Jazz Jones has a clear focus on her goals, objectives and her target audience. She knows who she’s attempting to influence and she’s done thorough research into their AIOs (activities, interests and opinions). Now, she’s ready for the next important step in creating a content strategy.
Step 4: Identifying competitors and how you compare to them (positioning)
The personal coaching industry is extremely competitive. There are not very high barriers to entry here, and while many coaches operate as single-person entities, others may be part of large consulting firms. What Jones will need to do is identify the coaches she is competing with most directly for the attention of her primary and secondary audiences. Then she will want to evaluate what these coaches or consulting firms are offering, how they are currently viewed by these target audiences, and what opportunities may exist to position her services in ways that are different and better.
As part of Jones’ background, while serving as CAO in a healthcare system, she led the process to apply for (and ultimately her organization received) the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a highly coveted distinction in the healthcare industry. She also perfected, and trademarked, a proprietary coaching process that a number of her clients have used to move from clinical to administrative roles, and has many client referrals and testimonials that she can share.
This thorough analysis of her target audiences and competitors allows Jones to come up with key messages that can be used to convince her target audiences that what she has to offer is of value to them-and that it is better than what her competitors have to offer.
Read the Entire Series
6 Steps and 6 Days to an Effective Content Strategy
(This piece originally appeared in EContent.)
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