Brands are Bands: How To Position Your Business Like a Rockstar
Caution: naughty words.
Think of brand positioning as an exercise in relativity.
It’s just a fancy term for answering one simple question: when people need what you sell, why should they think of you first?
It’s not about being objectively the best (whatever that means) it’s about being different in a way that actually matters to the people you’re trying to reach.
When some poor soul’s toilet backs up or they need a lawyer who won’t treat them like an idiot, are you the first name that pops into their head?
Once you discover a clear point of difference, price stops being the conversation because you’re the only logical solution for your customer.
But only brands that have made the difficult business decision to to position themselves deliberately are able to create this kind of mental distance. It’s a move that demands focus.
As Blair Enns puts it in his first declaration of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto: 'We will specialise. We will position ourselves as experts in something specific rather than generalists in everything.' He’s right about the effect, but having a sharp business brand identity isn’t just what you do — it’s a profit strategy that is the natural result of knowing who you serve, what you believe, and how you deliver.
This kind of clarity makes you the obvious choice. It also lets you charge more because it’s no longer easy to copy who you are or what you do. Not even Chat GPT can do what you do.
Here’s a useful way to think of brand positioning: brands are like bands.
Grunge was the ultimate rock rebrand.
Alt-rock was cool in the 90’s. Transitive property: I was cool.
I could reel on about junk-drawer, dubbed-cassette-tape, 90s alt-rock arcana for days.
Think about the grunge phenomenon: it didn’t just happen, it was a reaction. A flannel-clad, feedback-screaming antidote to the spandex-and-hairspray absurdity of ‘80s hair metal.
Sure, those guys from the Sunset Strip got all the chicks, but that’s kinda the point. Posers.
All this 90’s brooding, self-loathing anti-rockstar shit was a reaction to the polished excess and empty spectacle in the decades that came before it.
Warning: 80’s cocaine may contain traces of Mötley Crüe.
A new generation demanded authenticity: mosh pits, not makeup. They didn't just reject the excess — they defined themselves by a punk rock ethos of raw, real consequence.
And that’s your first lesson, right there. Powerful positioning is almost always a reaction. You define what you stand against to make it blindingly obvious what you stand for.
Cast your mind back, dear elder Millenial.
How many ‘jocks’ were trotted out in order to ‘shock’ you? How many television sets were detonated in order to terrify the shit out of your parents?
Blowing up a TV set on MTV was a prop — a safe, corporate-approved spectacle that shocked approximately no one. It was rebellion dressed to sell, not to stand for something.
But Sinead O’Connor tearing up the Pope’s photo was a principle: a genuine, costly act that defined her entirely. Truly the most punk rock act of the 90’s.
Your business is the same. Anyone can use the props of their industry — the cliché stock photo, the generic “we provide excellence” mission statement. It’s fine, all totally fine.
It’s also completely forgettable.
A killer position is built on a principle — a real, unshakeable belief you’re willing to stand by, even if it means some people just don’t get it. That’s not limiting your appeal; that’s building a tribe.
In a cluttered marketplace, products and services have been increasingly differentiated through their social meaning: the things that your audience feel are relevant, appealing, and worth buying into.
And this is where we get to the dreaded S-word: Selling out. Remember that? It was the worst thing you could call a band back then. It meant you’d traded your principle for a prop; your authenticity for a pay check.
It got Greenday infamously (and unfairly) barred from 924 Gilman.
That fear of compromise is what keeps most businesses stuck in the mushy middle — when it comes to pricing strategy, messaging and more. They’d rather be vaguely likeable than definitively something, for fear of alienating a single potential customer.
But here’s the secret: the opposite of ‘selling out’ isn’t ‘starving in a garage’. It’s building a reputation so clear that people pay you because you won’t compromise, not in spite of it.
Strong messages create good situations, and a polarising point of difference is meant to pull your audience away from the competition towards you.
We’re playing Main Stage, baby!
Think of your entire market as a music festival lineup. Every competitor is a band fighting for the audience’s attention. Your goal isn’t to be the blandest act on the main stage; it’s to be the undisputed headliner.
But first, you need to clarify what makes you unique.
Try this for a visualisation:
This is where theory meets practice. You need to find your open slot on the map and own it so completely that you reduce your competition.
And just like in music, you need to figure out exactly which stages the other bands are playing — and where the crowd is hungry for something new.
Now it’s your turn! Create your own Brand Positioning Map
Before you just plot where you think your business sits, here’s the crucial part: this map isn't about your intentions. It's about your audience's perceptions. You need to see your brand through their eyes, not your own.
Step 1: Do a little ‘Read the Room’.
Sure you could guess this, but I’d recommend doing a little detective work. Here’s how:
Read Your Reviews: What words do customers consistently use to describe you? (e.g., "fast," "expensive," "helpful," "complicated").
Stalk Your Competitors: Do the same for their reviews. What are their customers saying that they love or hate?
Ask Them Directly: If you can, send a simple survey to past clients. Ask: "What three words would you use to describe our business?" and "What made you choose us over others?"
Step 2: Choose your axes.
The axes you choose are everything. They must be important to your customers, not you — so use your research, not your gut.
Pick One Functional Axis (The ‘What’):
Price: Budget-Friendly ↑↓ Premium/Investment
Speed: Convenient/Fast ↑↓ Slow-Made/Crafted
Performance: Basic Utility ↑↓ Bespoke
Features: Simple ↑↓ Feature-Rich
Audience: For Beginners ↑↓ For Experts
Use Value: Educational & Transformation ↑↓ Inspirational & Aspirational
Pick One Emotional Axis (The ‘How’):
Energy: Calm/Serene ←→ Energetic/Intense
The Feel: Feminine ←→ Masculine
Identity: Accessible/Everyday ←→ Luxury/Aspirational
Values: Traditional ←→ Innovative/Disruptive
Experience: Impersonal ←→ Personal/High-Touch
Mindset: Entertainment & Thrill ←→ Escapism & Retreat
Each one needs to be a true spectrum, two opposites that your competitors actually fall along. For the strongest position, always pair a functional axis (the ‘what’) with an emotional one (the ‘how’); that's how you find the magic intersection of the rational and the emotional.
Try a few variations to test if anyone moves.
Step 3: Plot the ‘Bands’ (and be brutally honest)
Name your direct competitors: Who else is on the bill?
Plot everyone: Based on your research, place each competitor on the map. Is Competitor A truly ‘premium’ or do they just say they are? Be objective.
Now plot yourself: This is the hardest part. Where do your customers truly perceive you? Not where you want to be. Where are you right now?
Step 4: Find the open slot & plant your flag!
Find the open slot: Look for a valuable, unoccupied plot of land. This is your strategic opportunity. Are you in the mushy, crowded middle? That's the most dangerous place to be.
Plant your flag: Your goal isn't to stay where you are. It's to move your entire business: your messaging, your product, your experience, to claim that open space. This is your ideal position!
Your positioning is your flag in the ground. It’s your declaration of what you are and, just as importantly, what you are not.
The world doesn’t need another cover band.
Trying to appeal to everyone is a fantastic strategy for becoming completely invisible, or worse, Bret Michaels.
Brands that kick rich amounts of ass make a choice. They decide who and what they’re for (e.g. target audience, their principles, their products) and by default, who they’re not for. This isn’t about limiting your business; it’s about giving it laser focus.
There’s a big difference between head banging and banging your head — so stop competing on price and start competing on position.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to be known — it’s to be known FOR something. Because strong brands, like your favourite bands, are knowable.
We don’t fall in love with bands because they’re perfect; we fall in love because they’re a crazy mix of contradictions that feel uniquely theirs. The raw power and the quiet melody. The rebellious wibbity-wabbity spirit and the bleeding heart.
That personality — built on dynamic tensions, is almost impossible to replicate and unforgettable to experience.
That’s your headline act. Now go play it.
