How to Nail Your Positioning

It's the secret to selling to the right people

Photo by Diana Light on Unsplash

What’s the difference between a $5000 handbag and a $50 one?

Besides the cost, I mean?

Sure, the leather may be softer and more supple in the more expensive bag. The craftsmanship might be better.

But the most significant difference between them isn’t price.

There’s not $4500 more expensive materials and craftsmanship between them.

The biggest difference is “positioning.”

What’s Positioning?

It’s, frankly, a tough thing to nail, but once you do, it’ll change your life.

You’ll sell more products and services easier, and you’ll wonder why you made it so hard for so long.

Here’s legendary advertiser Joseph Sugerman with a definition.

“You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic.”

• What does the product do for the customer?

• How does it make them feel?

• What benefit do they get from using it?

Luxury goods buyers have a compelling “reason why” they bought the thing.

• It makes them feel good.

• They live the sort of lifestyle where their bag is a statement.

• All their friends have one.

• They consider it an investment with resale value should they need it.

Each of these “reasons why” is a way for the buyer to make herself feel good about her purchase.

Positioning is a powerful tool in your marketing strategy.

It keeps you on track doing the things that bring you new business.

Good positioning is a “pocket-sized” story that resonates with your target market.

Steve Jobs positioned the iPod as “1000 songs in your pocket.” The competitor positioned it as “holding 80 gigabytes.”

Did you even know there was a competitor?

You can do branding exercises and competitor research forever and not produce killer positioning.

It’s often hidden in plain sight.

Quick story, a few years ago, I worked with a course creator. I wrote an email series for a course launch.

The target audience was women who enjoy refinishing cast-off furniture and giving it new life.

The client had years of experience in this field, including staging and flipping homes. We were discussing the launch series and her background. She mentioned that she’d once staged homes for HGTV.

Bingo! I asked her to “tell me more,” and that story became the topic of the email with the subject line of “Confessions from an HGTV Home Stager.”

Btw, that email had wild open rates and the sales rolled in.

That’s a pocket-sized story that delivers intrigue, credibility, and positioning.

What’s yours? Please drop it below.

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