Positioning switches you from climbing to surfing

“When you are leading an organisation, having a strong positioning is the difference between climbing and surfing”.

CEO of ASX 200 organisation

This was the metaphor a CEO used with me in a recent conversation. It brilliantly summed up the switch that occurs when an organisation finds a positioning and narrative on which the whole organisation is aligned.

It feels like surfing. Being propelled forward by the energy and focus flowing through your whole team.

Leaders also know what it feels like when you don’t have that or when your legacy positioning no longer resonates in the market. It’s an uphill climb, with different parts of the enterprise running their own races.

So many conversations start with a slightly worried “There really isn’t anything different about what we offer.”  If your team feels like that, your customers will, too, so whether you run a B2C or B2B business, you need to take it on.

Positioning is about committing to a clear and contextually relevant argument about what makes your offering different and better than a customer’s alternative choices. It connects the dots between business, sales, and marketing strategies to put you exactly where your customers need you to be.

The process to get there means digging deep to find your points of difference—talking to customers, thinking about your market and how it is changing, looking ahead and choosing where you want to be in the market. By doing that work collaboratively and openly, you have laid the ground work to align your whole team behind the direction you choose.

A framework to work out a unique positioning for brands, products and services

And when you get to that, you’ve got it.

The unstoppable rolling energy pushing you forward is the internal momentum that makes an organisation thrive. Your team will have an organised and differentiated proposition they are excited to stand behind, your customers will feel it, and shareholders will too.