The 'Best' is Actually the Worst
Most Brisbane business owners suffer from a dangerous delusion: they think being 'the best' is a strategy. It isn’t. In 2026, claiming you have the "best service" or the "highest quality" is marketing white noise. It’s what every single one of your competitors is saying, and if you sound like everyone else, you’ve already lost.
Positioning isn't about being better; it’s about being different. If you can’t describe why your business exists in a way that makes your competitors look like an irrelevant choice for a specific type of customer, you don't have a brand—you have a commodity. And commodities are always sold on price.
The Death of the Middle Ground
The Australian market is currently witnessing the end of middle-ground marketing. You are either the premium, high-touch specialist, or you are the high-efficiency, budget-friendly disruptor. Trying to sit in the middle—the "good service at a fair price" zone—is where SMBs go to die.
To survive, you must choose a side. This requires a level of courage most agencies won't tell you about because they’re too busy trying to make your brand 'likable.' I’m telling you the opposite: a strong position should actively repel the wrong customers.
Why Your Brand Discovery is Failing
Most agencies treat brand strategy like a therapy session. They ask how you 'feel' about your logo. This is a waste of your time and capital. Real positioning is an extraction process, not an invention process. It’s about identifying the one 'high-stakes' problem your customers have that no one else is solving properly.
If you haven't sat down and completed a high-stakes brand discovery, you are guessing. You’re throwing money at Google Ads and wondering why the conversion rate is garbage. It’s because your landing page looks like a generic template from 2018.
The Three Pillars of Unshakeable Positioning
1. The Enemy: Who or what are you fighting against? (e.g., A boutique law firm fighting against the 'big firm' billable hour obsession). 2. The Trade-off: What are you willing to be bad at? (e.g., A custom builder who refuses to do 'quick' renovations, sacrificing volume for craftsmanship). 3. The Local Advantage: In Queensland, relationships still matter. Use local partnerships to anchor your positioning in the community. If you’re a Brisbane-based engineering firm, don't try to look like a global conglomerate. Lean into your local knowledge of SEQ council regulations and soil types.
The Visual Identity Trap
I see it every week: a business owner spends $10,000 on a new website but keeps a logo that looks like it was designed in Microsoft Word in 2004. Your visual identity is the 'shorthand' for your positioning. If your positioning is 'cutting-edge tech' but your visuals scream 'family-owned hardware store,' the cognitive dissonance will kill your sales.
Your visual brand needs to act as a signal to your target market. If you are positioning yourself as a premium specialist, your brand must look expensive. If you’re a disruptor, you need to look bold. Anything else is just a distraction.
Stop Overcomplicating and Start Executing
Positioning is not a 50-page PDF that sits in a Google Drive folder. It is a decision-making filter. Once you have your position, every business decision becomes easier:
Hiring: Does this person embody our specific 'different' approach? Pricing: Does our price reflect our specialist status or our budget efficiency?
- Content: Are we sharing insights that reinforce our unique stance, or are we posting generic AI-generated fluff?
Ready to stop being invisible and start being the only logical choice for your customers? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let's define your unfair advantage.