When you begin a new online business, there are so many things to do that it is easy to postpone addressing some of the most important aspects of marketing. One of the decisions that you can’t afford to omit from your initial planning is your business’ positioning.

While the term positioning seems like just another example of marketing jargon, its value can’t be stressed too much. Positioning is simplyidentifying what there is about your business that allows it to stand apart from all of your competitors.

-Service – Almost any enterprise you can think of claims to have good service. However, consider how many you’ve patronized who don’t live up to their promises. The first step in making quality service a part of your unique position is to fulfill everything you promise. However, you still must make clear to the customer what it is that makes your service special. Maybe you have 24/7 live help available; perhaps you have next day shipment or they receive their shipping free. Find something that makes your business stand out in this way.

-Extraordinary Features and Appealing Benefits – Positioning is not just about what makes you different, it’s also about what you emphasize. Folgers announces to the world that it’s “mountain grown coffee” ( a feature). Guess what? All coffee is mountain grown. Folgers just claimed this feature before anyone else thought to mention it. What is there that none of your competitors are talking about?

-Price Point – This doesn’t necessarily mean you have the lowest price. You may be the most expensive in town, and that’s OK if you convince your customers you’re worth it.

-Negative Features – People probably find some things at your competitors annoying. Maybe they feel that they have to wait too long to get an answer to their questions. If that’s a good angle for you, try not phrasing it as a special positive feature, but frame it as a negative that they don’t have to worry about with your business. For example, you might say, “You’ll never have to wait for an answer to your questions with us.”

-Authority – Many companies tout how long they’ve been in business. All of these things build trust in the mind of the consumer. What trust-building factors do you have that the competition does not?

-Etc. – Literally anything that differentiates you from your competitors can be part of your positioning strategy – your clever URL, your hours of live help, the way your site looks. Small business owners need to think creatively here.

Proper and effective positioning is critical from the day that you open your website for business. Traffic to your website is a precious resource. You must be certain that your unique position is visible and clear as soon as that first potential customer shows up. After all, you need that person to return time after time. You’ll have time later to worry about other aspects of your continuing online business development, but the time is now for clear positioning.

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