Strategy Archives - Map and Fire

How to use differentiation to gain a competitive edge (and survive) in 2025

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Jan 20, 2025 | Competition, Customer Research, Home Page Featured, Positioning, Strategy

< Back to The Campfire Differentiation has always been a cornerstone of brand and marketing. But the deeper we go into this new era of tech and AI the more your ability to differentiate becomes a true survival skill. With so many areas of work being enhanced,...

5 Reasons You Should Never, Ever Copy The Positioning Of A Market Leader

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Dec 9, 2024 | Brand Strategy, Positioning, Strategy

< Back to The Campfire It’s easy to look at the success of a market leader in your category and consider “borrowing” some of their approach. But as a smaller, challenger brand this is the last thing you should ever do. Again, the temptation is obvious. By...

How to Maximize Growth Within the Positioning Hourglass

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Jan 20, 2025 | Competition, Customer Research, Customers, Positioning, Strategy

< Back to The Campfire Your approach and mindset about positioning needs to evolve as your business grows. To maximize growth you may need to speed up, or slow down through the positioning hourglass. The positioning hourglass is a mental model to visualize the...

10 Point Checklist to Clearly Communicate Your Positioning

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Nov 18, 2024 | Competition, Home Page Featured, Messaging, Positioning, Strategy, Website

< Back to The Campfire Creating truly differentiated positioning for your brand isn’t easy. It requires a deep understanding of your customers and competitive market, and then aligning that with the unique strengths of your products, services, and operations. If...

Why AI has become a leading cause of positioning blur

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Nov 18, 2024 | Competition, Messaging, Positioning, Strategy

< Back to The Campfire “Enhance workplace productivity with AI” “The #1 AI work management platform” “The new age of customer service is AI-first” If you saw those headlines on their own it would be tricky to figure out what kind of product they’re marketing…and it...

How To Use Brand Positioning (Not AI) To Avoid Becoming Perfectly Average

by Clay Ostrom | Last Updated: Nov 13, 2023 | Brand Strategy, Competition, Positioning, Strategy

< Back to The Campfire Noise in the competitive landscape is increasing at an alarming rate. In 2022 alone, 5 million new businesses popped up in the US. This is a 78% increase compared to the 2.8 million added in 2015. The thing is, noise isn’t evenly...