red Bull , Crystals – 施华洛世奇 - and the list goes on (more in the full article on my website).

None of these came into existence overnight. Strategic positioning takes time, careful reflection, and guts. Sure, it’s hard to achieve – but it pays huge dividends.

Positioning in Luxury

Generally, the stronger the positioning of a brand the more people must pay for beyond rational propositions. For example, watches by Montres Breguet or Audemars Piguet priced at $10,000 and up are made only for select groups of watch collectors, status-seeking consumers or the 0.1% of the world’s population for whom money is just no issue. Within such a tight, yet competitive market space, strategic positioning is everything. Real luxury is not targeted at everyone, quite the contrary. Deliberate eliminators such as price or access exclude most people. It’s counter-intuitive, but it works.

So what? Positioning is first and foremost about who you are not, as much as it is about who you are. It is about exclusion. A bit of positive polarization and deliberate distance to ‘traditional’ competition can go a long way. A luxury watch’s competition may not be other luxury watch brands, but other categories altogether. Or in the words of Lady Gaga:

I'm not interested in people positioning me next to other artists.

The benefit of such clarity is focus and efficiency in everything you do.

Five Steps to Clarify Your Positioning

To get started you will need an honest and candid perspective about yourself. What are you strong at, why? What do you believe in, what drives you? In addition to knowing yourself well, you also need to intrinsically understand and match what you are strong at with the benefits for your audiences. Getting under their skin is the only way to engage, inspire, and connect in a way that is both meaningful and valuable to them – and to you.

1. Self-Reflection

Identify your core values, strengths, and passions. Consider your unique skills, experiences, and personal attributes that set you apart.

2. Define Your Why

Why do you do what you do? What motivates you? What are your long-term goals? What is the impact you want to make in your professional and personal life?

3. Know Your Target Audience

Whom do you want to connect with or serve, why? What do you bring to them? Understanding the needs and expectations of your intended audience is crucial in aligning your personal positioning with those you aim to resonate with.

4. Articulate Your Unique Offering

Match and articulate your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives that differentiate you with your audience. This involves the candid assessment of your strengths from Step 1 and the value you bring to your target audience in step 3.

5. Craft, Test, Refine – And then Stick with it

Don't rush to shoot your silver bullet. Once out, it's gone. Crafting a clear and authentic personal positioning statement serves as a guiding beacon for your actions, decisions, and interactions, helping you consistently communicate what you stand for.

In the art of self-positioning, clarity is as your guiding light. Crafting your distinct narrative is not just a strategic choice; it's your passport to becoming an irreplaceable force in your chosen area. Dare to stand out, stay true, and let your distinct positioning be the anthem of your success.

What benefits do you see in strategically positioning yourself? How has positioning made a difference in your personal or professional journey?

Onwards and Upwards ??

Enjoyed reading this? ???? Subscribe here.

For more follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter or on my personal website.

About:?Markus Kramer is the MD at specialist consultancy Brand Affairs, advising Boards, Executives and Operational Teams on all aspects of Strategic Positioning, Reputation and Brand Management. He is a senior visiting Professor in Strategic Brand Management at Bayes Business School and holds degrees from the Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley Extension and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of The Guiding Purpose Strategy??and Co-Author of the Responsible Investment Brand Index RIBI?.