Step 1: An exercise for your Marketing Team to begin telling more compelling stories about your brand...and WHY anyone should care. Most organizations shortcut this process and simply talk about themselves, or WHAT they offer. Nobody cares about your "focus on customer service". Here's how to dig deeper and carve out a meaningful niche in your market. WebDesign-Phoenix.com

1. D E F I N I N G Y O U R
C O M P A N Y ' S
M A R K E T P O S I T I O N
WEB DESIGN PHOENIX
5 Step Guide to

2. I N T R O D U C T I O N
One of the first steps in any marketing campaign is to define your
company’s positioning strategy. Rather than coming across as just another
business offering the same stuff, it's best to set yourself apart.
It starts by identifying exactly WHY you exist, WHO you want your clients to
be, WHAT solutions you offer, and HOW you provide those solutions.
Sounds simple right? This is an exercise that most smaller companies don't
bother spending time on. Many that do, end up cutting corners and using
canned, meaningless expressions to describe their company.
This guide outlines the steps to follow and the questions you need to
answer. It may not be easy (if you do it right), but it is always time well
spent. The more detail you are able to provide, the better you'll be able to
differentiate and stand out from the pack.

3. D O N ' T W A S T E Y O U R T I M E
This exercise is about crafting thoughtful and specific details
about your company that you'll use to tell your story and
attract the right customers. You'll need to resist the urge to
fall into the "ocean of sameness". Here's what I mean:
Generic terms like "market leader", "best customer service",
or "highest quality products" are what everyone else writes
about themselves and doesn't really say anything.
A generalized “mission statement” is not a positioning
strategy either: “Within the next 5 years, we will be the most
recognized industry firm, with a reputation for outstanding
work and superior client relationships.” Garbage.
Lines like these don't say anything about your company that
your prospects care about. Watch your language. Clichés will
only serve to bore your audience with more of the same. Do
it and this whole process becomes a big waste of time.
Be specific. Be precise. Own a niche. Set yourself apart.

4. D I R E C T I O N S
For each of the 5 steps in the pages that follow, use the questions to serve
up ideas to write about in each category. Our questions are just
guidelines...let the ideas flow.
The goal is to answer the questions with as much detail as possible, coming
to understand more about yourself, your company, and where you will have
opportunity to succeed.
Each section should result in at least several paragraphs worth of content.
In the end, all this work will culminate into a defining positioning
statement. This is your most succinct answer to the question:
What do you do?

5. 1 . C U R R E N T S T A T E
Separate yourself from the herd. Avoid the
temptation to be all things to all people.
Start with where you stand right now.
Who are your biggest competitors?
Who is the market leader?
What makes your company unique?
What are your selling points against them?
Give 1 - 3 sentences about what you stand
for and how you differentiate currently.
E V A L U A T E H O W D I F F E R E N T I A T E D
Y O U A R E T O D A Y .

6. 2 . Y O U R P U R P O S E
Besides profits, why does your
organization exist?
What would people miss if you weren't
around tomorrow?
Why do you go to work every day and why
to clients want to work with you?
What value are you delivering
specifically?
What specific problems do you solve?
T H I S I S T H E “ W H Y ” O F Y O U R
E N T I R E B U S I N E S S M O D E L .

7. 3 . Y O U R B E S T C L I E N T
What audience are you hoping to attract?
What types of clients have been most
successful in the past?
What traits do they have in common?
Which industries, business categories, or
market segments do you know best?
What types of clients do you most enjoy
working with?
What types of clients do you NOT want to
do business with?
I D E N T I F Y “ W H O ” Y O U W A N T T O D O
B U S I N E S S W I T H

8. 4 . C O R E C O M P E T E N C Y
What goods or services do you offer and
what are you expert in?
What do you do better than your
competitors?
Which of your goods/services provide the
most value to your clients?
If you could only provide one
good/service, what would it be?
What would your top clients miss the
most if your company went away?
S P E C I F I C A L L Y “ W H A T ” Y O U
D O F O R Y O U R C U S T O M E R S

9. 5 . C O M P A N Y C U L T U R E
What are the philosophies and methods
you follow to service your clients?
Do you have a unique way of thinking
or any special work processes?
What is the one thing you would never
change about your company?
Will you say "NO" to a prospective client
because of your values and culture?
Reasons?
Regardless of role, what does it take for
someone to truly succeed as an employee
at your company?
T H I S I S “ H O W ” Y O U O P E R A T E A N D
T H E S E T O F B E L I E F S Y O U G O B Y .

10. C R E A T E Y O U R
P O S I T I O N I N G S T A T E M E N T
T H I S S U M M A R I Z E S W H A T Y O U ' R E A L L A B O U T . . .
U S I N G E V E R Y T H I N G W E ' V E D O N E S O F A R
Fill in the blanks:
We (provide this good/service/value/outcome “What”) for (this type of
customer/company/industry/market “Who”) by (using this kind of
approach “How”) because (“Why”)

11. G O O D L U C K !
" W E P R O V I D E V A L U E D R I V E N W E B S I T E D E S I G N F O R
S A L E S O R I E N T E D C O M P A N I E S R U N B Y P E O P L E W E L I K E
F O R T W O R E A S O N S :
W E D O N ' T E N J O Y W O R K I N G W I T H P E O P L E W H O A R E N ' T N I C E , A N D
W E B E L I E V E T H A T S U C C E S S F U L O N L I N E M A R K E T I N G I S N O T A
P R O J E C T , B U T A P R O C E S S R E Q U I R I N G P L A N N I N G , A G I L I T Y ,
D A T A - D R I V E N D E C I S I O N S , A N D C O N T I N U A L I M P R O V E M E N T . "
H E R E ' S O U R S