Circuit City is a good example. It's an electronic department store that is making excellent profit margins while their competition is going out of business. They've taken a unique strategic position, being number one in service and taken that all the way down to their USP which is "Service Above Beyond All That Is Expected."

It's almost impossible to be the best in all and that's why you need to figure out what makes your unique and what your strategic positioning is going to be. What's your number one calling card or claim to fame going to be?

There have been tons written about the subject positioning. Positioning has been the marketing philosophy for most successful companies over the last ten years. But what is it? And how can you use it? What place do you hold in the public's mind? If the answer is none, then again, you have a problem.

If you hold no place or a negative one in your public or Marketplace's minds, then they're not going to do business with you.

For example Sony has been first at innovation. They to be first in whatever's next in technology. K-Mart the cheapest price store that won't be undersold. Price and full lines are their battlefields for your mind.

What's the best battlefield (Strategic Position) for you to take?

You've got to understand that any decision to buy or use someone takes place in the mind. So, if you're not in mind then they probably won't buy from you or use you. You basically, "aren't there" without a position.

Some of the most common examples of positioning are service, speed of delivery of service, latest technologies, Guarantees, and lowest price.

Your company probably has already carved out a niche for itself of some kind. The problem here is that too many of you owners out there don't even realize what the identity of that niche is. Often times the salespeople know what it is better than the owners do.

The customers really know best. What you need to do is find out from your best customers why they are doing business with you instead of someone else. This tells you what your real niche or core competency is within your company right now.

If you think you do one thing and your customers think you do another, then you need to make a decision. causes this difference in perception? Did your marketing do too good of a job advertising your weakness or what you do least instead of best? Have you changed the way you do things and haven't let your market know yet?

If from your results you think you're marketing the wrong USP and losing business because your market has the wrong perception of you, then change it.

These are not minor decisions. They are also not minor decisions for your company. These can be make or break decisions. The good thing is you can survey your market.