Search
Close this search box.

Own the mind-space of your target market

Own the mind-space of your target market

Share This Post

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Own the mind-space of your target market

Branding is all about owning a piece of the mind-space of your target market, whether it’s in your local neighbourhood, an industry segment, or the world.  Therefore, as a senior business leader, you must identify the words you own. What are the words that come up in the minds of your core customers when they think about your brand?

Where does the concept fit in with 7 Strata and the OPSP?

The goal is to complete the One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP), which is the tool that aligns everyone in the company to be on the same page.  However, the OPSP requires intensive strategic thinking behind the scenes. The 7 Strata Framework helps senior leadership teams to do the strategic thinking required for the OPSP.

Identifying the words you own, forms part of the 7 Strata Framework.

Examples of brands that own the mind-space of their target market

Identifying the words that well-known companies own, is a fun exercise. Think of luxury vehicles. They can’t own the word ‘automobile’.  But instead, Volvo owns the word ‘safety’. BMW owns ‘driving experience’, and Audi owns ‘vorsprung durch technik’, meaning “being ahead through technology”.

Entrepreneur J. Darius Bikoff entered the bottled water industry in 1996. No one could own ‘bottled water’, but he added some vitamins and minerals, and called it ‘enhanced waters’. Even though consumers were unaware of the term, it captured attention, leading to Coke snatching up the company for $4.1 billion a decade later.

And of course, the one we all know – Google owns ‘search engine’.

How to own the mind-space of your target market

If you’re lucky, the name of your company becomes the word you own, like Facebook. Or your company name clearly describes what you do and represent the words you want to own in the minds of your market.  Think of the South African meal-kit delivery company, UCook – it describes and represents exactly what they’re all about.

When identifying the words your company own, keep the following in mind:

  • Own words that matter.
    • Most people search the internet to find options for purchasing products and services.
    • Therefore, own the words that people think about and use to search for your products and services.
  • Pick a niche and own, or create the words in the minds of the people you want as your core customers.

How to use the words you own in the mind-space of your target customer

Undoubtedly, the words you own must find its’ way to the marketing strategy of your company.

You need to educate your customers about the words you want to own. To achieve this, the words and phrases must particularly appear in social media marketing and content. Author David Meerman Scott says, “You are what you publish”. Therefore, create content (including videos, case studies and blog articles) that naturally catch the attention of search engines and media.

How important is the Words you Own in the 7 Strata Framework?

Scaling Up guru, Verne Harnish, says that if you focus on only one of the 7 Strata, the ‘Words you own’ is the most important in driving revenue.  The rest of the 7 Strata Framework help you defend your niche, simplify execution, and turn your revenue into huge profit.

Once again, the key is picking a niche and owning, or creating the words in the minds of your core customers.

Do you know what words to own in the mind-space of your target market?

If not, CoLAB can facilitate your senior leadership team through the process of identifying the words to own in the mind-space of your target market. This forms part of the overall 7 Strata and OPSP frameworks. If this triggers your interest, connect with us to discuss an affordable package for your needs.  Send an email to ingrid at trustcolab dot com, or book a 20-minute, obligation-free call with Barend HERE.

Certainly watch Our CEO, Barend Cronjé, talk more about owning the mind-space of your target market HERE.

To get access to our signature Profit Improvement Framework, click HERE.

Follow CoLAB on Social Media to stay in the loop!

Follow CoLAB on Facebook

CoLAB Profit Improvement on LinkedIn

CoLAB Talent Placements on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our Newsletter