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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

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The customer journey and positioning

Positioning answers a simple, demanding question: for whom are you the best choice, and on what criterion? The customer journey then shows where that answer must appear, and in what form.

A choice that fits in one sentence

Positioning is tested on a single sentence: for this customer, in this situation, our offer delivers this result, better than the alternative on this criterion. Every term commits you. The segment must be precise enough to be reachable, the criterion sharp enough to be verified, and the result concrete enough for a customer to recognise. That sentence then runs through every page, every advert and every sales conversation.

  • A segment described by a situation, not by an age bracket
  • A choice criterion on which you are verifiably better
  • A result phrased from the customer's point of view
  • A named alternative, the one the customer genuinely considers
  • One single sentence, repeated identically across every surface

The four moments of the journey

  1. 01

    Awareness

    The customer names their problem. Content helping them phrase it creates the first relationship.

  2. 02

    Comparison

    They weigh options. An honest table of your criteria speeds the decision far more than a pitch.

  3. 03

    Decision

    They look for price, lead time, guarantee. Those three shown remove half the follow-up chasing.

  4. 04

    Use and referral

    A customer supported after purchase returns and speaks. It is the least expensive segment to serve.

The programmes that build this skill

Three approaches to the same subject: online acquisition, full business management, building an offer. Taught volumes indicate the depth given to positioning in each.

ProgrammeLevelDurationCredits and hoursFees
Digital MarketingBachelor's degree2 years120 credits · 1200 h4 600 000 GNF per year
Business Management programme — Bac+3 levelBachelor's degree3 years180 credits · 1800 h4 800 000 GNF per year
EntrepreneurshipBachelor's degree18 months60 credits · 600 h4 400 000 GNF per year

Positioning questions

Should I choose a single segment?

One primary segment makes the message sharp and acquisition efficient. Other customers keep arriving, drawn by that very clarity: a precise message for an identified audience carries further than a general one.

How do I check that a positioning works?

By listening to how customers introduce you to others. When their phrasing echoes your terms, the positioning has landed. It is a qualitative signal, completed by conversion rate and acquisition cost.

How often should positioning be revisited?

Every year, and whenever a new offer enters the catalogue. The review starts from the same questions: which segment, which criterion, which alternative. The sentence is then rewritten in one session, and every other surface follows.

The customer journey and positioning — Resources | IHETC — IHETC