Positioning your company is important, because it clarifies three things:

1. Why you started
2. Why customers should buy
3. Why great people should work with you

So since your position should inspire and energize others, here are virtues to aspire to.

Be Positive

This isn’t war, so don’t use war-like terms. Your customers don’t care if you want to kill the competition.

All they want to know is what value they’ll get from using your product or service.

Focus on the Customer

Positioning isn’t about what you want to become. And describing your business as “the leading company” is egocentric.

You want your statement to be customer-centric.

Be Unique AND Valuable

Both qualities are important. Why?

Uniqueness (-) Value = A product no one will buy

Lack of Uniqueness (+) Lack of Value = Just plain stupidity

Value (-) Uniqueness = A price war

Uniqueness (+) Value = Good profit margin and appreciation from your customers

Come up with a Remarkable Name

Whether for your company, product, or service, here are some tips to help.

Use a first initial that’s early in the alphabet

When your name appears in an alphabetical list someday, you’ll want to be near the front of that list rather than the end.

Try to avoid words that start with X or Z

If you heard “Xyland,” would you think it’s spelled “Xyland” or “Zyland?”

Try to avoid numbers

For reasons similar to avoiding X and Z. People won’t know whether to use numerals (1 2 3) or spell it out (One Two Three).

Look for Verb Potential

If you grow in popularity, your name will enter mainstream vernacular. Then you’ll be happy you did this.

For instance, people don’t photocopy paper – they “Xerox” them. They don’t search for words on the internet – they “Google” it.

Personalize It

If it’s personal, potential customers won’t need to imagine how a product or service meets their need.

Impersonal – Raising the grades of kids in your school district.

Personal – Ensuring that Billy gets into college.

Use Proof Points

Instead of using overused adjectives like easy, safe, or fast to describe what you offer, a better way to stand out is to use concrete proof points.

Easy – You’ll set it up in 15 minutes without any special tools.

Safe – No one has ever broken in.

Fast – Double your reading speed in two weeks!

Speak English

Don’t say this:

“Utilizing a combination of fundamental and technical investing techniques, we help you choose high-performing stocks.”

Finance experts may understand this easily. But to the rest of us, this is pure gibberish. Don’t use industry jargon. A lot more people than just insiders need to understand what you do.

Instead, try something like this:

“Helping you beat the market.”

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