• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, December 15, 2010

Listen up, because this is important!  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you, the reader, to gain insight into one of the most fundamentally strategic concepts in all of marketing.  In this article, which will hopefully be a bright spot in your otherwise mundane day, you are going to be exposed to one of the consulting world's biggest secrets.  It's actually the best-kept secret in the history of branding!

Here it is: There are only four positioning statements available for any brand in the world, and all brands in the world can fit into one of these four positioning statements.  They are: first, biggest, best or different.

At first pass you may think this is too simplistic, but once you dive into it you'll come to the realization (and it could be a painful one, when you comprehend just how many books are written and classes are taught on this subject) that this is really the simple fact of the matter.

"First" is an important positioning.  It means you were an early adopter and a trailblazer.  Your brand can lay claim to the fact that you "did it before anyone else."  Amazon is probably the biggest claim to "first" in our Internet landscape (they also say "biggest").  So is eBay, when you think about it.  First is a wonderful place to be, assuming that you continue to invest in and grow your business.  Still, as a positioning statement, first can requires a lot of work, since the landscape starts to come after you, and then you have to find a secondary position to maintain -- because first will only get you so far.

"Biggest" is another one of those dangerous positions to take, because big doesn't always mean best (that's another position altogether).  Biggest is, however, a verifiable statement to make.  You can be the "biggest ad network" or the "biggest used car dealer" -- and you're implicitly stating that you're the most efficient and possibly the most effective.  Being big means that you've worked out the kinks and you know what you're doing by now.

"Best" is a hard one to prove, but lots of companies make the statement.  If you're the best, that implies your customers are happy, your service is strong and your business is doing well.  Best means that you try a little harder (like Avis) and that you go that extra mile.  Of course, if you say you're the best, you're inviting criticism, because it's in our nature to want the underdog to win.  That's why everyone roots against Duke in March, because no one likes the games to play out as expected.  There's no fun in that.  Being the best means that someone else said you were the best, and once you've been given that label, you always have to continue that way -- or you're the company that "used to be the best."

Now, being "different" -- that's important.  When you're different, you're only saying that what you do and how you do it are not the traditional ways one would expect.  By being different, you can create a unique position that you can own.   The best positioning work in marketing is done when you do a deep dive into a brand and can uncover the points of differentiation that allow you to be successful while also remaining top of mind.    Being different doesn't mean you're "that guy" from high school who wears his underwear on the outside of his pants to school one day to "make a statement." Different is not bad.  It's just different!

In today's cluttered landscape of companies, products and services, "different" is a very good thing.  Different is what makes companies stand out.  Apple is different.  Tesla is different.  Crocs (as ugly as they are) are different. 

The next time you look at the brands you buy or the companies you work for, take a moment to see if you can spot what their positioning is and see if they're different, or if they follow one of the standard positions that almost everyone else tries to take.

Oh -- and happy holidays!!