Competitive positioning is how your brand occupies a distinct space in the minds of your audience relative to your competitors.
That all sounds simple enough right?
But here’s the crucial point that often gets missed, competitive positioning isn’t about being different for the sake of being different. It’s about being different in authentic and meaningful ways that truly matter to your audience.
The brands with the strongest positioning aren’t chasing trends or trying to shock their way into attention. They’re simply being more honest, more focused, and more confident about what makes them genuinely valuable.
When done right, your competitive positioning doesn’t just make you stand out… It makes you the obvious choice.
Apple are often cited as the masters of competitive positioning, based on their ability to shift perceptions from being seen as a computer manufacturer to a lifestyle innovator.
Through campaigns like “Think Different” and relentless focus on design, simplicity, and user experience, Apple didn’t just sell products, it sold identity and aspiration. While competitors competed on specs and price, Apple competed on meaning and belonging. Helping to build cult-like loyalty and expand their range far beyond computers.
On the converse, here’s what can happen when you don’t nail your competitive positioning:
- Your marketing feels generic, like it could belong to any of your competitors
- Prospects struggle to articulate why they should choose you
- You end up competing primarily on price
- Your team can’t clearly explain what makes you different
- You’re constantly reacting to what competitors are doing instead of leading
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many brands fall into the trap of playing it safe, using the same language as everyone else, or trying to appeal to everyone and ending up meaning nothing to anyone.
Fed up with the guesswork around improving your brand?
Our revolutionary offering, BrandScore by Notepad, helps you measure and improve your competitive positioning through:
Visual benchmarking – We map your visual identity against competitors, identifying where you blend in and where you stand out. Are you visually distinct, or could your website be mistaken for someone else?
Messaging differentiation – We assess whether your USPs are genuinely unique or just industry buzzwords. Do you sound different, or are you saying the same things as everyone else?
Positioning mapping – We identify where your offering sits in the competitive landscape and where the opportunities for clearer differentiation exist.
In just two weeks, you’ll have a clear picture of where you stand, where your competitors are vulnerable, how to own your space in the market and how to position yourselves more powerfully.
Don’t fade into the background
Your brand deserves better than being “just another option.” Whether you’re struggling to articulate what makes you different or you’ve simply never stopped to properly assess your competitive position, BrandScore gives you the clarity and direction you need.
Ready to sharpen your competitive edge?
If you want to find out more, you can also join us at BrandScore Live on Thursday 20th November, 12:30–1:30pm at Spaces, Mailbox Birmingham.
It’s free, insightful, and might just change how you think about your brand’s position in the market.
