Positioning is one of the trickiest strategies for new makers learn. The reason is that it deals with reputation. Reputation deals with how other people think of you and your service. And reputation is one the things that completely nullify all of the value you created.

Keep in mind that there is a difference between positioning and differentiation. Differentiation can be thought of as the things that you can see from the outside. They are features. The steps that are used to complete a task.  

For today’s discussion, we want to talk about positioning for retention. Positioning for retention are things you occupy a certain position in the customers mind. It’s the point when people know your subscription service and they think that you will everything you can to help them succeed.

As you, retention is the number one indicator used to judge the health of your subscription service. If you can’t convince people to stick with you over the long haul then your service will eventually collapse. There is old saying that revenue solves everything.

When it comes to subscription services, revenue is the band-aid and retention is the cure. Revenue is tempory. It’s the residual the impact of all the decisions you’ve made up that point. In many cases, concentrating on retention is the only way to right the ship.

You can view positioning needs to be a mindset. A prism that shapes how you see the world. As a maker you own your value creation process so there is never any excuse for taking your eye off the ball. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you build your positioning strategy.


Never manipulate your customer

People don’t like to be manipulated. It’s tantamount to lying. It can take years to repair the damage. Nothing in life is free. Acquiring customers isn’t cheap. And a senseless act of manipulation can destroy all of the goodwill you built over time.


Cultivation will be required

Reputations are like gardens over time they may develop weeds. Out of nowhere weeds just seem to pop up. Once you get them then it can take a long time to get rid of them. The weeds that we are talking about is bad press. So, you should monitor social media any negative press and respond immediately.


Always be building goodwill

The only tool you have to counteract bad press is good will. Customers buy from people that they know and like. They also stick with you when you’ve built up goodwill, which is a good definition of retention. Technically, goodwill is a accounting representation of what people know and like about you.


Positioning survives the business transaction

It can be heartbreaking to lose a customer that you spent a lot of time wooing. It can be even harder to lose a customer that’s been with you for long time. However, you got to remember that there are things that you can do to retain the relationship after the transaction ends. 


Conclusion

Positioning as a strategy is tricky. However, there are a few simple things that you can do to ensure that positioning for retention becomes a mindset that you use to guide your day.

Zachary Alexander