Positioning the competition

Positioning is a marketing term that is deceptively important.

Positioning basically means describing what your business offers, how you do it, or who you serve in relation to others offering a similar product or service in your market.

You can do it in at least two ways:

1. By positioning yourself
2. By positioning your competition

Both ideas are similar but approached from a different angle.

Positioning yourself might sound like:

“We are a coworking space for creative freelancers and independent professionals in downtown Chicago.”

Or:

“We believe your working environment should be dynamic and multi-faceted, with areas for deep work, collaboration, and even fun.”

Positioning your competition, on the other hand, might sound like:

“Other coworking spaces are focused on making their work environment a fun and exciting place to be. Instead, we focus on creating a warm but professional atmosphere that allows maximum focus with minimal disruption.”

There are literally a million ways you can do this. Chances are you do this in your sales process already, but you may not have applied it to your marketing yet.

Here are a few examples to get you thinking.

Other coworking spaces…

• … have ambient noise and atmosphere. Your space is quieter than a library, allowing you to better focus on your work.
• … are quieter than a library. Your space has a buzz to it, infusing the space with energy.
• … have transparent glass walls throughout. You have drywalled offices with translucent doors for better privacy.
• … allow dogs. Yours doesn’t, ensuring your clients with allergies or fears are not affected.
• … are located downtown. You’re in the neighborhood beside it with lots of parking.
• … charge separately for every amenity. You have all-in pricing to remove the cost uncertainty.
• … are massive. You have a small, intimate space where all the members know each others’ names.
• … have flashy interior designs. Yours is understated and professional because that’s what your clients require.
• … allow drinking alcohol in the middle of the day. You serve sparkling water and kombucha instead.
• … have one staff member on-site. Yours has three to ensure you always have someone available to assist you.

There’s a good chance your target market will not even be thinking about these important differences.

If they are coming from a home office or traditional lease, it’s likely they haven’t encountered the nuances (and therefore potential problems) of shared office space.

Other spaces will sell based on their best features. They’ll ignore their least desirable features during the sales and marketing process.

Your job is to highlight where you excel most against the alternative spaces. After all, every detail has been built purposefully around their needs.

Don’t expect people to notice every detail you’ve put into your space. We forget that people aren’t in coworking industry and therefore may be blind to some of the finer details.

Try it – see if you can find your competitive advantage this way. Use it to your advantage in your next marketing campaign.