Brand Positioning · Frame of reference · Component
The entry points
The situations that bring the category to mind at all — because a brand not retrieved at the moment of need is not in the consideration set.
The deliverable
What it is
Buying decisions start from a situation rather than from a category. Someone does not decide to consider accounting software; something happens and they go looking.
A brand is retrieved to the extent that it is linked to those situations in memory. Covering more of them is what growth in mental availability actually means.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The situations
The circumstances that start a search.
3 attributes: Situation · Share of entries · Source
LearnThe linkage
Whether the brand comes to mind in that situation.
3 attributes: Retrieved · Situation · Also named
Learn
Ask recent customers what was happening when they started looking. Those events are your entry points.
The other components in frame of reference
The category
What the customer files the brand under, in their words — which is frequently broader and less flattering than the industry definition.
LearnThe comparison set
What they would actually do instead, including doing nothing — the set the brand is genuinely judged against.
Learn