Imagine you’re out car shopping. You visit a dealership that sells Maseratis. You walk into the showroom and notice the prices: $80,000, $120,000, $150,000.

You’re not shocked. It’s Maserati, and Maserati is synonymous with premium quality and price.

After leaving Maserati, you head over to the Honda dealership. You notice the prices are much lower. Again, you’re not surprised. It’s Honda, and Honda is synonymous with nice, quality cars at affordable prices.

What would be a shock, however, is if you walked into Maserati and saw a car for $23,000—or you walked into Honda and saw a car for $100,000!

That would feel so crazy because each of these companies would be completely off brand. Each has worked hard to brand and position themselves to a very specific market, at a specific price point, and if they did anything that upended that positioning it would feel odd and off-kilter.

Is your branding and positioning in line with the target market you’d like to attract?

When they’re not, it’s unclear who you’re trying to reach, and the chance of attracting your ideal clients is left to luck.

When you do have a well-defined brand with strategic positioning, it allows you to magnetize the clients you most want to attract and who will be looking for the level of quality you provide.

When you have a well-defined brand with strategic positioning, it allows you to magnetize the clients you most want to attract and who will be looking for the level of quality you provide. Find out how to build your brand and your business: Share on X

Branding and positioning are two components critical to creating the perception, and the evidence, that you’re a dialed-in business owner who knows the impact of your work, product, or service—as well as the needs and desires of your audience.

If you need to better define your branding and positioning, start by thinking about your ideal client or target market and ask yourself:

• What value does your product or service provide for them?
• What problem does it help them solve?
• What experience do you want them to have with your business?
• What expectations do you want to create for your audience?

When you can thoroughly answer these questions, you’ll start to position yourself in a way that makes you synonymous with the qualities your ideal clients are looking for when seeking your services.

They’ll know exactly what your brand stands for, and you’ll be able to meet and exceed their expectations by delivering an authentic experience that will help you grow a community of loyal customers.