Product positioning is the essence of a brand. It is the intellectual underpinning that truly drives a brand’s success. At Ziment, we believe that good positioning research can form the basis for your brand’s success, and sets the stage for powerful messaging and sales campaigns.
ZAPP methodically builds your brand’s positioning by considering each element of positioning, one by one, and in synergy. This means that we consider your target customers, your most advantageous competitive set (the consideration set you most want in the minds of prospects) - we call this your frame of reference, what makes your brand special and desirable (its differentiating benefits), and the features of your brand that give meaning to those differentiating benefits. ZAPP then produces the best positioning platforms and empirically evaluates these among target groups, ultimately identifying the ideal platform to set your brand apart.
Multiple decision-makers in the marketplace, including patients, physicians and payers, can create complex positioning problems. ZAPP identifies compelling benefits across these diverse groups.
Positioning your product in a crowded or potentially competitive market is crucial. Whether you are positioning a new compound in a new category or re-positioning an established player in a crowded category, true brand differentiation against wisely chosen competition will be the key to its success.
Our process will:
Take a broad view. Our process ensures that all possible options for your brand’s position are considered.
Evaluate The Options. ZAPP recognizes that many frames of reference can sometimes appear equally attractive, but for different reasons. Sometimes choosing a large competitive frame with high revenue potential will be the best decision; other times, selecting a narrower niche in which your product can be strongly competitive is more valuable. ZAPP’s advanced techniques enable you to clearly see and quantitatively evaluate these tradeoffs.
Select a Winner. ZAPP is a process that seeks to arrive upon the one core product position that will drive a winning brand. It uses a rigorous approach to give you tangible evidence of the winning position.
Stage 1 is a qualitative exploration of the positioning options for your brand. Using input from likely targets, Stage 1 seeks to identify aspects of your brand’s tone and manner, its possible frames of reference, and to enumerate the possible drivers of each frame.
Stage 2 is quantitative research that rigorously evaluates, refines and scores each potential frame of reference. The frames of reference that were identified in Stage 1 are tested and validated, and the most powerful benefits and the features that make them important for each frame of reference are enumerated. Your brand’s potential to capture share within each frame is then evaluated, with particular attention directed to the revenue potential of each frame. Stage 2 ultimately identifies the best of potential positioning platforms.
Stage 3 is quantitative research that selects the best single platform from the finalists developed in Stage 2. Through monadic positioning selection, Stage 3 develops the optimal platform and quantifies its particular strengths.
The Right Approach. ZAPP uses a proper balance of ideation, qualitative and quantitative analyses to make decisions.
The Right Context. ZAPP integrates all decision-makers into a complete understanding of the market and how your positioning resonates in that market.
The Right Tools. ZAPP uses insightful qualitative research to build and refine, and powerful quantitative methods to specify and provide confidence.
We have deep industry experience to help dig underneath the surface to find true insight into your product’s essence. And we have a systematic approach to positioning research that helps to ensure success for your project.