Owning a unique position in the market takes more than being different.
It's a whole-company effort to align every touchpoint, message, and interaction around a single perception you want your ideal customers to have of your business.
Yes, you need to do something that is different. That's the core of the position you want to own.
But a differentiator is only the start.
What you do with that differentiation will either establish or erode your position in the market.
What Even is Positioning?
Positioning is the art and science of holding a specific position in the minds of your ideal customers.
Al Ries, the father of positioning, put it this way:
Positioning is not what you do with a product. It’s what you do in the mind of your prospect.
It’s a mind game — getting your business and product locked into your ideal customers’ minds.
Think of it this way:
Every industry has key players — brands that consumers know, trust, and remember when making a purchase.
Positioning is the art and science of figuring out YOUR place in the market.
- What will you be known for?
- How will they think of you?
- Where do you fit in the competition?
There are multiple places you can hold.
Positioning is determining which place is the right, most profitable place to hold.
Differentiation is Key
If you've followed my content for any length of time, you know the importance differentiation plays in owning a position.
When you bring value to the market that your competitors can't (lack of resources, money, talent, space, ability) or won't (doesn't align with who they are) do, your customers subconsciously put you in a different place in their brains.
Doing something different makes you stand out.
When you try to be like the competition — offering the same things in the same way — you start to blend in, and customers have a hard time knowing why they should buy from you when they can buy from anyone in that competitor cluster.
But when you're different, the answer to why you is clear.
Differentiation is Not Enough
As important as differentiation is, it's not enough to own a position.
Once you find your differentiation, you need to activate it across your business.
Take a climate tech ghostwriter I worked with.
He had a pretty epic differentiator — a process that helped his clients become visible to venture capital firms, independent investors, and to those who would buy their product.
Something truly different.
But he looked and sounded like a typical LinkedIn ghostwriter.
He had a differentiator, but didn't activate it into a position.
So we got to work building his position:
- Revised offer that focused on getting a client investable
- Updated messaging that clarified the transformation (From Invisible to Investable)
- Revised case studies that highlighted the metrics that matter to his clients
- Less how-to content and more why this matters content
- Launching a book about being visible — showing clients just one piece of his offer
- A website that better highlights his differentiator and tells the story of how to become investable
The real positioning work starts after you find your differentiator.
And it requires aligning everything in your business around it: offer, messaging, identity, design, experience, pricing, marketing, content, sales process, operations, and even who you hire.
Finding your differentiator is key.
But until you have everything in your business aligned around that one thing, you won't own a position in the minds of your ideal customers.
That only comes when you do the work of activating your differentiator.
Positioning for Profit
Holding the proper position in the minds of your prospective customers leads to profit.
- They understand what you do
- They get that you are the right choice for them
- They buy from you faster
- They pay more
All the keys to a more profitable business.
Ready to work on your positioning?
We’re taking on 2 more Brand OS clients this year.
We’ll uncover your unique value, create your messaging and touchpoints, suggest changes to your website, and give you a prioritized to-do list to own that position.
We can even map out your marketing strategy with individual channel strategies and tactics.
It’s a step-by-step guide to owning the right position in your market.
Start your Brand OS today.
So you can be more profitable sooner.
Until next week,
#SassyJason out.
