Have you ever wanted to break into a new market, but too many people were already offering your same services?
Or maybe you default to talking about your company in terms of what you do, but not how the customer benefits?
Or does your marketing talk about the different pieces you offer, but you haven’t connected them into one compelling experience?
I faced these same situations with three very different businesses recently, and they all stem from the same issue: positioning. Each conversation comes down to knowing who you serve, what you truly offer them, and why they should choose you.
Here are three questions that help you move from simply describing your business to becoming your audience’s obvious choice.
Lisa, an independent photographer, said she wanted to land more real estate clients, but most experienced realtors already have a photographer they turn to. I told her, you need to give them a reason to give you a call instead.
“That’s hard. We all do the same thing.”
She’s not wrong. If you whittle the profession down to its core, every photographer anywhere just takes photos.
"Just like every soda company sells soda," I said. But there’s a reason you always bring a certain brand home from the store.
You can do the same thing as everyone else in your industry, but how you do it, why you do it, and what your clients get out of working with you should be different from everyone else.
That’s strong positioning. And that’s how you go from being yet another vendor to a trusted partner who always gets the first call.
Without a compelling reason to choose you:
Kim owns a cleaning company. But she doesn’t say her staff will clean your house. She talks about improving your life.
What you pay for aren’t just clean bathrooms and mopped floors. You’re moving toward the life you want: extra time with friends, making it to your kids’ activities, less time arguing with a partner about whose turn it is to clean what. And all while enjoying a neat, cared-for home.
If she’s in the business of cleaning houses, she’s competing with every other maid service in her area, and she may never land the client who thinks paying for a cleaning service is too extravagant no matter the price.
But if she’s in the business of life improvement, suddenly her services are a worthwhile investment and not a frivolous expense.
When customers only see the service:
Mark runs an independent resort. Aside from having to fill rooms, they run a restaurant and bar, a spa, golf and tennis clubs, and private events. Without clear positioning, marketing is trying to sell all the amenities at once. And potential guests end up with a list… that looks like every other resort’s list.
Positioning brings all those stories into one clear narrative.
Instead of rattling off amenities, they can sell the experience guests will enjoy no matter how they engage with the resort: the screen-free place where busy families can reconnect with each other, or the luxury escape where couples can unplug from the stresses of everyday life.
The restaurant, the round of golf, the garden party. They stop being individual pieces and start supporting a larger story.
And then every marketing decision he makes, from the ad copy to the website photography to the way the reservations team talks to customers, reinforces the same message.
Without that clear narrative:
Clarifying your positioning doesn’t have to be a three-day strategic exercise. Start with this quick audit.
Ask yourself:
Use these questions to start clarifying your unique position in the market. When customers know why they should pick you, when they see value beyond what you do, and when they encounter that story consistently, growth will follow.