The AEC industry is a dynamic and competitive marketplace with a profusion of firms vying for clients’ attention, interest, and ultimately projects. While the industry has traditionally relied on word-of-mouth referrals to win new business, like all B2B service buyers, those in the built environment are relying more and more on digital communication channels to learn about and identify the right firms for their projects. The number of marketing techniques used to reach audiences appears to be ever widening, and AEC industry leaders and fast growth firms are using new marketing tactics to greater effect, developing more valuable and engaging content, and creating stronger differentiation from competitor firms.
AEC clients are interested in and actively researching the service providers that can deliver the right solutions for their project challenges. However, with the vast number of firms delivering messaging through numerous channels, it’s important to note that clients have only a limited amount of headspace to hold a perception of your firm, how you are different from competitors, and why you are best positioned to help solve their issues.
If you are a middle market AEC company supporting multiple services and markets on a finite budget, how do you leverage the numerous media channels available to reach different audiences while still conveying a consistent, compelling, and distinct image for your firm? The answer is by having a sound brand strategy with a strong brand positioning.
Brand Positioning: A Vital Part of Brand Strategy
Corporate brand strategies can have multiple components, including key brand insights, target audience definitions, core messaging, brand identity, brand style guidelines and more. While different companies and marketing agencies include different elements in their overall strategic brand planning, one thing all strong brand strategies have in common is a Brand Positioning Statement. And that’s what we are going to focus on in this article, because a Brand Positioning Statement is a foundational building block in any strategic marketing program.
Your Brand Positioning is the unifying idea that you want target audiences to believe when they think of your firm.
Simply put, your Brand Positioning is the unifying idea that you want target audiences to
believe when they think of your firm. If you don’t define your brand positioning and support it with messaging that shapes how you want your firm to be perceived, others, including your competitors, are happy to do your positioning work for you. And that will likely not be the perception you desire.
AEC firms and infrastructure companies sometimes skip this vital component and want to jump directly into message development. They do so to their own detriment. When you align your messaging with a focused brand positioning, you can be sure your marketing efforts are driving your intended firm perception. When you don’t, your messaging can appear scattered and random, and your firm’s image can become unfocused and inconsistent. I call it committing “random acts of communication”, and this approach is ineffective in creating a strong and compelling story about your brand.
Research-Based Brand Positioning
Effectively positioning your brand often includes some form of foundational brand research. This may be quantitative (surveys) or qualitative (interviews) research with clients, interviews with your team leadership, an analysis of competitive messaging and perceptions, or surveys with your employees, depending on the size and scope of your firm. Amongst other things, brand research can help you identify your firm's perceived strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of your clients and employee team, what attributes audiences find most valuable about your company, and where you stand versus competitors. Research and the insights that you take from it give you a fact-based picture of how your firm is perceived and where the fertile ground is for your brand positioning. While it takes some time and effort, the insights and strategic direction that you gain from research are well worth the work upfront.
Brand Differentiators and Brand Positioning
At Blueprint CMO + Strategic Brand Advisors, an articulation of Brand Positioning generally consists of two core elements, your Brand Differentiators (or Brand Pillars) and your overall Brand Positioning Statement. Your Brand Differentiators are the attributes that make you distinct from competitors and more compelling to your audiences. Most firms have three to five legitimate, provable Brand Differentiators. Your Brand Positioning Statement is the overarching articulation of who you are and how you want to be perceived at the firm level. It is an umbrella statement that covers all markets, services, and target audiences. Your Brand Differentiators and Brand Positioning Statement must be true to who you are, relevant to your audiences, and differentiating from your competitors to be most effective.
Firms of every size benefit from a concise, compelling Brand Positioning. For smaller firms, it guides you to effectively focus a limited budget in support of your most critical strategic messaging. For larger, more diversified firms, Brand Positioning statements provide a unifying message about who you are and what makes you different as a firm, bringing a cohesive theme to numerous communications with multiple audiences.
Your Brand Differentiators and Positioning Statement must be true to who you are, relevant to your audiences, and differentiating from your competitors to be most effective.
Developing Messaging Based on Brand Positioning
It is important to note that your Brand Positioning is an internal document that guides
communication, it’s not a tagline or marketing copy. A strong positioning will not limit your
communications, it will focus support behind your most compelling messaging. For example, let’s say that one element of your firm’s brand positioning includes “creating innovative solutions to solve our clients most complex issues.” In this instance, you could post case studies on your website reflecting the innovative solutions you've deployed to solve complex client issues, highlight in your new project win announcements how innovation was a deciding factor in the contract award, and do “thought leadership” content with your in-house SMEs on the “three key benefits to clients” of your innovative approach to solving a specific industry issue. In short, you could promote different innovative solutions in different channels to different audiences while consistently supporting the key aspect of your brand positioning of “creating innovative solutions to solve complex issues.”
Additional Benefits of a Strong Brand Positioning
Beyond setting direction for cohesive strategic messaging, additional benefits to a strong Brand Positioning include the following.
1. Unifying Your Firm
Developing your brand positioning can be a unifying initiative for the entire firm.
Whether you utilize surveys with clients and employees, a competitive analysis,
interviews with various internal stakeholders, or all these sources of input to help
develop your brand positioning, you will be bringing multiple perspectives and insights
about your company to light for review and discussion. As you focus, coalesce, and
agree to the most compelling ideas for your differentiators and positioning, you will
bring alignment to your organization and a shared, company-wide understanding of who
you are and how you are different in a crowded marketplace.
2. Setting a Strategic Guidepost
A Brand Positioning Statement can serve as a strategic guidepost for evaluating the numerous decisions that affect your firm’s image and reputation. As you evaluate new programs, partnerships, and initiatives, a strong positioning will lead you to ask not just “Is this a good initiative?” but “Does this initiative support the strategic position we want to hold in the marketplace?” Employees across your organization are making decisions every day that affect perception of your firm. They make better strategic decisions when they ask the second question, and answer it from a shared understanding of your Brand
Positioning.
3. Optimizing Your Marketing Resources
Your marketing resources are finite, and the attention your target audience gives to
your firm is limited. Communications that support a strong Brand Positioning ensure
that the time and money your team spends developing and distributing messaging is
aligned with your overall brand marketing goals, is relevant to target audiences, and
differentiates and elevates your firm from competitors. Remember, clients have only a
limited amount of headspace devoted to perception of your firm. Use your messaging
wisely and don’t fall victim to committing “random acts of communication.”
Developing, articulating, and messaging from a distinct Brand Positioning is a vital part of every strategic marketing program. However, positioning is not a “one and done” exercise. It should be reviewed regularly considering changes in your company, industry, and competitors. Your Brand Positioning may need to evolve as marketplace conditions change, new technologies shift client expectations, or you expand your service offerings or target new markets.
A good time to evaluate your Brand Positioning is when you are doing your strategic planning. If your strategies are changing to the extent that you will need to be perceived differently in the marketplace to succeed, then it may be time to review your Brand Positioning and ensure it is aligned with your corporate strategic direction.
Michael Racis is a Fractional CMO, and Founder of Blueprint CMO + Strategic Brand Advisors, LLC. He has developed brand strategy, positioning, messaging, and marketing plans for fast growth middle market AEC firms, the nation’s largest electric cooperative, and leading global brands like J.P. Morgan, Chase Bank, Intel, and Evian. Learn more at blueprintadv.com.
ความคิดเห็น