The idea
Positioning defines the place an offer should occupy in a customer’s mind relative to alternatives. It starts with a buying situation, not a slogan. A customer may prioritise speed during an urgent problem and detailed advice during a planned purchase. The same demographic description can hide different needs. Focus on circumstances, desired progress, constraints, and decision criteria so your positioning can guide practical choices.
Apply it
Select one offer and describe who buys it, what triggers the search, and what success looks like. Identify the person using the offer and the person approving the purchase. List the constraints that influence their decision, including time, risk, budget, or existing systems. Rank three criteria by importance using customer evidence where available. Treat your ranking as a hypothesis if you are relying on internal opinion.
Worked example
A design studio targets independent restaurants preparing to reopen after renovation. Owners need menus, signs, and booking pages ready together. Their urgent criterion is coordination before opening day, while a restaurant refreshing a logo without a deadline may prioritise creative exploration. Choosing the reopening context helps the studio shape an offer around coordinated delivery and defined approval dates.
Guided practice
Write a buying-context profile with trigger, buyer, user, desired progress, constraints, and top three decision criteria. Choose one context to focus on first. Use a real business, a community project, or a clearly labelled fictional case. Work on one offer or customer segment so your notes remain comparable. Write your answer before reading it aloud. Replace vague claims with a name, number, date, or observable action. Keep a short list of assumptions and the evidence you would need to check them. Save this worksheet for the next lesson.
Checkpoint
Does the profile describe a recognisable purchasing situation? Explain one offer decision that becomes clearer because you selected this audience. Do not mark the lesson complete until you can explain your choice and identify one practical next action.