Market Positioning for a small business owner is an often overlooked aspect of the marketing mix… and what a BIG MISTAKE!

Your Market Positioning is the foundation for all your marketing collateral, every piece of content that goes on your website, your blogs, and especially in conversations with your prospects and clients.

Without clear Market Positioning, you are wasting money on your advertising, your marketing and through lost leads.

So how do you stand out from the crowd when according to the market research firm Yankelovich, the average media consumer sees between 3,000 and 20,000 marketing messages per day!!! – (Source: https://www.smartling.com/market-positioning-strategy/)

That’s exactly why I wrote this short article…

You see, defining your Market Positioning isn’t that difficult at all.

All it takes is a little time out from your busy schedule and working your way through the following process.

The Market Positioning Process

Step #1

Make a list of your four main competitors.

Step #2

For all four competitors listed, write down all the positive aspects of someone doing business with those four competitors of yours.

Step #3

For all four competitors listed, write down all the negative aspects of someone doing business with those four competitors of yours.

Now it’s about you….

Enter your best details below:

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Step #4 Write down what are you selling. List the main product or service you are selling.

Step #5 Write down who you are selling this main product or service to. When doing this think about your best customers and what common attributes they have.

Step #6 Write down what problems you are solving or what desires you are fulfilling for your clients with your product or service.

Step #7 Write down all the unique things about your business, your product or service and the way it is delivered to your customers.  

Craft Your Market Positioning Statement

Having written down all the information as outlined above (you have written it all down haven’t you?), it’s now time to craft your Market Positioning Statement. With what you have discovered or clarified from following the steps above write out your statement as follows: “Unlike other businesses who [insert one or two negatives about your competitors], we [insert two to three positives about your product/service and the way it is offered].”

Craft Another Market Positioning Statement

“We know it’s not easy [insert the client’s persona] that is frustrated by [insert their problem or frustration]. We understand that you want [insert the result your product or service will provide for your customer]. So if you fear [insert their fear(s)] and want [insert their desired outcome], we would like to tell you about our solution that perfectly fits your situation.”

So how would this work in real life?

Let’s say you own a dental practice and you determined that your end-to-end customer service is your stand out point-of-difference… Your statements may read something like… “Unlike those franchised dental practices who are focused only on profit, who treat you as a number and who can’t wait to get you out the door; we are a small family owned practice who genuinely cares about you and your family’s oral health. The moment you walk through the door, you become one of our family.” Notice how this distances you from the big franchises and those who have strong family values and who want personal service from someone they can trust, would be more attracted to your practice than being treated like a commodity. Let’s look at the second statement format for the same dental practice… “We understand that you want perfect oral health for both you and your family. So if you fear getting substandard treatment from franchised practices who only care about the size of your wallet, we want to assure you, as soon as you walk through our door, you become one of our family.”

Your Market Positioning = “You are one of our family.”

So there are the easy steps you can follow to get your Market Positioning perfected. Once you have, you will never waste money unnecessarily on advertising and marketing that doesn’t work ever again! Go forth and master your Market Positioning now!

Rohan James is Creative Director at Journey Point. He is a master at using words to create desired outcomes, but when it comes to surfing his favourite surf breaks, the word “master” is nowhere to be found!