The Do’s and Don’ts of Business Positioning

When it comes to the success of a business, the positioning of the brand in the marketplace is paramount. In order to stand out from the competition and attract customers, it is essential to create a unique and powerful positioning strategy.

In this blog post, we will discuss the do’s and don’ts of business positioning so that you can successfully position your brand and gain a competitive advantage.

Do: Know Your Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is key to creating a successful positioning strategy. To do this, start by researching your competition and their positioning strategies. Take note of where they are focusing their marketing efforts, and how they are presenting themselves on their website.

Next, decide where you can be remarkable in order to own a unique brand position. To do this, you may have to sacrifice in other areas and focus on being the best at one thing that matters to a specific group of people. This will allow you to become an authority in your niche, and make it easier for customers to tell their friends about your brand.

When creating your positioning strategy, take the time to think about how to start a business or a new startup. What are the best practices and strategies for success? This will help you create a strategy that will stand out from the competition and make your brand memorable.

Do: Research Your Competition
Most companies look at their competition, but they’re often doing it for the wrong reason. Many entrepreneurs try to copy their competitors’ marketing strategies and website designs. However, follower brands never win. Why would anyone choose to work with you when there’s a more established and proven option? You have to be something different.

Study your competition.

Get to know everything about each player in your space. Analyze their positioning strategies, what products and services they offer, their website design, marketing efforts, and any other information you can get your hands on. Now step back and find who they’re neglecting and how you can be ‘the’ option for that little corner of the market. Once you dominate that little corner of the market, you can expand to a broader segment.

Let’s look at our Odom Design Company brand positioning strategy as an example that resulted from this process:

• We launched a “merch shop in a box” product. It’s a pre made merch store with products, pictures, custom copy, and a checkout/payment engine ready to take orders
• We keep it simple by giving customers four layout options to choose from – then they leave the rest to us to code and organize their Store with dozens of apparel options
• It only takes us a couple of days for us to setup

During our competitive analysis, we noticed the majority of our competitors were not offering merch stores at all and if they did there were too many options and took too long to set up.

We found a little white space in the marketplace and is now where we hang our hat.

Sometimes your weaknesses are opportunities in hiding. Take a step back, shift your perspective, embrace your weaknesses, and jump on any opportunity you find to stand out from the crowd and be the different option. Look for gaps in the marketplace and think about how you can fill them. Analyze what sets you apart from your competitors and position your brand accordingly.

Do: Understand Your Differentiators
When starting a business or launching a startup, it’s important to understand the differentiators that make your brand unique. What sets you apart from other businesses in your industry? Why should people buy from you and not your competitors? What value do you provide that no one else does? Knowing these answers will help you stand out from the crowd and position yourself in the market in the most effective way.

Once you have identified your differentiators, make sure to feature them prominently in all of your marketing materials and sales pitches. Clearly explain how and why you are different from the competition, so potential customers can easily recognize the value that you offer. Doing this will help you stand out in the crowded marketplace and attract the right people for your product or service.

Figure out where you can be remarkable and own that brand position. Sacrifice in other areas to be the best in one. Your product, brand, website, and marketing will be more effective when they’re stressing one real differentiator.

Give disproportionate attention to finding this one thing.

A few examples of solid differentiators:

•Deso makes all their clothes in the USA
•Mailchimp is great at email
•A community created only for tiny houses
•A nonprofit focused only on developing middle school girl’s athletics

These examples are in different markets, but they all share one thing—they know their one thing. Accept that not everyone is your customer. Don’t water down a strong brand by trying to appeal to people that won’t buy from you anyway. Remember, you’re trying to be ‘the’ option for a specific group of people instead of ‘an option for everyone.

Do: Create a Compelling Tagline
Creating a tagline for your business is one of the most important steps in developing a successful brand positioning strategy. Taglines are essential to capture your customer’s attention and quickly communicate what sets your business apart from the competition. A great tagline can be the difference between customers remembering your business name or forgetting it.

When creating a tagline, focus on how you can use a few words to clearly explain your product or service and how it will help customers. Ask yourself: “How can I best explain what my business does and why it’s beneficial?”

For example, a startup business might use a tagline like “Helping entrepreneurs launch their businesses” or “The one-stop shop for starting a business.” These taglines quickly tell potential customers how your company can help them achieve their goals.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside the box with your tagline. It should be short, memorable, and speak to what sets you apart from competitors. With a great tagline, you’ll have customers talking about your business and finding success with your killer brand positioning strategy.

Do: Keep It Simple
When it comes to starting a new business or growing a startup, it’s important to keep your positioning strategy simple.

•Study your competition to find a hole in the market you can exploit
•Focus on being the best at one thing that matters to a specific group of people
•Make it easy for customers to tell their friends what that one thing is

With simplicity and clarity, you can carve out a unique position that sets you apart from the competition.

Don’t: Overlook the Details
When it comes to positioning your brand in the marketplace, it’s important not to overlook the details. By putting processes into place and staying organized, you can stay on track and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Even the smallest detail missed can mean millions of dollars in opportunity. Consider teaming up with others to help you stay organized and keep things running smoothly. Taking regular breaks can also help refresh the mind and make sure you’re staying focused and productive.

Set a high bar for yourself and do your best to remove any distractions that will interfere with your progress. Additionally, take the time to write down ideas and listen to feedback from customers and colleagues (more on this below). Whether you are starting a business or launching a new product, having a clear vision of how to position your brand is key to success.

Don’t: Ignore Your Customer’s Feedback
In the digital age, it is more important than ever to listen to and act on customer feedback. As a business, it is especially important to create an open channel of communication with your customers, as even one-time transactions can result in negative reviews or comments on social media.

These comments should not be seen as a burden, but rather a gift – an opportunity for the business to learn and improve.

Creating channels for customer feedback and sharing it within the organization is key. This could be done through surveys, customer service systems, or simply listening to customer comments on social media. However, the most important factor is paying attention to customer concerns in the first place. Listening to customer feedback and responding in a timely manner shows that your business values its customers and is willing to make improvements. By taking these steps, you can create a positive brand image and increase customer loyalty.

Don’t: Assume You Know What’s Best for Your Customers
When any recent U.S. election results come in, it shows us how dangerous it is to assume that others see the world the same way we do. As Philip K. Dick famously said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” The same holds true for businesses, who can become the centers of their own universes and fail to truly understand their customers and their needs.

For example, 79% of Americans think prescription drug instructions are easier to understand than materials from financial firms. Unfortunately, jargon in communication is only the surface of the problem. Employees at these companies often start to talk only about tangible product features and start to assume they know what’s best for their customers.

However, there are two things that can stand in the way of getting real insight into customers: admitting you may be wrong and having the organizational fortitude to take a risk. If you’re looking to position your brand in the marketplace or start a business, these are important components to consider when strategizing and taking action.

Don’t: Be Afraid to Pivot
Businesses must learn to embrace pivoting if they want to be successful. It’s important to remember that no one will hand you success; it requires hard work and determination. You also need to be willing to listen to the universe and follow your calling. The path to success may not be fully formed, and you will have to make it as you go.

Pivoting is an essential part of your positioning strategy. It requires you to be agile and quick on your feet in order to react to changing circumstances and take advantage of new opportunities. Being able to pivot can be the difference between success and failure when starting a business or launching a startup.

When launching your business, you may be tempted to stick with a plan even when it isn’t working. But don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy and pivot if needed. Making course corrections along the way can help you stay focused on your goals and make sure you’re headed in the right direction. Pivoting can also help you uncover new opportunities for growth and innovation that weren’t apparent before.

Conclusion

Positioning your brand in the marketplace is essential when starting a business or launching a startup. It’s important to create a unique and powerful positioning strategy that will help you stand out from the competition and attract customers.

We hope this list of do’s and don’ts provided you with some valuable insights into how to position your brand and gain a competitive advantage. We wish you the best of luck with starting your own business.

As you can see, positioning is an important component of any successful business plan. Hopefully, these tips have helped you better understand how to start a business, position your brand in the marketplace, and give your startup the edge it needs to be successful.