#917 You Can Not Be All Things to All People

To develop really effective marketing, you need to be clear about your brand position, what makes you uniquely qualified to earn the business of your customers. Look beyond the technical skills and product specifications to the intangible elements. What should customers think and how should they feel as they interact with the brand.

Sounds simple, but it isn’t. Being high quality, hardworking, offering leading-edge technology or providing good service are important but they are not things which really set a company apart. Why? Think about it, how often to you hear about a company which offers crappy service, high prices, poor technology or inferior products? These benefits put you on parity with everyone in your market. Your position statement must be more.

So the hunt for  something unique begins. Unfortunately, it’s hard work, and many companies take the easy road, trying to combine two or more benefits which really don’t go together. The result is marketing that feels like a giant game of tug-of-war, pushing and pulling as the brand tries to fit into more than one niche in a customer’s mind.