Some of the businesses most in need of positioning are the successful ones. I realize that sounds backward at first, so I’ll explain.
Most people I talk with assume brand work becomes important when a business is struggling to attract customers, gain visibility or generate growth. And, although that is also true, over the years, I have observed something else, too.
Success can mask the need for clarity.
A business builds a strong reputation. Customers refer friends and colleagues. Long-standing relationships create trust before the first meeting ever occurs. Growth happens. The company becomes known as a good company with good people doing good work.
For years, sometimes decades, sometimes generations, that momentum can carry the business forward until something changes.
Perhaps the founder is preparing to retire or a new generation may be stepping into leadership. The business may be expanding into a new market or preparing for a merger or acquisition. Whatever the trigger, growth suddenly requires the company to explain itself beyond the people who already know.
Suddenly the organization discovers that many of the things people have always “known” about the business have never actually been defined.
Ask ten employees what makes the company different and you may get ten different answers. Ask customers why they chose the company and they may struggle to explain it beyond, “I’ve always heard good things.” Ask leadership what the business wants to become known for and the conversation often becomes surprisingly difficult.
Strong businesses accumulate capabilities and expand services over time. They develop expertise, relationships, specialties and stories. Eventually the business becomes known for a great many things, but remembered for very few. That is where the positioning problem becomes evident.
Positioning requires a different discipline. It asks leaders to determine which strengths matter most, what is truly unique and different. Which ideas create the most compelling distinction in the marketplace? Which experiences do customers value enough to talk about when referring others?
Without that clarity and compelling communication, the business begins paying costs that are difficult to see. A prospect almost chooses you but doesn’t. A proposal requires more explanation than it should. Pricing pressure appears even though the quality of the work remains exceptional. One employee describes the company one way while another describes it differently.
Individually, these moments may seem insignificant. Together, they create friction. Sales cycles lengthen, pricing pressure increases, good opportunities stall and the business spends more energy than it should trying to explain its value.
These tiny moments may seem insignificant at the time. Together, they create friction. Sales cycles lengthen, pricing pressure increases, good opportunities stall and the business spends more energy than it should trying to explain its value.
Referrals often conceal this problem for a very long time. When someone already knows your work, they do much of the explaining for you. They understand the history, the quality, the way you think and why you are worth choosing. Even if they cannot fully articulate it, enough trust has already been transferred for the prospect to reach out and learn more.
The challenge comes when the business needs to grow beyond that circle. At that point, the organization needs shared language. Customers need a clear understanding of why the company is different. Prospects need to hear the same message from employees, referral sources, the website and leadership.
Consistency builds confidence.
Positioning starts with discovering what is already true and has often been true since the business began. Then comes the harder work of discerning what matters most and finding the clearest, strongest way to communicate it.
When the people inside the organization understand that positioning and can express it consistently, the message begins to move through the culture. Customers hear it, read it and experience it in ways that begin to align. Author and business strategist Scott Davis calls this a Brand-Driven Business.
Of course, referrals and reputation will always be important to the business. But there comes a point when a business has to be able to explain itself beyond the people who already know.
The organizations that do this well are often surprised by what happens next. Growth becomes easier and opportunities become clearer. Employees become stronger ambassadors. And the added benefit is that customers begin repeating the same language back to the company.
The business has finally become known for what it intended all along.
Read more from Jennifer here on Substack.
