Brand Positioning.

What is brand positioning?

Brand positioning is the deliberate choice about where a business sits in its buyers' minds: who it serves, which problem it solves best, which alternatives it competes with and why it is the better choice for that buyer. It is a strategic decision written down in a few sentences. Everything else, from messaging and identity to pricing and website structure, should follow from it.

Why it matters

Clear positioning makes every other commercial job easier. Sales calls get shorter because prospects arrive already knowing what you do. Pricing holds up because you are compared with the right alternatives. Marketing gets cheaper because you can target a defined audience instead of everyone. Without it, a capable firm sounds like every competitor, and buyers fall back on the one differentiator left to them: price.

The parts that matter

• Target buyer The specific type of customer you serve best, described precisely enough that you would recognise one.
• Competitive alternatives What the buyer would do if you did not exist, including doing nothing or hiring in-house.
• Distinctive strengths The capabilities you have that those alternatives lack.
• Value to the buyer What those strengths mean in outcomes the buyer cares about.
• Market frame The category you choose to be judged in, which sets expectations about price and quality.

What to do about it

Write down your five best clients from the last two years and what they had in common. Then list what each would have done instead of hiring you. From those two lists, draft a single paragraph covering who you serve, the alternative you beat and why. Test it as your homepage headline and in your next three sales conversations, and refine it based on how prospects respond.