Positioning, like developing a Unique Selling Proposition, a differentiating factor, or dominant selling idea is the process by which your business creates an image or identity in the minds of your core market for your product, service, or brand.

Positioning is the relative competitive comparison your product or service occupies as perceived by your target audience. In other words, you are always positioning against your competition.

Here is a great example of marketplace positioning

I remember playing some late-season golf with my brothers when I discovered a new taste treat at the pro shop cash register. It was a pair of energy bars called, descriptively enough, 1st Tee and 10th Tee, produced by SCNS Sports Foods.

But here’s where positioning come in: the specialist always beats the generalist. If I’m getting ready to tee off, and I have a choice between a “generic” energy bar and 1st Tee, I KNOW which one I’d pick. Before I take to the tee box, why would I grab an energy bar targeted at women or hikers or low-carb dieters when I can gulp down the energy bar made especially for golfers before unsheathing my outsized driver?

In your business, positioning is a critical exercise. Who are you trying to build a relationship with? Everyone in the world? How will your offerings stand out in a crowded and often confusing marketplace?

Back to the golf example for a moment: The best part about a niche like 1st and 10th Tee is that SCNS Sports Foods can FOCUS their sales efforts exclusively on golf courses and golf stores ONLY. There’s no need for them to play the grocery store game, pay slotting fees, or even TRY to compete with the deep-pocketed and well-branded Nature Valley, Clif Bars, Luna, and Power Bars of the world. This is the ONLY golf energy bar (that I’m aware of).

Furthermore, pro shops and golf retailers would probably scoff at the idea of stocking Clif Bars. But a golf energy bar...now that's a novel product that could authentically sell, earning them additional impulse revenue at the point of sale.

And 1st and 10th Tee are now sold in more than 3,500 golf courses and golf retail outlets across the United States.

In Differentiate or Die, author Jack Trout says, “Since differentiation takes place in the mind, specialists can focus on one product, one benefit, one message, and one audience. This focus enables the marketer to put a sharp point on the message that quickly drives it into the mind. Another weapon of the specialist is the ability to be perceived as the best. When you study the marketing wars, the well-differentiated specialist tends to be the winner.”

Consider the lessons for your business. It’s not enough to fall into the old “We’re focused on high quality” trap. Your business will not be positioned or differentiated by relying on “better service” or “good value.” One CEO I worked with insisted that his organization was built on integrity. Great! But ALL organizations should be built on integrity. It’s a parity item—the cost of entry into business.

Now…consider what really makes your business unique. Why should people support Brand You and not Brand B?