Positioning 101: Why Your Brand Must Fight to be First—in Consumers' Minds

Photo: P.L./Unsplash

Throughout the course of your life, you’ve probably heard the old adage The early bird gets the worm, on quite a few occasions. And depending on the context in which it is used, there are a few different ways one could interpret the phrase. 

My interpretation of the early bird getting the worm is that it simply means whoever arrives at an advantageous situation first—is the one who will reap the greatest benefits by doing so. 

In business, startup founders spanning across various industries could corroborate that being the first brand to enter a category could either be fruitful—or fatal. 

Nevertheless, brands that prevail at becoming first to enter the mind of their target customer base as it concerns at least one relevant benefit—almost always yield immense revenue for their respective companies.

The misconception around being first

Whenever I discuss the importance for a brand to fight to become first with CEOs or founders, they typically assume that I’m referring to their respective brands battling it out with competitors for first place in sales to obtain the largest market share. 

Obviously, any C-suite executive worth their salt desires for their brand to eventually become No.1 in its respective category or industry. 

But that isn't what I’m alluding to when I say that a brand must battle to be first. Being first, from a branding perspective, has absolutely nothing to do with sales or market share; but rather mind share. As in being the first brand to enter consumers’ minds as it pertains to a relevant benefit.

What makes mind share worth fighting for?

Recognized around the world (especially by marketing professionals) as being “The Godfathers of Positioning,” the late Al Ries and Jack Trout, authors of the classic marketing book, Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind, perfectly summed up the importance of why your brand must vie to be first in consumers’ minds. 

“The easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first.” Wrote the duo. “The first person, the first mountain, the first company to occupy the position in the mind is going to be awfully hard to dislodge.”

Similar to a company’s website earning a high ranking on Google's search engine results pages, whichever brand earns its way to becoming first to enter the consumer's mind when they’re ready to make a purchase to receive a relevant benefit—will most likely succeed in earning their business. 

The art of positioning your brand to be first 

Becoming the first brand that a target customer group thinks of doesn’t just occur by happenstance; but rather a series of strategic actions taken with the intent of driving a desired thought into the minds of an audience. 

Some of the most effective ways to successfully execute this endeavor is by focusing on either being distinctive, exclusive, innovative, or original. Take athletic apparel retailer Lululemon for example. 

During one of his initial meetings with the brand’s product team which focused on footwear, Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald had an epiphany. 

Discovering that there was a unique opportunity to potentially transform the women’s performance athletic footwear market simply by creating shoes designed around a woman’s foot (opposed to a male’s foot, which most women’s shoes were created around), McDonald quickly went to work on designing a disruptive product that would go on to become first… in the minds of Lululemon's target customers. 

“I still remember where the light bulb went off. I got excited and it’s like, you got to be kidding me.” Said McDonald in an interview with the Masters of Scale podcast. “We can transform performance athletic wear for her by simply creating a shoe that’s designed off of her foot? And we dramatically made changes.”

Amongst those changes, McDonald would delay the launch of the brand’s men’s footwear line after realizing that a possibly even better opportunity awaited on the horizon. One that could help ensure the brand became top of mind for consumers searching for a particular type of product. 

“We held off our men’s footwear launch because I really wanted to disrupt with this statement about a woman’s first design performance shoe. When we disrupt and create something that doesn’t exist, how can you not get excited about that?”

By disrupting the women’s performance footwear market with an innovative product, McDonald was able to position Lululemon to become the first brand that their target customers thought of whenever they have a need or desire to purchase a woman's performance sneaker. 

A move that has shown to be very lucrative for the multi billion-dollar brand. 

Let’s position your brand in the mind of its target audience 

The fight to position your brand to become first in consumers’ minds may be simple. But it certainly isn’t easy. 

With both current and future competitors all striving to become No. 1 in the minds of your brand’s target customers—it's not the brand with the best products that will win the war of mind share—it's the brand with the best branding strategy that will. 

At Decryption, we specialize in devising custom brand strategies that help startups like yours advance by seizing consumer mind share, attracting new customers, and distinguishing itself—even in the most crowded categories. 

To give your brand the best chance to become top of mind for its ideal audience, contact us today to schedule a completely complementary client consultation.