Today, competition online is fierce. Many companies suffer from low conversions, shrinking profit margins, and ineffective marketing campaigns.
Does your company face any of these challenges?
If so, chances are you don’t need better sales copy.
You probably have a much bigger, more pressing problem.
Try this exercise…
- Open your website in a browser window
- Do the same for your top five competitors
- Copy the text above the fold
- Remove any pictures and logos
- Print everything out
- And ask people what’s the main difference between them all.
Can they pinpoint what’s different about your company?
If not, you have a positioning problem.
What is Positioning?
Put simply, positioning is occupying a particular space inside the prospect’s mind.
One that is unique and different from your competitors.
For example, in cars, Porsche owns “speed”, Volvo owns “safety” and Toyota owns “reliability”.
And, the godfathers of positioning, Al Reis and Jack Trout say,“Positioning has changed the way the advertising game is being played today.”
Prospects don’t have time.
They need to make decisions fast.
In the 2020s, there’s more competition online in every market and industry.
Whether you sell SaaS, professional services, web apps, or anything else, there are more competitors online than ever before.
And chances are, you don’t need better copy.
You probably need better positioning.
So here are 3 examples:
You’ll learn about one consumer good, one SaaS tool, and one education product.
Example #1: Toilet Paper (Who Gives A Crap)
How did a small startup take on a $60 billion toilet paper industry?
With radical differentiation.
Simon Griffiths, the founder of Who Gives A Crap, didn’t focus on length, softness or price.
No.
His company’s positioning?
Brilliant.
“Toilet paper that builds toilets.”
Then, once you visit the website.
The company elaborates on this positioning by explaining what they do…
Here, you can see the differentiation is elaborated on with the copy “50 of profits donated to help build toilets.”
This proves that you can stand out, even in commoditized markets, like toilet paper.
Example #2: Marketing SaaS tool – (ConvertKit)
How many email marketing tools are there to choose from?
Probably hundreds.
ConvertKit quickly became the go-to marketing tool for one particular group.
Creators.
This positioning served them well for many years.
However, as I write this, in 2021, ConvertKit has re-positioned again…
(So yes, you must survey the competitive landscape every 6 to 12 months to ensure that your positioning still stands strong.)
ConvertKit expanded from an “email marketing tool” to a “marketing platform”.
Now, with features like landing pages, commerce, automation, email sign-up forms, and email marketing.
What they’re doing is clever.
First, they found their beachhead – a small underserved market that they could “own.”
From there, they’ve expanded.
Smart.
Example #3: Training (CXL)
Just like Udemy and Coursea, CXL is a training course platform.
Udemy focuses on a massive library with courses that can be bought one at a time.
Coursea, on the other hand, offers an “all you can eat” smorgasbord of training courses for one monthly cost.
So how does CXL differentiate?
Their positioning is…
“Get the world’s top practitioners as your instructors.”
Their website quickly answers the question, “Why should I buy specifically from you?”
And it does it above the fold.
Each of the companies in these three examples charges more money than their competitors.
And yet, they are successful.
So why do so many companies fail to differentiate and specialize?
Either, they believe their specialization is unique, when their customers don’t care.
Or, they fear missing out.
Founders or CMOs might worry that they’ve chosen the wrong segment.
And that they’ll miss out on lots of customers.
If that’s the case.
Create a landing page, send traffic and test.
This will quickly find out if the positioning resonates.
Conclusion
So make sure you position your B2B product or service in the marketplace.
Understand what your competitors are doing, how they are positioned, and where the gaps are.
Those gaps are an opportunity for you to fill.
To solve a big urgent problem for a specific group of people who feel underserved.