Local Marketing Insider #028 // Discover Your Wedge

This is a short guide on brand positioning.

Before we start, my question to you: What’s your business’s unique value? 

Do you have the “best selection?” Or the “cheapest prices?”

More importantly, can you sum it up in a single line? 

If you can do that then you’re one step closer to the next goal, your customers communicating that value for you in reviews (that’s where the magic of Trust Marketing lies).

Harry, from Harry’s Marketing Examples, thinks about positioning like this:

Your goal is to own the space in the customer’s mind. You do this by differentiating yourself.

The most clearly differentiated brands have a wedge. A singular idea that sets the brand apart in the mind of the customer.

Identifying your wedge will provide you, and eventually your customers, with a clear understanding of what makes your business stand out. 

I’ve collected 12 examples for inspiration:

Misfit Markets 

Save 40% by buying unsold food, eliminate food waste

Tom’s Shoes

By becoming a customer you become a part of a movement for good

Cabelas

The store is a destination

Salesforce

Enterprise CRM that’s Slack-first

Apple

Aesthetically beautiful technology

^Emphasis on the look of the product was a focus for Apple dating back to 1977.

Tesla

Cool electric cars

Drift

No forms, communicate directly with your buyer through chat instead

Canva

Anybody can be a designer

Hey (Email Tool)

Better control which emails get your time, and which do not

Hinge

The dating app designed to be deleted

Hubspot

Outbound is broken, inbound’s the answer

Widewail 

Market through your customers. Buyers prefer to hear from their peers.

I hope you can find your wedge. 

Admittedly, months of work, condensed to a single line is a maddening proposition. 

But, that level of clarity can be a very useful tool. 

If you’d like to keep musing on the topic read Harry’s brand positioning guide.

See you in 2 weeks - Jake, Marketing @Widewail