Rehak Creative Services founder Bob Rehak believes that product positioning is the first step to improving sales results for businesses of all sizes. At Rehak Creative Services, the experienced staff works with clients from many different industries. Below, Bob Rehak expounds on how Rehak Creative Services excels in the area of product positioning for small businesses. Q: What is the most important element of product positioning?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Product positioning is about finding a space in the marketplace where the company can best compete.

Q: Where does this task fall within a new ad campaign?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: This is one of the first steps in developing a new ad campaign. However, it can be time consuming and costly.

 Q: Is product positioning a true necessity then?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: In consumer markets where advertising budgets range into the millions, it’s money well spent.

Q: What about smaller businesses?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Smaller companies have limited financial resources, so a market-research based study is often not affordable.

Q: How does Rehak Creative Services make it affordable?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Rehak Creative Services uses a shorthand methodology to hone in on the most successful strategy. Working with clients’ sales and marketing organizations, we identify things clients do well that their customers need that competitors can’t match.

Q: What should be the primary goals for the client?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Differentiation, honesty, and making sure prospects understand all the value that clients have built into a product or service.

Q: What are the major obstacles of reaching the average consumer?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: The average consumer is inundated with unwanted advertising. Because of this trend, the natural tendency is to ignore most messages they receive.

Q: How are these pitfalls avoided?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Fresh perspectives, good positioning and making a human connection. You don’t have to exaggerate to get attention.

Q: What happens next?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: It’s important to determine a compelling focus of these communications and formulate a strategy around that.

Q: Are the old ways of doing business out the window?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: No. Product, promotion, pricing, packaging, and placement are still important. We’re just using new technologies and terms to do those things.

Q: What advice should be top of mind at all times?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Without a solid communications strategy, the whole effort is wasted.

Q: Messaging is important too, right?

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: If the company is not saying all the right things, then it makes little to no difference.

Q: Constant interaction with the audience is key.

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Exactly. A company must be proactive, as opposed to reactive or even passive, about the process of product positioning.

Q: While offering a different product or service into the market.

Bob Rehak, Rehak Creative Services: Yes. Occupying a specific niche for the product, service or brand is of utmost importance.

Rehak Creative Services is an advertising agency headquartered in Houston. Since its inception in 1994, Rehak Creative Services has earned more than 100 industry awards.