Positioning, how do you actually do it?

Positioning: how do you actually do it?

Whole books have been written about positioning. There are consultants who fill days on end with positioning workshops. And in almost every marketing meeting, someone will say “we need to sharpen our positioning”.

But what is positioning, really? And more importantly: how do you work out what the right positioning is for your company?

Honestly, it isn’t that hard: call seven customers.

TL;DR

Positioning is the place your company, product or service occupies in the customer’s mind, particularly relative to the alternatives. Companies often spend weeks on research, analysis and workshops to define that position. That can be useful, but they often forget to ask customers what they actually think of the company, product or service. Want to find out quickly why customers choose you? Call seven good customers and ask how they see you, what they value, and how they think you differ from others. Chances are you’ll learn more from seven conversations than from seven internal meetings.

What is positioning?

Here’s a neat, if somewhat academic, definition:

Positioning is the place your organisation, product or service occupies in the customer’s mind relative to the other options.

That last part matters. You’re not “customer-centric” because it says so in your brochure. You’re customer-centric when customers actually experience you that way, and when it sets you apart from other providers. You’re not the specialist because you say you are. You’re the specialist when customers see you that way. So positioning isn’t about what you want to say about yourself. It’s about what customers remember about you, and why they choose you.

How does a positioning project usually work?

A traditional positioning project can be quite an undertaking. It looks at the market, competitors, target audiences, strengths and weaknesses, market trends and the company’s ambitions. Staff are interviewed and workshops are held.

Then come the familiar questions. What do we stand for? What are we good at? Who are we for? What problem do we solve? What makes us different? And where do we want to be in five years?

A few weeks later, you have a polished positioning statement.

Something like:

“We are the innovative, committed partner that helps organisations achieve sustainable growth by connecting people, technology and strategy.”

Sounds good. But your customer might well say: “You’re just really practical. When I call, it gets sorted.”

Now that’s interesting: your positioning already exists.

You don’t have to invent your positioning from scratch.

Because you already have one.

Every customer who works with you has a picture of your company. Maybe they think you’re expensive but exceptionally good. Fast and flexible. Solid and reliable. Or real experts in one specific area.

Or maybe they don’t think you’re nearly as distinctive as you believe you are.

That’s valuable to know, too.

So the question isn’t just: how do we want to be seen?

Start with: how are we seen right now?

Call seven customers

You don’t need a big market research study for this. Pick up the phone and talk to your customers. Ideally your favourite ones: companies you enjoy working with, where you add a lot of value, and that you’d love to have more of.

Ask questions like these:

1. Why did you choose us in the first place?
2. What do you value most about working with us?
3. What do you think we’re really good at?
4. How are we different from other firms you’ve worked with?
5. If you were recommending us to a colleague in two or three sentences, what would you say?
6. Where do you think we could improve?

Above all, try not to steer the answers.

Keep probing.

“You say we’re flexible. What exactly do you mean by that?”

“You mentioned our expertise. Where do you see that?”

“You say we’re different from other agencies. What do they do differently?”

That’s where the real insight is.

After a few conversations, patterns emerge

The nice thing is that you usually don’t need fifty conversations before certain words and examples start coming up again and again.

Customer one says you respond quickly. Customer two says you don’t need three meetings before anything happens. Customer four especially appreciates that your people make their own decisions. Customer six says a competitor was cheaper, but they went with you because they trusted you to get it done.

Interesting! Maybe “speed” isn’t your real strength at all. Maybe it’s getting things done.

And that matters, because it’s something you can build on.

Your competitor research comes free

Make sure you also ask customers how you differ from others. It shows you how customers see the rest of the market.

You might hear that big competitors look more professional but are slow. That smaller competitors are more personal but lack certain expertise. Or that pretty much everyone offers the same thing, and you stand out on one particular point.

That’s valuable, because positioning is always relative.

If everyone in your market claims to be “personal”, being personal hardly sets you apart.

But if customers tell you, unprompted, that you’re the only firm that makes complex technical matters easy to understand, you may be onto something far more interesting.

From seven conversations to your positioning

Once you’ve had those conversations, lay the answers side by side.

Which words keep coming up? Which examples are mentioned more than once? Why did customers choose you? What do they think makes you different? What would they recommend you for? That’s the foundation of your positioning.

Then, of course, comes one more important step: deciding whether this is actually the position you want.

Customers may value something you’d rather put less emphasis on. Or you may discover a strength that fits your ambitions perfectly, and that you can build on much more deliberately.

So positioning isn’t simply writing down what seven customers said.

It’s about combining two things:

How do customers see us now?

and:

What do we want to be known for?

The order matters. Start with the customer, not in the meeting room.

Positioning doesn’t have to be complicated

Of course you can do extensive market research. Of course a positioning workshop can be valuable. And large organisations with multiple products, markets and audiences sometimes do need more research.

But for many companies, calling seven customers is a surprisingly good place to start.

It might take you an hour, and afterwards you’ll have a much clearer picture of why customers choose you, what they really value, what they think sets you apart and how they talk about you.

At Marketing is Mensenwerk, we like to start with the people who ultimately have to believe it: your customers. Because a positioning that only makes sense in a meeting room isn’t worth much.

The best positioning isn’t something you have to invent. Mostly, you just have to listen carefully.   Frequently asked questions

What is positioning?

Positioning is the place your company, product or service occupies in the customer’s mind relative to the other options. So it isn’t just about the image you want to project; above all, it’s about how customers actually see you.

Are seven customer conversations really enough?

Not for full-scale market research. But for spotting patterns in how good customers see you, seven conversations can tell you a surprising amount. If the same points keep coming up, you’ve found something worth exploring further.

Which customers should you talk to?

Start with the kind of customers you’d like more of. Ideally, pick a range of customers within your core audience, and don’t just talk to the people you have the best personal relationship with.

What do you do after those seven conversations?

Look for recurring words, qualities and examples. Then compare how customers see you with your own ambitions. Where the two meet is often the strongest foundation for your positioning. You can then translate that into your website, your sales story, your marketing and, ultimately, the way you present your entire organisation.