In most markets, customers don’t compare dozens of options.
They narrow the field quickly - often unconsciously - and then choose from a very small set.
Positioning is what determines whether your brand enters that set or is filtered out before the conversation even starts.
Becoming the obvious choice isn’t about being better at everything.
It’s about being clear, relevant and easy to choose.
Positioning happens in the customer’s mind, not in your deck
Positioning is often treated as an internal exercise:
messaging frameworks
brand documents
value propositions
These are useful tools, but they’re not the positioning itself.
Real positioning exists only in one place: how people mentally categorise you.
When someone thinks:
“This is the company for X”
“These are the people who understand Y”
“This is who I’d call in that situation”
…positioning is working.
People choose what is easy to understand
Complexity is the enemy of choice.
When a brand tries to communicate too many things at once:
multiple audiences
multiple promises
multiple use cases
multiple tones
…it increases cognitive effort.
Most buyers don’t reject brands because they dislike them.
They reject them because choosing them feels like work.
Clear positioning reduces mental effort and increases confidence.
Strong positioning starts with a specific context
Positioning doesn’t start with what you do.
It starts with when and for whom you matter most.
Good positioning answers:
In what situation do people think of us?
What problem triggers that thought?
What alternatives are we compared to?
Without context, positioning becomes generic.
With context, relevance emerges naturally.
Differentiation is a consequence, not a goal
Many brands chase differentiation directly:
new slogans
bold claims
visual disruption
But differentiation that isn’t anchored in relevance feels artificial.
Strong positioning focuses first on:
clarity of category
clarity of problem
clarity of value
Differentiation follows as a by-product of those choices.
When customers understand you clearly, the differences matter more.
Repetition creates “obviousness”
Being the obvious choice isn’t about novelty.
It’s about familiarity.
People trust what they recognise:
the same message
the same angle
the same language
the same promise
Repeated consistently over time.
Positioning only works when it’s reinforced again and again - across marketing, sales, product and experience.
Positioning is reinforced by behaviour, not words
What you say matters.
What you do matters more.
Your positioning is strengthened by:
how you price
how you scope work
how you say no
how you onboard clients
how you communicate boundaries
Every interaction either reinforces your position or weakens it.
A simple test
Ask someone outside your company:
| “When would you recommend us - and to whom?”
If the answer is vague, positioning is weak.
If the answer is specific, positioning is working.
Obvious choices are easy to describe.
At InGrowth, we help companies sharpen positioning by narrowing focus, not expanding it.
We look for:
the clearest context
the strongest signal
the simplest story
the behaviours that reinforce it
Because growth doesn’t come from being everything.
It comes from being clearly something - to the right people, at the right moment.
