Positioning is More Important Than Perfection

“One of the most important aspects of marketing your company or product is its position in the market” 

The Importance of Positioning

One of the most important aspects of marketing your company or product is its position in the market. This is often overlooked because positioning isn’t as sexy as getting Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers. However, it’s the best way to separate yourself from the competition, especially if you are in a crowded space. I have seen far too many companies build their product or service, and then leave the product’s positioning to the marketing department. People rarely pay attention to each of the features and functionalities, but strong positioning always stands out.

So why is positioning so important?

• Competition. It is fair to assume that almost every market that is worth chasing – large or small – will have intense competition. There will always be a product or service with more features, a better price and more functionalities.
• Clutter. Buyers – consumers and businesses – do not have the time to discern the real differences between one product or service and another. In some ways, our greatest competition is not out competitors, it is the clutter that occupies the attention of our potential customers.
• Roadmap Where You Can Win. Unless you clearly define and believe in your positioning, it is difficult to stand out from competitors and to cut through the clutter. It’s not the entire strategy of course, but it does force clarity and focus on market segment and value. And the exercise of devising and revisiting one should create alignment with the team and form a foundation for scaling when the time is right.

If you are going to jump into an industry with well entrenched and better funded competitors, and with buyers having little mindshare for the difference between product X and Y, then you need to position your company in order to have success.