#124 The similar ones
Happy Sunday, everyone.
I shared this with the LOFT team earlier and thought it was worth including here.
Most people in business confuse positioning and differentiation. And while similar, they’re not the same thing.
Positioning is a set of specific benefits that establishes your company, product, or service as a leader in the minds of a clear-cut group of customers. I love how April Dunford articulates positioning here:
Good positioning sets off a set of assumptions about my product that are true. Bad positioning sets off a set of assumptions about my product that aren't true - leaving your sales and marketing teams to do the work of undoing the damage your positioning has already done.
Differentiation, by contrast, is how your company, product, or service stands out from the crowd — that’s different from your competitors. One quote from Seth Godin I’m reminded of is:
Surprise and differentiation have far more impact than noise does.
From here, my thoughts for the LOFT team diverged to focus on a few areas of differentiation we could improve upon. For you, my NFTF friends, I’ll leave you with something else on my mind of equal importance.
Both differentiation and positioning are not one-time exercises. Companies, products, and services don’t live in a vacuum. They exist in an ecosystem filled with change. Customers, competitors, technology, and macro factors are in a constant state of motion.
Therefore, I try to revisit positioning and differentiation 2-4 times per year for each of Calm Capital’s companies.
Prefer to listen to this week’s issue? Go here: The Similar Ones on NFTF The Podcast
One to Ponder
- How do I develop more “conservative boldness”? This seemingly paradoxical mentality is one I observe and admire in my mentors as much as any.
One to Watch
- With the U.S.Open this week, I enjoyed this one from Adidas + Extra Butter for Happy Gilmore's 25th Anniversary (Nostalgia is en vogue).
One to Read
Until next time, friends.
-David