By the Ocean
Partly Cloudy 72 Degrees
5:44 a.m.
Positioning is about where you live inside the mind and body of your prospective clients and customers.
If you show up as something completely unknown, you will probably be ignored. Humans know to stay away from things they can’t recognize.
If you show up and make it obvious you can inhabit an existing “box” in a new way, then you will get attention. Humans love the new. So a new take on an old thing can definitely get everyone excited.
The ultimate positioning is who you are. Depending on the type of business you want to build, putting YOU out front may or may not make sense. But YOU are a “brand” that no one else could ever copy.
Positioning is the story you tell the world. But not the whole world. Just the world that is the people you want to attract.
The story is made for them, just like the business is made for them.
If the story doesn’t connect, if you tell it and no one notices, it’s not the right story. Or it’s not the right people.
This is where business becomes far more about art than it is science or numbers. Positioning is art because you’re communicating meaning in powerful ways that often defy logic. You are connecting with human hearts in a way that demonstrates profound empathy, caring and clarity.
If you want to keep your business from ever becoming “commoditized,” this is the way to go.
One of the challenges on this journey is to be able to look in on your world like your prospects do. Most of it is invisible to you when you spend all your time looking so closely at it. That’s why outside help is often valuable.
You have to step back. See your business with new eyes. What is it REALLY about? Who is it REALLY for? If one of those people showed up at your website, would they know you made it for them without having to think?
Would YOU hire you if you were in their shoes? How long would it take to decide?
This is not the place to lie to yourself. Only by telling the truth can you figure out the version of your story the world is waiting for that makes it obvious you are the right one for them.
You’ll know when you get it right. Because you’ll go from feeling invisible to hearing people say, “where have you been all my life!”