I’m still in Istanbul and I’m getting sick of the place.
Every restaurant, every bar, even every apartment I’ve stayed in, has a great view.
A view of the grey waters of the Bosporus… of the millions of lights that go on at dusk… of the dozens of monstrous-sized mosques that line the horizon.
Now of course, I’m being a little facetious.
I like a great view just like your average gadabout.
But the fact that EVERY place in Istanbul has a view actually complicates my job of being a tourist.
Because deep down, I keep remembering something that a frequent traveling partner of mine taught me:
“I won’t eat in that restaurant,” he would say, “because it has a good view. A restaurant can either sell the view or the food, but not both.”
That might sound simplistic, but it’s the basic way the human mind works.
At least if you believe one of the most influential marketing books of all time, Positioning, written by Al Ries and Jack Trout.
There’s a lot in this book about how companies, brands, and even individuals can carve out a position for themselves in a crowded market.
But the basic image that Ries and Trout give is simple:
Your position is like a hook in the customer’s mind that you hang your product on.
And if you try to hang multiple things from that hook, or try to hang your product from multiple hooks, that’s when trouble starts.
In other words, you want to position your restaurant as either having good food…
Or a good view…
But not both, because your customers’ brains simply won’t follow you.
And the same thing holds if you’re not in the restaurant business — but in any other business.
Of course, you can offer, say, great prices as well as a dedicated service.
But put just one of those forward as your main position. And if Ries and Trout are right, you will create a position in the market that allows you to win customers more easily and keep them around for longer.