If you could only work on one part of the marketing process, my recommendation for the vast majority of firms would be positioning.
Putting a stake in the ground and saying, “we are for these people, not for these people and this is why” is a force multiplier. You will generate more and better referrals and attract the clients you want and less of those you don’t.
In part one I explained what positioning is and how to test your firm’s positioning. In this article, I will teach you how to do positioning.
Most firms start marketing with tactics - the end of the process.
The real start is market orientation, research and segmentation.
So another reason I value positioning so highly is that it is predicated on a proper marketing process. You can only do positioning properly if you have done market research, segmentation and targeting.
I will cover those marketing phases in more detail in another article. For this article, I will assume you have a clear picture of the size and composition of the market you wish to target. Both on a company (firmographic/geographic) and person level (demographic/psychographic).
Based on your research, you have picked a market segment to focus on aka targeting.
It’s called marketing for a reason. The market has the answers if you are willing to listen.
A quick reminder of what positioning is:
Positioning is how your firm and its services are perceived in the mind of target clients.
In practical terms, this is about being different and distinctive in ways your target market cares about.
This is a great exercise to do with your team if you have one.
Unless you have a “blue ocean strategy” [1] and are operating in a market to yourself, your ideal clients have alternatives. This is what you are positioning against.
These could be competitors or things like “doing nothing” or “use Chat GPT”.
List them and ideally get some input from clients. Feeling brave? Message ex-clients and ask why they left or lost deals and ask why they didn’t engage you.
Next list every way you are different to your competitors and alternatives.
Don’t strive for unique. It’s highly unlikely you are.
The goal is a unique combination of differences in comparison to the alternatives.
Some of the things you could position on:
This is far from an exhaustive list. List everything that makes you different, avoiding anything every firm says or that clients would consider “table stakes”.
So you are different but does anyone care?
Phase two of positioning is attributing client value to those points of difference.
This stems from market research, ideally primary data such as:
The best signals are behavioural, and the being somebody spending a dollar.
A common trap to avoid is second guessing the market. What people need (or you think they do) if often not what they want. It pays to remember people are irrational, even in business.
The output of this exercise is a positioning statement.
A good framework for this is the 3Cs model [2] developed by Kenichi Ohmae which takes into accounts:
An example might be:
Positioning Statement:
"By aligning our deep expertise in multi-entity tax restructuring with the need for aggressive wealth preservation among high-net-worth real estate investors, we provide a level of proactive portfolio oversight that traditional high-street firms cannot match because they are focused on volume-based compliance and reactive, once-a-year filing."
A positioning statement is part of your marketing plan. It should inform every aspect of your marketing strategy.
It is not something to copy and paste onto your website but a copywriter will be delighted you have one and is far more likely to be able to do quality work for you.
Likewise, brand and creative people will thank you for having clarity on the 3Cs outlined above.
Internally, the team should know the positioning inside out and it will guide BD and sales efforts.
Like ChatGPT is fond of writing, “the world of business is dynamic and fast-paced”. It is a cliche because it is true and that means positioning is not set and forget.
There will always be new entrants to your market. New alternatives forced upon you like AI. Existing competitors could up their game. Clients grow and evolve.
A great position now might not hold forever so after a big positioning exercise like the above, check back in annually. Market changes can be slow and then all at once so you need to be ready to react.
The best book I have read on positioning is Obviously Awesome by April Dunford. There is a new edition coming soon so hold off until that launches. She is not a fan of the positioning statement but I think it is a good first step into positioning a professional services firm.
The Business of Expertise by David C. Baker is also an excellent read. It is not strictly about positioning but has multiple chapters on it and it focuses on firms selling expertise rather than products like Obviously Awesome.
[1] Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
[2] 3Cs model by Kenichi Ohmae