Business Owner, Business Owner, What Do You Hear?

“Under the sink,” I thought. “She said the cleaner is under the sink. Well, I’m looking under the sink and it’s not there.”

From the other room Kathy, my wife, called out, “Did you find it? I need it for what I’m doing next.”

“$&%^!*@,” I thought to myself.

“It’s not here!” I yelled.

A few seconds later my wife came into the room, opened the cabinet door and immediately pulled out what she needed.

“Here it is,” she said. She was gracious enough not to say what my mom often did in similar circumstances as I was growing up. “It was right in front of your nose. If it was any closer, it would have bitten you!”

So why couldn’t I see something that was obviously there when my wife found it immediately? And what does this have to do with finding more clients?

As I work with business owners, one of the hardest decisions to get them to make is how to position their firm. As an owner myself, I understand the conundrum. Great positioning involves narrowing our focus down to a specific audience (ie market).

Maybe it’s FOMO (fear of missing out). Maybe we’re scared we’ll lose out on clients. Maybe we think we’ll be bored working with the same types of clients all the time.

Whatever the reason, instead of developing a strong, impactful position, we create something like this: “We help everyone be better.”

Okay, maybe we don’t go that far. But many, many business owners neglect to define their audience in a meaningful way.

A quick web search for good positioning statements brought up these examples. (I’ve lightly edited them for clarity and to maintain anonymity.)

·         “We help startups stay competitive.”

·         “We create a great experience for quality beverage seekers.”

·         “Our dedication to improving operations and customer satisfaction sets us apart.”

·         “We give companies the tools they need to grow.”

·         “We make the highest-quality, healthy, and sustainable products available for every budget, lifestyle, and geography.”

Remember, these statements are being held up as examples to follow. Please don’t follow them.

Let’s put our heads back under the sink for a minute. Why wasn’t I able to see the item my wife asked me to get for her? Because the actual object didn’t match the picture in my head. She had asked me to get glass-cleaning wipes. I was looking for a blue and yellow rectangular package roughly the size of a box of tissues.

When Kathy looked, she pulled out a black and orange tube-shaped package. I had seen the item but immediately dismissed it because it didn’t look like the item I thought I was on a mission to find.

It’s vital that your positioning statement paints a crystal-clear picture of your audience.

Examining the positioning statements above, we see the following audience descriptions:

·         “Every budget, lifestyle, and geography.” Your ideal client is every person in the world?

·         “Quality beverage seekers.” So, you’ve definitely ruled out anyone who wants their drink to taste like vomit.

·         “Companies.” Um, enough said.

·         “Startups.” Okay, that’s at least a little narrower, but not actually too helpful. A mom-and-pop retail startup, a social services nonprofit startup, a VC-funded tech startup, a bootstrapped solo consulting startup?

·         And one doesn’t mention either an audience or what they do.

Here’s why strong positioning is essential:

1.      It focuses your strategy.

Poor positioning almost guarantees poor strategy. If you aren’t clear on your audience the rest of your strategy will lack clarity as well.

2.      It drives powerful messaging.

When you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, your messaging ends up flat and bland. People don’t respond to it because it’s too general. When your messaging is targeted to a specific audience it vibrates on a frequency they resonate with.

3.      It attracts the right clients.

How many times a day do you really want to say, “Oops, sorry. We can’t help you.” When you have positioned yourself well, your ideal clients recognize themselves in what you talk about. As soon as they become aware of you, they feel like you understand them.

4.      It highlights your expertise.

No one is going to believe you when you say, “We are the experts in helping everyone do everything.” And yet, that’s essentially what a lot of business owners are saying. If you’re an expert at something, you want to highlight it, even if it means people will go somewhere else for something else.

5.      It facilitates even greater expertise.

The more you work with the same types of clients, the more expertise you develop. Greater expertise means greater results means more clients.

6.      It stimulates referrals.

How will I know if I’ve met someone I can refer to you? If you haven’t clearly defined your audience, I’ll be looking for a blue and yellow tissue box when you’re in need of a black and orange tube. I need the picture in my head to match the picture in yours. Strong positioning does that.

It takes time, deep thought, and often outside help to develop tight positioning that works. One former consultant used to offer a two-day off-site to help business owners nail their positioning. Over time, he moved to a 12-week process with almost a year of follow-up help implementing the changes.

Does that seem like overkill? Then imagine how your business will be helped by a stronger, laser-focused and actionable strategy. How will your audience response change when your messaging provides powerful proof of your expertise? What level of growth in inbound leads will you experience as the right clients are attracted to your business? How many more referrals will you receive (as those around you get clear on exactly what you (and they) are looking for?

Invest the time. Do the work. Spend the money. Your business deserves to be seen as the logical choice to those you are uniquely qualified to serve.