Positioning in plain English: who you're for and why you

Positioning is the decision about who your business is for, what you help them with, and why they should choose you over the alternatives. Everything else in marketing (your website copy, your ads, your pricing, even your logo) is easier once that decision is made, and harder when it isn't.

Many small businesses skip it because it feels abstract. It doesn't need to be. This guide walks through it in plain terms.

Work it outSix questions, starting from your best customers
Write it downA short internal positioning statement
Use it everywhereCheck every piece of marketing against it

Stage 1 of 3: Work it out

Best customers, real alternatives, what makes you different, why it matters, who cares most, and your category. See the step-by-step method.

Stage 2 of 3: Write it down

It doesn't need to be elegant. Its job is to guide decisions. See Write a positioning statement.

Stage 3 of 3: Use it everywhere

Your homepage, service pages, pricing, case studies, profiles and sales conversations. See Use it everywhere.

What positioning is (and isn't)

Positioning is not a tagline, a mission statement or a logo. Those express your positioning. Positioning itself is the underlying choice:

Who you serve best
What problem you solve for them
What you're compared against
Why you're the better choice for those people

When it's clear, a potential customer can tell within seconds whether you're for them. When it's vague ("we provide quality solutions for businesses of all sizes"), they can't, and they move on to someone who seems to understand their situation.

Why being specific helps

Saying "we're for everyone" feels safe, because it doesn't turn anyone away. In practice, it makes you forgettable. Compare:

"We're a marketing agency."
"We help independent veterinary clinics in the Midwest fill their appointment calendars."

The second one turns away most businesses. But a vet clinic owner reading it thinks, "That's us." Specific positioning also makes referrals easier: people know exactly who to send your way.

Being specific doesn't mean refusing other work. It means leading with the customers you serve best.

A step-by-step way to work it out

This approach is adapted from April Dunford's widely used positioning method, described in her book Obviously Awesome.

List your best customers. Not the biggest, but the ones who got the most value, were happiest, and were easiest to work with. Look for what they have in common: industry, size, situation, the moment they came to you.

Name the real alternatives. What would those customers do if you didn't exist? Often it isn't a direct competitor. It might be doing it themselves, hiring a generalist, using software, or doing nothing.

List what makes you different. What do you do, have or know that those alternatives don't? Be concrete: a process, specialist knowledge, a guarantee, speed, a specific tool, local presence.

Turn differences into value. For each one, ask "so what?" from the customer's point of view. "We've built 50 clinic websites" becomes "we already know how clinic patients book, so your site works from launch."

Identify who cares most. Which customers value those benefits most? That's your target market, described as specifically as you can.

Choose your category. What kind of thing should people think you are? "Bookkeeper for restaurants" and "restaurant finance partner" set different expectations and different price points. Pick the one that makes your strengths obvious.

Write a positioning statement

A positioning statement is an internal document, not website copy. A simple format:

For [target customer] who [need or situation], [your business] is a [category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [main alternative], we [key difference].

An example for a made-up business:

For owner-run veterinary clinics that rely on phone bookings, Northside Digital is a website and booking partner that fills appointment calendars without adding front-desk work. Unlike general web agencies, we build every site around online booking and clinic workflows from day one.

It won't be elegant, and it doesn't need to be. Its job is to guide decisions. Your public-facing value proposition comes from it.

Use it everywhere

Once it's written, check your marketing against it:

Homepage headline: does it make clear who you're for and what you do? See writing a great homepage.
Service pages: do they speak to the target customer's situation?
Pricing: does it fit the category you chose?
Case studies and examples: do they show the customers you want more of?
Social and LinkedIn profiles: does your headline reflect it? See LinkedIn for B2B founders.
Sales conversations: do you explain yourself the same way?

Signs your positioning needs work

Prospects often ask "so what exactly do you do?"
You compete mostly on price.
Your website could belong to any of your competitors if you swapped the logo.
You attract lots of enquiries that aren't a good fit.
Your team describes the business in different ways.

Common mistakes

Positioning around what you want to sell, rather than what your best customers value.
Listing every service equally, so nothing stands out.
Using vague strengths like "quality", "service" or "passion". Every competitor claims them.
Changing it every few months. Positioning needs time to work. Revisit it once a year or when the business changes significantly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I have different positioning for different services?

If they serve very different customers, yes, but most small businesses are clearer with one main position and supporting services underneath it.

How long does this take?

A first draft can take an afternoon. Testing it with real customers and refining it takes longer. Positioning work is a core part of brand strategy engagements like the ones Chykalophia runs, and it's worth doing before any redesign or rebrand.