The best biotech brand launch can grind to a halt if the positioning goes off track.
Among their many challenges, biotech companies strive to get the basic fundamentals of the brand right. When biotech companies launch a brand, especially their first, positioning is the most important task, but the tendency of companies is to rush through it, without testing, as if believing that no one else knows the product the way they do. Positioning—that is, the art of crafting a position—often gets taken for granted.
I was reminded of this fact while on a trip recently. I was glad to be traveling light, staying in touch with the office and with clients by using my BlackBerry.
What an awesome tool smartphones have been for the traveler! Handling email, scheduling, browsing—all of it right in my hand. It’s so essential, a basic part of so many complex tasks, so multifaceted.
And it all depends on one 2-cent rubber trackball to make it operate. And that trackball can be so convenient—or it can turn to a ball of worthless snot that makes a complete mockery of your amazing ability to stay in constant contact in several channels. If the ball stops working, a BlackBerry becomes—gasp—just a phone.
The thought stuck. Positioning is like the trackball on your BlackBerry. It’s something that is essential to operating all the other functions of the brand. Without its working as it should, the whole brand can grind to a halt.
Developing a defining position isn’t as obvious as it appears. But it’s essential.
So, make sure you get more than your own 2 cent’s worth. Take the time to explore options, then test and refine, and test again. The best position for your product is the one that makes an ownable, differentiated story.
Here is a tool often used to develop a position statement.
Ultimately, your brand’s differentiating position will help you succeed in your marketing efforts. Fill in your brand’s position.
For (Target audience)
Brand X is the (Define its essence)
That will (Unique selling proposition)
Because (Reason to believe the unique selling proposition)
So that (End user benefit)
Now, see if you can swap in another brand’s name and have the position statement still make sense. If so, you need to keep working. The effort will be worth it.
