You know the drill. The conversation has barely started and the first question is already there: how much?
Not a bad sign in itself. But if that’s the only question that matters, you’re in the wrong game. The one about being the cheapest, when you wanted the one about being the most valuable.
Brands that enjoy the first game can go ahead. Those who want to grow choose their position. Competing on price is rarely a strategy for growth.
The illusion of choice
Without clear positioning, it looks like customers are choosing. Really they’re hesitating between variations of the same thing. One web builder versus another. Yet another consultant in the mix. A recruiter promising 'the best talent' without context. A logistics partner selling speed, just like the rest.
A different logo, and otherwise? Interchangeable. And therefore negotiable.
Choosing is the new convincing
Positioning is something other than yelling that you’re unique. It’s about showing who you’re for, and more importantly, who you’re not for. Being clear. In words, in choices, in style. So that for some people you become the obvious choice. Being the best option for everyone was never on the table.
A position is not a pitch
Saying “we offer brand positioning workshops” is a pitch. Saying “we help service companies claim a position in the market that shields them from price pressure” is a position.
The first invites questions about cost and duration. The second invites questions about approach and impact. The first opens a price discussion. The second opens a conversation.
Positioning is focus, with consequences
Positioning means focus, and focus has consequences. Not everyone will be a fit any more. That’s exactly why it works.
The right clients lean in, because they feel understood. Because they think: these people get where I’m going. That reads differently from a vendor. And it isn’t negotiable.
