The Power of Positioning
With 1 in 5 startups failing in the first year, building a business can be incredibly challenging and even if your product is outstanding, success isn’t guaranteed.
It requires something that many startups overlook in their rush to find customers and drive revenue, positioning.
Positioning isn’t new but is the essential foundation that tells your market and audience who you are, what you do, and why your solutions matter. It’s how you can make sure that your product is seen, understood and desired by your target audience.
If you’re a CEO or co-founder of a B2B startup, understanding the value of positioning to your business and how to execute it effectively is the key to unlocking your next phase of growth.
What Is Positioning?
Positioning is the process of defining what your product or service delivers for your target customers. It answers critical questions like:
Who is your ideal customer?
What problem does your product solve for them?
Why should they choose your solution over others?
Positioning isn’t about clever marketing or great sales strategies, it’s about making deliberate, strategic decisions that influence your entire business. A strong positioning strategy aligns your product, messaging, sales approach, and customer experience to consistently reinforce your value in the right market for your products and services.
The Value of Positioning for B2B Startups
1. Differentiation in a Crowded Market
With 100s of new companies launching new solutions, the B2B market is saturated with solutions claiming to be the best, fastest, or most innovative. Without clear positioning, your product risks getting lost in the noise.
Positioning:
Highlights what makes your product/ service truly unique.
Makes it easier for customers to understand the value your solutions deliver.
Ensures you’re targeting the right market, with the right message.
2. Faster, Focused Growth
Startups have limited resources and budget which means prioritising their efforts is essential. Positioning helps you focus on the opportunities that have the highest impact by:
Identifying the most profitable customer segments.
Finding the channels and messages resonate most with your audience.
Aligning your entire team around a shared understanding of your value proposition.
3. Improved Sales and Marketing Efficiency
A well-defined positioning strategy provides a clear structure for your Go-To-Market teams, enabling them to:
Create and communicate compelling messages that speak directly to your customers’ needs.
Develop integrated campaigns that generate the right qualified leads.
Shorten and simplify sales processes by addressing objections before they arise.
4. Industry, Investor and Stakeholder Confidence
When you have a strong positioning, it shows that you truly understand your market. this builds confidence from investors, partners, and other stakeholders, making it easier for you to secure funding, build business partnerships, or attract top talent. It also builds credibility with industry analysts such as with Gartner and Forrester Research.
5. Foundation for Long-Term Growth
Positioning isn’t just about short term gains, it’s about creating a strategic foundation that supports sustainable growth. As your B2B startup evolves, a strong positioning strategy ensures that your business remains relevant and competitive in the ever-changing market.
Positioning for Global Businesses
For B2B startups looking to expand into new territories, positioning becomes even more critical and complex. Customers in different regions don’t just speak different languages, they often have unique cultural values, and buying behaviours.
Key Considerations for Global Positioning
Cultural Relevance:
Adapt your messaging to reflect local cultural nuances and preferences.
For example, while US audiences may value innovation and speed, certain European markets may place more emphasis on quality and reliability.
Language Adaptation:
This goes beyond just translating the words, but making sure that your message doesn’t loose its value or meaning, and continues to resonate with local audiences.
Market-Specific Challenges:
Understand the unique challenges and priorities of each region and country.
E.G. data privacy is a significant concern in Europe (GDPR), while cost-effectiveness may be a higher priority in emerging markets like India.
Regional Competitors:
Analyse local competitors and their positioning to identify opportunities for differentiation, your competitors may not be in all regions and this might present opportunities for you to leap ahead.
Your products/ services might not be relevant to all regions so it’s important to do your research on local business practices and challenges.
Effective global positioning requires a balance between consistency and localisation. Your brand should maintain a unified global message but flexibility in how it’s communicated across regions and key countries.
Positioning is not just a marketing exercise, it’s a strategic business decision that touches every function of your startup. As a CEO or co-founder, your leadership is critical in this process. You bring a unique perspective as the visionary behind your business, and your involvement ensures that positioning aligns with your overarching goals and gives the entire company a united vision and approach for the future.
Let’s Talk About Your Positioning
We provide positioning workshops and consultancy to help B2B startups clearly and concisely define their postioning.
Positioning isn’t just an option—it’s your competitive advantage. Let’s define yours.
