B2B Word on the Street: Positioning
This Weeks B2B Word on the Street is: POSITIONING
As an Atlanta-based B2B agency, MLT Creative happens to be located in the same city as Al Ries, co-author of the famous book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Upon reading it, I decided to use our geographical proximity to put myself in position to meet him.
Al and his daughter, Laura, now provide consulting services on positioning and other marketing practices, and it was in that capacity that he was nice enough to accompany me to a meeting with one of our largest clients several years ago.
The first time I read his book, I made notes on points I found most relevant to the various B-to-B marketers we had as clients at the time. Not only have the 22 Immutable Laws helped us help our clients, they’ve helped us fine tune our own positioning as well.
We worked to create a unique positioning for our agency based on our belief that if you’re not number one in your niche, you need to narrow it until you are. Thanks to the helpful primers in Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind along with good advice from one of the worlds most respected agency new business consultants (and creator of the Win Without Pitching program), Blair Enns, we arrived at our current position:
MLT Creative. We are the leading Idea Launch Pad for B-to-B Marketers. We help our clients perfect their positioning, build their brands, customize key-account promotions and, ultimately, sell more to their end users.
Since we found our sweet spot position, it has been much easier to make new business conquests and, just as importantly, defend our established turf. It also is easier to convince our clients to keep true to their most strategic position when we practice what we preach.
Links:
http://www.winwithoutpitching.com/founder
http://www.ries.com
