Every brand conveys an emotion, even without realizing it: coldness, indifference, agility, warmth, credibility. People feel something when they buy from you, and that’s why positioning cannot be improvised. It anchors perception, reputation, and growth.
According to a McKinsey study, brands with clear positioning generate up to 15% more revenue and 20% more customer satisfaction.
According to Gustavo Hansel and Tiago Denardin, co-founders of GH Brandtech, most companies fail by competing on generic attributes, such as price, and letting brand building drift. “Without clear positioning, the company creates a confusing perception of value and loses competitive strength,” says Hansel.
Next, Hansel lists seven common and fatal mistakes made by companies when defining (or neglecting) their positioning:
1) You don’t know who you’re competing against
Many companies think they know who their competitors are – but only “think”. “What would your customer buy if you didn’t exist?“, asks Hansel, CEO of GH Brandtech. “This answer reveals more than you imagine”. Without understanding the competitive landscape, you cannot occupy a real space in the public’s mind.
2) Your differentiator is not clear even to you
Brands that do not know what makes them unique hardly survive. Little by little, they become similar to all the others. List your main attributes, evaluate which ones are relevant to your audience, and see what the competitors also deliver. What remains is what you need to highlight. “Authentic brands win hearts, but above all, they walk consistently,” says Denardin, leader of the Branding vertical at GH.
3) The customer does not see value in what you sell
If the audience does not perceive value, no matter how hard you try. Maybe they don’t even know what they gain by choosing your brand. “Value needs to be built, but it also needs to be communicated“, says Denardin. Show the practical and emotional benefits objectively. If they do not exist, start there.
4) You are targeting the wrong audience
Not everyone who needs you is your best customer. There are niches within the niche. “Discover who truly values what you deliver and focus your energy on them“, says Hansel. “It is this group that will increase your margin, defend your brand, and recommend your product with conviction”.
5) Your product does not make sense in the current context
It is not enough to have a good product — it needs to make sense here and now. Is there demand? Is there space in this market category? Maybe it’s the wrong audience. Or even the wrong market .” Market research and validation tests can clarify many doubts,” says Hansel.
6) You are not solving any problem
A good idea does not sustain a business. A problem well solved does. If you can’t pinpoint the pain you’re alleviating or the gain you’re delivering, perhaps your company doesn’t have a strong reason to exist yet. And if that reason isn’t clear, no branding can save it. ‘If you don’t have a problem to solve, you also don’t have value to offer,’ says.
7) Lack of a clear purpose
Purpose needs to be more than a pretty phrase in an institutional presentation. It’s the force that drives decisions, defines language, and connects the brand with people. ‘It’s a timeless direction that helps the brand thrive in any context,’ says Tiago Denardin. When purpose exists, everything aligns — product, discourse, identity. And the audience feels it.
Want to build a brand that occupies a real place in people’s minds (and hearts)? Start with the basics: discover who you are, who you exist for, and what you do better than anyone else. From there, positioning stops being a gamble and becomes an advantage.
