If Artificial Intelligence Set Your Positioning Strategy

There’s no better proof that most firms default to a “middle of the road” business model than asking artificial intelligence to craft your positioning strategy. Here’s how ChatGPT responds to the prompt “Write an ‘about us’ page for an accounting firm”:

"Welcome to our full-service accounting firm! We are a team of experienced professionals dedicated to providing top-notch accounting services to businesses and individuals.

Our firm offers a wide range of services, including bookkeeping, tax preparation, financial planning, and business consulting. We work closely with our clients to understand their unique needs and goals, and tailor our services to meet those needs.

We pride ourselves on our commitment to excellent customer service. We believe that open communication and responsiveness are key to building strong, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We are always available to answer your questions and provide guidance, no matter how big or small your issue may be."

This “your name goes here” brand promise encompasses most of the key points most firms try to cover in describing their business strategy. The results of A.I. engines tell us that a vast majority of firms have not engaged in the critical thinking required to identify what they stand for.?

The most dangerous place to be

In strategy-making sessions happening around the world, leaders of professional firms devote countless hours making sure they have not left anything out. They want their brand promise to include every possible service for every type of client in every kind of industry. But by attempting to appeal to everyone, they end up appealing to no one.

If we asked A.I. to plot the positioning strategies of professional firms as data points, we would see the familiar bell curve, where the majority of firms land squarely in the middle. These organizations want us to believe they offer every competency and have experience in every sector. They are standing right in the middle of the road; the most dangerous place to be.

Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg?tells the story?of meeting the famed director John Ford, portrayed in the closing scene of the award-winning film “The Fablemans.” In Ford’s offices are several paintings representing the American West. Ford asks the young Spielberg to report what he sees in the paintings. As Spielberg begins to point out the elements in the each picture, Ford interrupts him and asks, “Where’s the horizon?” In one of the paintings, Spielberg observes that the horizon is at the bottom of the painting. On another painting, he reports that the horizon is at the top. Ford then seizes on the moment to teach the young Spielberg a paradigm-changing lesson. “When the horizon is at the bottom,” says Ford, “it’s interesting.” “When the horizon’s on the top,” he continues, “it’s interesting.” “When the horizon is in the middle,” he concludes, “it’s boring as hell.”?

What’s true for film directing is true for professional services firms. A positioning strategy at the far left or far right of the bell curve is interesting. A strategy in the middle makes your company practically invisible. All emphasis is no emphasis.?

The joy of missing out

Most companies stay mired in the middle because they wrongly believe that a tightly-defined positioning strategy will cause them to miss out on opportunities. But as author?Oliver Burkeman?points out, success comes from transforming the “fear of missing out” into the “joy of missing out.” To reach our potential requires embracing not more and more competencies, but rather “anti-skills” and “anti-doing.” Your firm is defined by the clients you?don’t?have, the services you?don’t?offer, and the industries you?don’t?serve. As Burkeman observes, the endless pursuit of trying to do everything will drain our lives — and our companies — of meaning.?

Prospective clients are looking for specific expertise in a specific industry to solve a specific type of problem. No client has a “general” problem that is best solved by a “general” law firm or advertising agency. Advertising agencies in particular should know better. Certified Public Accountants can be forgiven for not having studied marketing strategy, but the professionals in creative, digital, media, and public relations firms know the power of focus. They are capable of defining positioning strategies and memorable brand identities for their clients, but find it infernally difficult to do it for themselves.

With apologies to the firms responsible, here are examples of these types of pointless positioning statements taken from the 2023 internet:

A full-service agency that boldly goes against the grain.

We unlock the hidden potential buried within brands.

We create connected experiences to help brands navigate the pace of change in today’s modern world.

We take brands from where they are to where they ought to be.

We shape impactful strategies that drive differentiating creative work that moves customers to action.

We are the common ground where the forces that impact brands come together, collaborate, and invent.

Artificial intelligence could have easily created all of these brand promises, demonstrating that the vast majority of firms have not exercised the mental discipline to think critically about their business strategies.?

One test for an effective positioning strategy is that it provides a framework for action. An “everything for everyone” approach leaves stakeholders of all kinds — internal and external — confused. As chess grandmaster?Garry Kasparov?once remarked:“Tactics are knowing what to do when there’s something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there’s nothing to do.”

Pushing toward the edges

A positioning strategy focused on a specific market (healthcare) offering a specific skill set (digital technology) sends a clear signal to employees, business partners and prospective clients. Such is the brand promise of London-based?Nitro, whose brand strategy is supported by a suite of programs and solution sets designed to solve particular types of problems for particular types of clients.?

The Canadian agency Quarry targets B2B technology brands. The agency’s website goes so far as to include a “Fit” section, which leads prospective clients through five different filters to determine if Quarry is the right agency partner for them.?Contrast this genre of strategic clarity and self-confidence with the feckless "take all comers" approach of most firms, who then chronically complain about the quality of their clients.

Lord Wellington, the British commander who defeated Napoleon, observed that “If you’re positioned correctly, you can win the battle before you fight.” Occupying the high ground was critical in the Battle of Waterloo. Today, it’s as important as ever to avoid the mushy middle — the “red ocean” where your competitors are fighting over the same shreds of business by making the same claims of a “full service” offering. The winning firms are those who have decided what?not?to do.?

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Tim Williams?leads?Ignition Consulting Group, an international consultancy that advises?agencies and other professional service firms in the areas of business strategy and revenue models.?Tim is the author of several books, including "Positioning for Professionals: How Professional Service Firms Can Differentiate Their Way to Success." Tim also writes a monthly blog,?Propulsion, and shares insights on Twitter?@TimWilliamsICG.