Where is your Peanut Butter?

I am not going to pretend I made this up. I learned this in marketing.  I learned that you have to identify commonality in your brand while at the same time differentiating yourself.  Yes complex but necessary.  When you think of peanut butter what do people think of next?   Jelly.  Yes, the two go hand in hand. What are some other common pairs that come to mind?   How about ham and cheese, milk and cookies, salt and pepper.  (Yes I usually do associate things with food)😋

However… Think about this in marketing and building your brand.  Marketing uses and abuses what works well…pairings.   We see it and we fall for it all the time.   What common items do we find when mentioned bring to mind the other?    Cigar and brandy. Diamonds and fur. Wine and cheese.  White towels and chocolate truffles....yum!

It is not just about finding your peanut butter it is about knowing the two of you are meant to be and when one person thinks of one they think of the other.  Now of course, not at all easily done however with consistency and brand positioning you can make it happen!   Think about luxury for a moment.  Walk into a high end hotel and you will find the high-end cars, concierge service, limousines, opulence and elegance.  Walk into the gift shop and there you will find the same.  You don’t expect to see custom dollar store jewelry.   You will see diamonds, crystals and high end colognes and clothing.   And then think deeper….what brands are these items? Swarovski, DeBeers, Cartier, Gucci and Rolex.    

These brands did not come in the door and just place themselves on a shelf.  They earned it!  They strategically positioned themselves to be considered a high end luxury item.   They paired themselves with luxury.  They each found their peanut butter – high-end shopping venues and exclusive direct sales.

This year coming 2017 how do you plan to position yourself?  Think about your brand’s product or service.

• What would you like to be paired with when people think of you?
• What will they think and see and feel? 

If you don’t know or you are squeamish because you thought of it and don’t like what you see then now is the time to change it!  And you don’t have to be high-end. I am only using that as example.  

Maybe you want to pair yourself with a demographic – young adults entering college, families on a budget, single moms that work late nights, muscle car enthusiasts, health conscious vegans the possibilities are endless.  Maybe you want to pair yourself with a need – nutritional values of better health, financial empowerment, fighting causes such as cancer, diabetes, depression.   Maybe you want to pair yourself with a lifestyle – luxury and high-end, economical and conservative, thrifty and resourceful.   Once you identify your pairing then drill down.  Now you have to ask what products or services are paired with this dynamic and how are they positioning themselves?  What are the common attributes and how can you incorporate them so you too are considered in the pair.  Let’s face it….we want to be in pairing and then we need to differentiate ourselves.   People travel in the same circles and in the same likes. You need to get into that like and then WOW THEM?   Make sense?😊

Listen I will use myself as an example,   I have decided to position myself as a business consultant that specializes in marketing and accountability for midsize ranged start up entrepreneurs.  So naturally I need to know….what are my clients looking for in that regard.  Where do they shop and how do they shop. I need to be in that like. I need to be in that gift shop in that hotel and/or in that magazine found in the hotel suite.  Positioning. I need to know what I need to do to position myself to be considered by that customer, because that is where she lives.

There is so much to brand positioning than meets the eye. Yes just like the Transformers.   You have to study, you have to research. You have to put in the work. You have to earn it.   But get started.  Start asking yourself the questions…..why is PEANUT butter paired with jelly?  How did the two meet and what do you think of when you think of the pairing.   It is a comfort food, a childhood memory?  What is that common like that everyone associates with it?  You need to be in that like. You need to be jelly.  SO when people think of peanut butter, your name comes to mind!!

This quarter is going to be on brand positioning.  As we are doing just that.  We are positioning ourselves for a new year.  We are thinking of what do we want to accomplish and how are we going to outshine what we did in 2016.  

And maybe you have to scratch last year and start over. That is okay too…just think carefully and ask questions!!

Leslie Crudup writes for The Business Liaisons, LLC – Business Consulting

www.thebusinessliaisons.com