Benefits Ladder

Position your brand with the Benefits Ladder. It’s where the magic happens.

Maybe you’ve seen a Benefits Ladder before. Maybe not. There are a few variations out there. No matter which one you follow, the aim is the same: to find the best position for you to connect with your customer. So, whether you’ve used it or not, we’re here to show you the benefit of the Benefits Ladder. The Mini MBA way.

You can download a copy of the Benefits Ladder here.

The Benefits Ladder is the secret to effective brand positioning. It’s a must-have tool in the toolbox. It’s designed to help you:

1. Think in a market-oriented way about the benefits you offer your customer.
2. Move beyond basic product features into emotional benefits.

Simply put, the ladder helps you find the best spot to connect with your customer. Step by step. So, are you ready to start climbing?

Hold on a minute. Before you start scrambling for the peak, we have to establish a few things. When you arrive at the foot of the ladder, you should already know what your product or brand is and does. And know who you’re targeting. Next, comes where and when you’re targeting them.

Signalling

This is the start of your journey. It’s about where you show up. What media do you choose to shout “hey, look at me”? And what does this choice tell your customer?

“Look at my huge bonkers billboard! My brand is so successful, confident and in-demand!”

It’s not just what you say, it’s where and when you say it. It’s being there at the right place and time. It might sound basic but it’s a brilliant building block for your brand. Don’t underestimate it.

Category Entry Point

Okay, you’ve climbed one rung of the ladder. You’re still close to the ground. You’ve got a little more to figure out before you reach for the sky. This step is your ‘why’. Why would a customer come to the market for your product? Why do they want or need it? Answering this gives you your category entry point.

Let’s imagine you’ve got this brand-new camera to sell. Why would a customer want or need a new camera? So, they can take great photographs, of course! If you can associate yourself with this point, more strongly than your competitors, then you’re in for a winner. And now, with a solid anchor for your ladder, you can take the next step. Onwards and upwards!

Here’s where we get to the good stuff. The meatier rungs of the ladder. The ones that can set you apart from the market. And bring you closer to the most important, elusive creature: the customer.

Product Features

Beloved by engineers, you guessed it, this is the defining features of your product. Let’s go back to that camera: What makes it distinct? Does it have a supersonic 3000 lens? Is it lightweight? Is it waterproof? Does it come in red?

Choosing the features you want to highlight is a good start. You’ve done some thinking, but have you given any thought to the customer? The person you want to pay for your product. It doesn’t look like it…

Customer Benefits

C’mon, take another step, it’s nice up here!

For a stronger position in the market, you want to transform those product features into customer-focused benefits.

What does your camera’s fancy lens or lightweight design mean? Well, it means it takes high-quality photos, it’s easy to carry and it’s stylish. And what does that mean? Let’s get deeper!

It means your customer can be a great photographer. They can take photos anywhere. They’ll look creative and cool to their friends and peers. Can you feel the sparks flying? You’ve put your customer at the centre and created a connection. This is a good position to be in. Maybe you’ll stay in this position. Enjoy the bliss for a while. Or maybe you’re hungry for more. You can take things up a notch by leaning more into emotion.

Emotional Association

Here’s where we turn good marketing into great marketing. Elevate those customer benefits to emotional benefits. Let’s think about how your product or brand makes the customer feel.

Remember the camera. That fancy lens and cool colour-way makes your customer feel impressive or popular. And its convenience allows your customer to create lasting memories. Ones they can look back on, for a long time. Now, you’ve created a story.

These emotional benefits can be harder to instil than others. Most often they are suggested via storytelling and visuals. So, if you want to create impactful stories with lasting emotional associations, you need to really understand your customer. And how do you do that? With good research and qualitative customer data.

Believe it or not, you’re not at the zenith yet. You’re not balancing at the top. And you don’t always need to be.

It’s easy to think of the ladder as something you need to get to the top of. To complete. But that’s not exactly how it works. Some products don’t successfully trade on the highest rungs of the ladder. Sometimes it’s just not the right fit and that’s okay.

You might want to use a few rungs of the ladder together. You can pick and mix the best combo. It works. For most marketers, mastering the customer and emotional benefits is the prime position. Leaning into emotion is surprisingly strategic. It ensures your efforts resonate on a deeper level. And helps you foster a loyal customer base and strong brand presence. What more could you ask for?

Okay, okay, you’re still here. We get it. You’re desperate to know what’s next. What could possibly sit above emotional associations? Well, it’s a higher purpose, of course.

Socio-Cultural Purpose

Lots of brands confuse purpose with benefits. But having a socio-cultural purpose is about taking a real stance. It’s less about positive business effects (because it rarely comes with them). A purpose is instilled in your brand at all levels. From the bottom to the top. You have to really live, breathe, and believe in it. Basically, you follow a purpose because of a purpose. And that purpose isn’t profit, it’s a commitment to something much bigger.

Don’t break a sweat! The Benefits Ladder doesn’t need to be complex.

You can think about the Benefits Ladder like a series of questions. The higher you climb, the deeper they get. And the better you connect with your customer. By asking the right questions, you can transform tangible features into emotional stories. With lasting effects! So, the next time you’ve got a shiny new gadget you want to show-off, position yourself at the base of the ladder and start climbing.

This content is brought to you from our Mini MBA in Marketing. The Benefits Ladder is just one small part of Module 5 – Positioning.