Forget competition - you win when you play your own game
Build Mode™ Issue 03.2024
Welcome to this issue of Build Mode! I’m so glad you’ve joined us. We have an ambitious bunch here made up of professionals working in real estate, architecture, engineering, construction, marketing, design, and development. Welcome all!
In today’s update I’ll share what brand positioning is, why it matters, and how you can put it into practice.
Haven’t subscribed yet? Consider joining us below and get the next issue delivered straight to your inbox on the first of the month.Ever find yourself competing with other companies? Or worse, competing with other companies on price? Ugh. Multiple players in the mix. All with a similar offering, a similar message, a similar approach?
Especially in markets that are perceived as commodities, (yeah, sometimes that includes architecture and construction) focusing on what makes you different is the secret to unleashing your brand's potential and standing out among the crowd.
Brand positioning is the process of getting there.
What’s brand positioning?
Positioning is one of the core components of brand strategy (arguably the most important, from a business perspective, among the four components – purpose, people, position, personality).
Brand positioning is the act of intentionally choosing your place in the market, one where no one else occupies, or can occupy.
It’s not only your space in the market, but also the space you take up in the mind of your audience.
How do you get to a brand position? The simplest way is to answer the question: ‘what makes you different?’ but there’s more to it than just that.
Being different makes you stand out.
Standing out makes you more memorable.
Memorability makes you more likely to attract and appeal to your ideal audience, whether it’s your next prospect or talent in your organization.
Brand position often exists in the form of a statement that indicates what makes you different, as well as the set of attributes that define what you offer, what market you’re in, and how your value is different from what others can offer.
Brand position can also exist as literal position or placement on a map of your industry. To evaluate potential gaps in the market, brands are often plotted onto an industry landscape with two axes. You can define the values and attributes of your axes to your liking. For example, one axis might be a range of price points from ‘economy’ to ‘premium’ while the other might be a personality trait like ‘corporate and stiff’ to ‘casual and friendly.’ By mapping brands to coordinates based on secondary research and gut instinct, you can reveal insights in your market, and potential areas to position your brand.
Why does it matter?
If you don’t define who you are, others will do it for you. Meaning, without a brand position that you define yourself, you’ll be categorized next to every other firm just like yours, and continue to compete for market share.
To separate yourself from the market, you need to show up and present your position in a way that speaks to your audience's needs, and expresses it through your message, identity, and offering.
There’s a survey question that is often asked in market research and consumer reports… it goes something like “within the category of X, which brands do you know of?” For example, which coffee brands come to mind? Someone might respond with Starbucks, Dunkin’, Peet’s, Blue Bottle, Caffe Nero, La Colombe… and then trail off. You want to achieve unaided brand awareness, also known as brand recall. It’s when customers can remember your business and know what it’s about because you’ve shown up in the market and made that distinction clear. Simply being known is the first step. Being known for what you intend is next level. The aim is to reduce the perception gap between what you say you are and what your audience thinks you are.
Here’s what you can do next
To define your own brand position, you need to define how you’re different. Here are five steps to get you there.
Step 1: Identify other industry players
(side note: I’m not using the word ‘competitors’, and that’s on purpose. There’s a train of thought in business that to ‘win’ you need to increase market share by obliterating the competition. But an increase in market share doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in business if the market size remains status quo. An increase in market share is dependent on the size of the market. I’m not a fan of this ‘competitive’ approach to business.)
The way I see it, the market is full of players in the game of business. Many players will compete against each other, trying to one-up each other with the next feature, monitoring their every move, claiming to be better, or the first, or the fastest, or the biggest.
There’s a better game to play.
The best game to play is one where you define your own rules. Know what others are doing so you can separate yourself into an open segment of the market.
Other industry players are the ones that are already on your radar. You run into them frequently. They are the firms on the same shortlist. They’re the existing providers you’re trying to dethrone. They are the contractors you’re bidding against. They are the ones you admire and also, the ones you despise!
Step 2: Research those industry players
Unless we have access to their internal brand strategy, the only way to understand how other industry players are positioning themselves is through their messaging. By reading and extrapolating what they say, we can interpret what they intend.
Visit the website of each industry player and look for these things:
What is their primary message? You’ll likely find this at the top of the home page or about page. Their primary message might be an indicator of their positioning.
What are their top three features and benefits? You might find this within their approach, services, or features page. Identify what benefits they are offering and to who
What is their visual identity? You’ve read into their messaging, now look at how they visually express themselves and what kind of personality they portray.
Step 3: Identify your differentiating factors
Through your industry audit, you’ll have found the positioning, values, and visual identity that other industry players offer. Now let’s focus on your unique set of attributes.
A good way to start is to list out every possible attribute that defines your brand.
Every.
Single.
One.
You should have a list of at least 50 attributes (even if, at first, they are similar to other industry players.) Once you have a large list of attributes that define your brand, compare them to the benefits of other industry players you developed. Which of these are unique to you, and you only? Choose a handful. These are your unique value propositions - the factors and values that customers can only get from you. As you go through these attributes, pay close attention to ones that get you excited and stand out among the rest. This may be your 'big idea.' See next step.
Step 4: Write a position statement
If you look up what’s included in a positioning statement, you may find templated statements with fill-in-the-blanks for target audience, category, key customer benefits, and alternatives.
Bleh. There are multiple problems with position statement templates. One, they're usually a mouthful. Two, they're uninspiring. Three, to suggest a brand position can be completed with a fill-in-the-blank is just plain wrong. Positioning isn’t Mad Libs.
When writing your position statement, don’t follow a template. What’s most important in your position statement is that you identify one big idea that makes you different from all other brands. This idea could come from the unique attributes you found in the previous step. Whatever the idea is, whether it’s the type of people you serve, or your unique approach, or your unique qualifications, or something else. Lean into the one thing that makes you the only one in a category that can deliver on this promise.
Some examples of brand positions:
For my brand agency MUDEO, I’ve defined my position as “Branding for business leaders in build mode.” It clearly identifies what I do and the unique group I’m focused on supporting – those who are ambitious and operating in the built environment through design, construction, real estate, or management.
For a new residential community coming soon to Auburn, MA, the core position is “a breath of fresh air” – highlighting refreshingly new housing stock and appealing to those who want to get outside the city and into nature.
For a popular brand like Warby Parker, their mission is “to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style” which could also be interpreted as their positioning. The inclusion of ‘impact the world’ is a clear reference to their unique Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program where they donate pairs of glasses to people in need around the world.
Step 5: Keep positioning at the center of everything you do
Positioning isn’t just a part of a brand strategy, it’s the key driver for your business. Every marketing initiative, every business decision, every bit of communication should reinforce your position.
It’s how you stand out
It’s how you’re remembered
It’s what you stand for
It’s what people love about you
It’s what keeps them coming back again and again
TL;DR
Forget competition. Use brand positioning to define what makes you different, setting you apart and occupying space that no one else can. Be aware of what other industry players are up to, then define your own space. Be a category of one to eliminate competition and stand out in the minds of your ideal audience.
That’s a wrap for this issue of Build Mode! Thanks again for being here.
If you have any ideas to share, or questions to ask, reach out. I’m open to hearing your thoughts and making this most useful message in your inbox this week. If you think this might help a friend, feel free to forward it to them and encourage them to join us.
Wishing you a wonderful month of March and hope to talk soon!
Best.
Kenny Isidoro
Work zone
Some other things I’ve been up to this past monthLearning:
I’ve recently completed a couple more courses through Section on storytelling and data to earn certificates in strategic communication and leadership. My membership in the program recently expired and I’m considering new learning opportunities. Where and how do you learn.
Designing:
Over the past few months, I’ve been working with Eastland Partners, a real estate developer based in Worcester, and property management firm Wingate Companies, to develop the brand for Topograph, a new residential community in Auburn. Keep an eye out for a case study coming soon!
Experimenting:
I’m considering putting together a subscription service model. On-demand branding and marketing services for business leaders in build mode. Interested? If your organization would like to take part in a pilot program (aka be a guinea pig), give me a ring!
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
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