Are The Riches In The Niches?

I find that positioning is a critical, yet often overlooked, component of any paid media campaign.

The other week I saw a definition of positioning that I really liked, and it basically stated that a brands position in the marketplace is the combination of:

• Who the target customer is

• What the target customer’s pain point is

• How the brand solve that pain

When working with clients on their positioning and messaging, I put less emphasis on who they’re targeting, and focus more on how they’re serving their customers. The hypothetical example below will illustrate my thinking.

I often see positioning statements that read something like “we do X for companies that have attributes A, B, and C.”

For example “we offer a CRM system for companies in the fitness space with an ARR between $5m and $10m.”

Sure, a statement like that can define a target market and a brand’s place within that market. However, my analysis is that these types of positioning statements don’t convey enough value to prospects.

A potential ad headline for a company with this type of positioning might read something like “A CRM Solution For Fitness Companies!” The only trouble is, what makes this CRM so well catered to fitness companies? Why not choose a competitor who simply called out their low monthly price?

When working with clients to refine positioning and messaging, I spend a lot of time focusing on how they serve their customers. This can better qualify a brand’s relevance to its target audience.

If this fictional fitness CRM company was my client, I might help them to refine their positioning to “A CRM system that helps fitness companies retain clients with a built-in attendance and workout tracker.”

Only one (biased) man’s perspective, but if I was running a gym, that second positioning statement would appeal to me a lot more. This can even open up the total addressable market for this CRM company.

This brand doesn’t need to limit its focus on fitness companies making between $5m and $10m a year to differentiate itself, the fitness-specific product features can do the heavy lifting when creating a USP.

I’m not saying that niching down on a specific industry segment isn’t worth it, but I am arguing that what a company does should be the driver of who they do it for.

Have questions, considerations, or critiques? I’d love to hear them! If you’re reading this via email, just hit respond. Otherwise, you can find me on LinkedIn.