Use Positioning to Target Your Offer
A couple of weeks ago, I invited you to answer questions about your promise. Last week we looked at empathy with people with different and similar worldviews. This post is about positioning and relates to your niche. Even if you are one of many making a similar promise, you can position yourself to distinguish your offer from all the others.
From the Old Things to the New
The aim of positioning is not to sell something new but to encourage your prospects to think about their problem in a new way. This is not selling a new cure-all solution, so much as suggesting your prospects benefit from thinking about their problem in a different way.
For example, I provide coaching in local marketing. Many marketers offer technical support, so their clients can learn and apply a new approach to their marketing. I have opened a new position by arguing new technical methods are not always the answer.
So, does it help to think about marketing as self-expression, getting my unique message across, as opposed to competing directly with everyone else who shares the same offer, message and technique?
Seeing Things Differently
- What is distinctive about your offer? What makes you stand out in the marketplace?
- Complete this sentence about you and your competition: “The one thing that separates me from my competitors is …”
- Think about your best clients. Why do they stick with you? What could you change so that they stick with you?
Doing Things Differently
Consider making one change to your business that will position you in the marketplace. Remember, if you open up a new position, there will always be people who prefer the old. This is not a problem; so long as you have enough people who prefer your position, you have a business.
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