- Positioning drives messaging. Messaging drives copy and content. Without clear positioning, everything is noise.
- Capabilities are becoming commodities. Every firm needs a compelling narrative and ideology to stand out. Storytelling is the last stronghold.
- The same firm can become 10X more valuable to prospects with a different frame. Positioning is about finding it.
- Bad is stronger than good. One weak touchpoint (cheap content, vague messaging, annoying outreach) can ruin your brand and push away buyers.
- Your prospects might be buying your services to reduce personal risk, gain internal credibility, or resolve friction. Know what they truly buy to sell more.
- Buyers complete 80% of the purchase decision before any meeting. Marketing is taking over sales. Design your website and content as salespeople.
- Wrong positioning, ineffective messaging, and weak distribution are three marketing bottlenecks. Fix the one(s) you have, and growth becomes inevitable.
- Messages require repetition to get through. Repeat the same message till you get bored of it. Then continue repeating.
- You can’t differentiate with high-quality work or great client service. These are table stakes. Real differentiation builds preference. Be the right option for a certain type of client, solving a certain problem, in a certain way.
- Buyers want to work with specialists. Because only specialists offer the highest odds of success in a world that keeps getting more complex. Get specific on your “who” and “what.”
- Big words mean so little. Never “supercharge” or “revolutionize” things. Use simple words to convey your value.
- Repeat intentional keywords in your messaging to build associations. Make it easier for referrers to refer you.
- Specialization reduces the number of your competitors. You don’t have to out-compete everyone. You can just out-focus them.
- Know what happens in your clients’ businesses before they buy from you. So you can tell prospects what they need to hear and when they need to hear it.
- Personal branding doesn’t replace business branding. Employees’ personal brands should be “ambassadors” of the overarching business brand.
- If your website copy can be used by your competitors only by changing the brand name/colors, you are not differentiated.
- Self-centric messaging repels buyers. Talk less about ‘our’ process, ‘our’ experience, ‘our’ awards, and more about ‘their’ problems, ‘their’ goals, and how you can help ‘them.’
- Thought leadership is a marathon. Buyers don’t say “we have to work with this firm” after one piece of content. Design your marketing to build influence over time.
- Referrals eventually dry up. Depending on them is too risky. You need a system for client acquisition.
- Aspirational messaging fails in B2B. Nike can get away with “Just do it” because they sell tangible products that need intangible meaning. Consulting firms sell intangible services that need concrete clarity.
- Market matters more than anything. Choose the right market to make growth easier. “Starving” prospects build thriving firms.
- Followers, likes, and subscribers are measures. Don’t turn them into goals. The purpose of marketing is to drive business results.
- The status quo (“we’ve always done it this way”) can be your competition. Show the opportunity cost to drive action.
- Social proof reassures, it doesn’t sell. Credibility can’t replace clarity.
- You can’t beat bigger competitors by trying to be like them. Turn your size into an advantage. Expose their weaknesses to win.
- Every prospect checks your homepage before contacting you. If your homepage messaging is weak, you are losing sales.
- Cheap content signals cheap thinking. Every word you publish represents your expertise and builds your image. For better or worse.
- Rented channels will keep getting harder. Invest in your owned channels. The best one is email.
- Prospects buy when they are ready to buy, not when you want to sell them.
- Customer analysis tells you what matters to buyers. Company analysis tells you where you have an edge. Competition analysis tells you what others ignore. The combination shows you your ideal positioning.
- “Treat others how you want to be treated” applies to marketing. Your prospects also hate the things you hate as a buyer.
- You are also competing against other problems of your prospects. Solve problems with high stakes to sell more easily.
- Your clients know your firm’s value. But for prospects, your value is as good as you communicate it.
- The more services you add, the weaker your message gets. Base your messaging around your core service that brings in the 80% of your revenue.
- Prospects buy from firms that change the way they see things. Build a strong point of view and communicate it well.
- Prospects who considered you but didn’t buy can teach you more than your clients.
- Competition will keep increasing. Buyers will keep raising their standards. If your growth has stalled, fix what’s broken before it’s too late.
- Channels come and go. Tactics change. Building a brand is the only shortcut.
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P.S.(2) Merry Christmas!
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Ozan
Founder - Frontera
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