just another to invaluable partner; a brand transition story
Brought to you by The Art Of Positioning Podcast
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Ever wonder what happens when a company with decades of expertise decides to rethink how they show up in their industry completely?
My client, Cameron, would say it’s many things, from tough to challenging to painful to “being forced to look at things you’ve never wanted to look at before,” etc.
On today’s issue, we’re doing something different.
We’re not just discussing the challenges and triumphs of refreshing a brand strategy after 38 years of being in business; we’re taking a closer look at a common mistake experienced when running an established business and how to balance rediscovering your brand and evolving into a modern digital presence without making extreme changes.
If you're running a service-based business with deep expertise but struggling to stand out, then you might want to popcorn-read Banbury Lane's journey, as it shows how the right brand strategy can transform your market position without changing your core business.
We’re now at the mid-year point, and if you’re like me you’re reviewing the progress of the goals that were set earlier in the year.
📸: GIPHY | not me realizing that half of the year has already passed
But it’s not just about what you have to do to hit said goals; it’s also what you have to stop doing because if you’ve been in business for a few years, then you’ve most likely been caught in the day-to-day grind – managing projects, dealing with staff, and keeping the lights on.
It keeps you busy feeling like you’re headed in the right direction until a decade goes by and you realize:
Your marketing feels like you’re shouting into a void, and nothing seems to stick.
You’re stuck blending in, and it’s like no one new is noticing your business anymore.
You’re losing customers to flashier brands with less experience and credibility (and you constantly get undercut by them on price, even though you offer more value🤧.)
You’ve been attracting the wrong kind of attention on social media.
Your entire strategy for years has been you reacting to market changes instead of setting the pace.
You’re basically stuck hustling for scraps despite your incredible knowledge and track record.
This was the case with my client’s business, Banbury Lane, a 38-year-old high-end architectural hardware company.
During this episode of The Art Of Positioning Podcast, he admitted that the business had lost touch with the brand because they barely took the time to step back and look at the big picture.
The breakthrough moment came when, after consultation, we came to the understanding they didn't need better product marketing—they needed to reimagine their role in the decision-making process.
Where everyone else in the industry is coming in at the least flexible purchase stage, we envisioned what it would look like to be considered early in the buyer cycle - and how to make that attractive to the buyer.
So, we started work to reposition them as the resource.
Here’s a brief overview of how: 👇
Badass Tip
↘ Stripped away all industry jargon
The easiest way to get overlooked by customers is to repeat the same industry “value judgment words” - or subjective wording to them. It’s a one way road to them becoming tone-deaf towards your messaging.
To help them identify their voice, we made a shift from:
"We sell high-end hardware."
‘’Premium architectural hardware solutions."
To:
"Your project partner; an extension of your services to realize your project vision. "
"We're trusted project partners, an extension of your services helping bring your architectural visions to life.”
↘ Implementation tested with real customer interactions
A typical brand exercise would involve you creating a messaging that “feels right,” resulting from assumptions regarding what the customer wants or can relate to, which often ends up being wrong, instead we didn’t take any chances and got practical.
Each piece of new messaging was tested in customer interactions before being finalized. Team members role-played customer scenarios to ensure the language felt natural and authentic in conversations.
↘ Content support system
Anyone can share their knowledge on any subject without even having to be in business for long or at all.
Delivery, however, is a different ball game.
Rather than just talking about products, we helped Banbury Lane share their knowledge in ways that actually helped their audience.
We created:
The "Banbury Boys" podcast/video series from their regular in-house conversations already being done (with clear production workflows)
A "door hardware school" concept
Content pillars and tone structure that made following the re-positioning in content far more natural.
One more brilliant thing about this system is it saved them extra cost with constantly outsourcing their content strategy.
↘ Built accountability and simplified the process
Rather than overwhelming the team with massive changes, we broke down the transformation into manageable weekly actions. This allowed the team to build confidence gradually while seeing real progress.
Instead of creating rigid systems, we established a flexible but structured approach:
Weekly strategy sessions with clear action items.
Collaborative workspace in Notion for real-time feedback and iterations.
WhatsApp support for quick questions and wins.
Regular team feedback sessions to ensure messaging resonated.
Practice sessions for team members to check their understanding of the brand parts.
Each week, we:
Reviewed progress on previous action items.
Tested new messaging and content ideas.
Addressed challenges as they arose.
Set clear, achievable goals for the next week.
📝 Standing out is all about reimagining your role in the normal flow of things, constructing a strategy, and implementing it. It’s crucial to step back and assess how you present your value to the market.
Instead of reacting to trends or competing on price like you’re on a clearance sale, focus on clearly defining what makes your service unique and how it addresses your clients' needs.
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5 transformations that Banbury Lane experienced through Badassery by B?
Consistent customer experience across all touchpoints
Clear processes for maintaining brand consistency
Strong positioning earlier in the decision-making process and as an industry thought leader
From reactive to proactive market leadership
Enhanced team confidence and alignment
Want to also elevate your brand and position as a leader in your industry?
