5 Ways to Position Your Agency as First Choice

How do you ensure your agency is not merely another name in the crowd but the first one that comes to clients' minds??

Positioning your agency as the first choice is strategic; it doesn’t just happen because you created a catchy tagline or claim to be a partner, not a vendor.?

Every month, I hold a Better Together Session to engage the agency owners I coach to mastermind and be better together.?

Positioning is one of my favourite topics to mastermind in my Better Together Sessions because if you are at the surface level, you start to see how you’re not actually differentiating; you're saying the same things.?

When I dig deep and ask them the more challenging questions, the real positioning work starts.?

I asked five questions that lit the fire for the agency owners in my mastermind and moved the needle on strategically positioning their agency as the first choice for clients.?

What are the questions? Before we can make the questions work for you, let’s set a baseline for positioning—it’s a strategic decision backed by authenticity.?

Positioning is strategic because it’s created by evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It's authentic because it has to be true of you and your business. In other words, positioning has truth; it is not bait and switch.?

Through strategy and authenticity, you can develop where you want your service to "stand" in the minds of your clients relative to other options they might consider.?

Think of it like a shelf in a store: you want your product to be on the eye-level shelf so that it’s easily noticeable and distinct from the others around it.

But why make positioning a priority?

Imagine you're at a party with hundreds of people, and everyone is wearing a white outfit, including you.?

A friend shows up to find you, but since everybody is in the same colour outfit, it takes a lot of work to spot you. But then, you remember you have a bright red hat.?

You wear the red hat, and suddenly, your friend can see you in the sea of sameness because you stand out.?

Positioning is the red hat in the sea on white outfits; it’s your strategic advantage to setting the foundation for lasting success and growth.?

Here are five questions to help you identify a strategic and authentic position to give you a success advantage.

1. How are you harnessing your niche knowledge??

If you are a niche expert, don’t underestimate the knowledge you’ve acquired year after year. Using your niche knowledge is powerful; you know the industry and buyers better than any generalist.

Tapping into your niche knowledge can be a simple activity of inventorying the knowledge you’ve gained in seminars, newsletters, forums, online groups, and networking events you’ve attended that are relevant to your niche.?

You have a collection of dots or ideas you can connect across the different channels you engage in, and the combination of these channels gives you insights that others don’t have access to.?

When you connect the dots and share exclusive insights, you can say something different, create truly unique solutions, and build stronger connections with your audience.?

2. How do you challenge the norms of your niche??

Standing out means standing for something different and authentically caring about it. It means being bold.?

I believe the quality of your question creates the quality of your answer.?

Here are two questions I don’t see explored enough when I work with agencies. Devoting time and thought to these two questions can lead to unique solutions and an innovative approach to your positioning.?

So be bold and challenge yourself and your leaders to brainstorm these two questions:?

• What is not being said that needs to be said in your industry?
• What do you wish people would do more or less in your industry?

Go the extra mile and get feedback from your clients. Their pain points, preferences, and needs can inform how you challenge the norms in your niche.?

A great example is Dollar Shave Club's timeless viral video featuring the owner sharing witty one-liners and comedic visuals. The video directly addressed what was not being said that needed to be said about buying razors in stores. It positioned the brand as bold, innovative, and customer-focused, setting it apart from traditional razor brands.

3. What is “the hill you will die on” (metaphorically)?

"Finding a hill you will die on" means choosing a specific belief that your agency feels so strongly about that you're willing to stand by it, no matter what.?

My husband and I recently watched a video sharing that the minimum wage for restaurant workers like servers in certain U.S. states can be as low as $2.13 per hour, with the remainder of their income heavily reliant on tips.?

The video showcased a restaurant in Austin, Texas that stood as a prime example of sticking to its core principles. This restaurant chose to add a compulsory 20% service charge to all bills, enabling it to pay its staff consistent wages ranging from $17 to $21 an hour.?

The owners of this restaurant made a conscious decision to act on a specific belief, in this case, to ensure their employees earn a living wage.

The key takeaway isn't whether you agree with what they did—it is about demonstrating your core values through action in your business, even in the face of differing opinions.

A metaphorical hill you will die on helps your business stand out because it tells clients what you genuinely care about.

4. What are your strengths, and how do you play into your strengths?

If embracing the metaphor of "a hill you will die on” or questioning the status quo of your industry feels overly ambitious for your current positioning strategy, let's start with the foundational step of recognizing and leveraging your strengths.

Every business possesses a reservoir of resources. Understanding your strengths helps you use the reservoir wisely. When you truly leverage strengths, you are doing less, not more.?

Leveraging your strengths rather than identifying a hill you will die on (metaphorically) is not necessarily an easier path—should that thought occur.?

Leveraging your strengths can mean making tough decisions like pivoting your niche, micro-niching, and parting ways with certain clients. These decisions require bravery and a strong commitment to your business's vision and strategic direction while leading to better market positioning.?

5. What is your unique value proposition?

Once upon a time, when clients were not as marketing-savvy and before the ease of access to learning marketing online – big claims were easier to make and buy into.?

But today, communicating the return on investment is not all about big claims; it's about being concise about the challenge you solve and clear and straightforward with your value proposition.?

Your value proposition is about the unique value and benefits you offer customers, lending credibility to why you’re the best option. On the other hand, positioning is about how your service is perceived in the competitive landscape and clients' minds, focusing on how you are differentiated from competitors.

If you do not have value propositions or lack clarity on them, do not pass “go” and “collect” $200 (as they say in Monopoly). Know your value propositions first because they support your positioning.?

There it is - the five questions to help you position your agency as first choice.?

Before we wrap here, let me give you the bitesize version (but don’t miss the details above):

• Harness Niche Knowledge: It's not just about knowing your niche but actively immersing yourself in it. Your unique insights, accumulated over time and leveraged, can be a strong differentiator.
• Challenge the Norms: By questioning the status quo and understanding the unheard needs in your industry, you can offer unique perspectives and solutions that others don’t. Be bold.?
• Finding a "Hill to Die On"(metaphorically): Have a strong, unwavering belief in something, even if controversial, can make you stand out. It tells clients what you genuinely care about and what values drive your business.
• Playing to Your Strengths: Recognizing what you excel at and focusing your resources there can help you make strategic decisions that set a better foundation for positioning.?
• Communicate Your Value Propositions: In a world of savvy clients, it's essential to be clear and straightforward about the real benefits and milestones they can achieve with you. It's not about lofty promises but clear value propositions.

Positioning is your bright red hat that attracts the right clients when everybody else wears the same white outfit. Done right, it ensures you’re seen, remembered, and chosen.?