An effective brand positioning workshop largely depends on what the business brings into the room. When you come with real customer data, actual decision-making history, and unresolved internal questions, the session can focus directly on strategy. When you come empty-handed, most of the time is spent gathering background information, not on thinking.
In this article · 6 sections
A brand positioning workshop is where both sides look at a pre-set picture on the table and then start making decisions. When the business comes empty-handed, most of the time is spent gathering background information. When the business brings good information, the session can focus directly on strategy.
Why information from customers determines the quality of the workshop.
The studio leads the process, but cannot replace your internal knowledge. You know why your customers really buy, not just the reasons listed on the brochure. You know which products are driving revenue and which ones are underperforming. You know what complaints your sales team hears the most. The studio does not have this data before sitting down with you.
The issue is not that you lack information. The issue is that this information has not been organized into a usable format for the workshop. When it is not organized beforehand, it is scattered in the minds of many people, in various files, and takes time to converge. The checklist below helps you gather the right materials before entering the room.
Group 1: The business picture
The positioning workshop starts from the actual business position, not from logo or color discussions. Prepare answers to the following questions; no need for lengthy texts, just clarity.
- What stage is the business in? Startup, growth, or in need of repositioning?
- Which segment is generating most of the revenue, and which segment do you want to grow in the next 2 to 3 years?
- The biggest decision you need to make in the next six months related to the brand. This is the most important question for the studio to understand what specific issue the workshop needs to address.
- Current competitive pressure: who is taking your customers and how are they doing it?
The figure above does not imply that design naturally generates revenue. It indicates that companies that invest correctly in design, starting from strategy, tend to grow better. And that strategy begins with the business understanding where it stands.
Group 2: Portrait of the real customer
This is the profile of the customers who are actually paying you today, not the ideal customers envisioned in the office. It includes those you do not want but are still serving.
- Who is your best customer? Don't stop at general demographics; describe specifically: what do they do, why do they buy, how do they talk about you to others?
- Which customers make your team the most tired, and why? This is important positioning data as it often indicates a disconnect between the brand being communicated and the actual customers being attracted.
- The most common reason customers give for not buying. Don't stop at a generic “the price is too high”; look for the real reason behind it.
- If you have survey or interview data from customers, even if raw, please bring it along. Direct quotes from customers are much more valuable than internal summaries.
A brand is not what you declare. It is how others perceive you.
Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap
Group 3: The competitive map
Positioning is choosing a place in the customer's mind, and that place only makes sense when compared to others who are also in that mind. Please prepare:
- A list of 3 to 5 competitors that your customers often compare directly when making a choice. Not all competitors in the industry, just those who truly belong in the consideration set (the options customers think of when they have a need).
- What each of those competitors is saying about themselves, and what the market really thinks of them, if you know.
- What is your business doing better than them that can truly be proven, not just based on feelings?
Group 4: History of internal decisions
This is a set of information that few businesses think about when preparing, but it greatly impacts the quality of the workshop. Brand strategy is not built in a vacuum. It is built on the foundation of decisions that have been made, paths that have been tried and abandoned.
- When was the last time your business changed how it describes itself to the market, and what was the reason for that change?
- Is there a positioning question causing internal disagreement, such as “who do we serve” or “how are we different from our competitors”? If so, state it plainly so the workshop can focus on resolving exactly that point.
- Who is the final decision-maker regarding the brand, and will they attend the workshop? If not, who will the approval process go through after the workshop?
Things you don't need to prepare: answers
The checklist above requires you to prepare data and questions, not answers for the positioning problem. Many businesses come to the workshop with conclusions already in mind and just want to confirm them. That is the most effective way to waste a working session.
The workshop is most valuable when the business brings into the room what it knows for sure, what it is unsure about, and what is causing internal debate. The studio brings in methods and an outside perspective. The combination of these two elements leads to reliable decisions.
If you can fill out all four groups before entering the room, the workshop can spend the entire time on the most important task: making choices.
References
Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap. Jennifer Aaker, Brand Personality Framework. McKinsey & Company, The Business Value of Design, 2018. Kapferer, The New Strategic Brand Management. Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow.