Market Positioning: Standing Out in a Crowded Harbor

philip bowler
Aug 1
4 min read

Let’s Not Shipwreck Your Strategy—Why Even Commodities Need to Swab Their Decks

Have you ever, in the fog of digital “noise” and commoditised competition, wished for a guiding light? It’s not enough to simply shout, “We’re cheapest!” and expect customers to dock at your business.

Like a lighthouse, your strategy must cut through the mist, showing both dangers and opportunities. But how do you ensure your “light” outshines rivals in a crowded harbor?

Early in my career, I took over a struggling subsidiary in Thailand—where “knowing where you are” was harder than navigating by starlight in a storm.

Without a clear signal, even the best crews go adrift. The lesson? Self-awareness precedes success.

Customer Targeting—No One Wants to Fish Blind

Do you know who you’re really marketing to? Commercial excellence starts with ruthless clarity. Consider yourself an angler with a sonar, not a child with a random net.

The Three Lenses (for reflective navigation):

AS IS: Where are you today—guesswork or data-driven analysis?
IDEAL: What could best-in-class customer targeting look like for you?
IMPORTANCE: Which customers are truly worth your time and treasure?

Segmentation isn’t optional—it's essential. The good news? Even if your product is “a commodity,” not every buyer places equal value on the same features, services, or supplier relationship

"Research is the single-most valuable investment you can make to win in the marketplace. Survey data will guide everything that follows. It's your roadmap."(Innis Maggiore Group, 2023)

Value Proposition—Make Your Offer Irresistible (or at Least Unreasonable to Refuse)

What makes your light brighter? In a commoditised sea, “low price” is a dim torch next to a high-beam of value-adds, differentiation, or trust

. Let’s dissect this using lighthouse logic:

Illuminate Benefits, Not Just Features: Clearly show why your solution matters.
Proof of Value: Real-world results, testimonials, or “success beacons” amplify your credibility. Think of Michelin—giving away guides to sell more tires, or branded salt selling purity, not just sodium.
Personalise Value to the Customer Segment: Commodity? Not to every buyer. Find the segment that will pay more for your unique twist.

Unique Selling Points—Even a Shed Can Be a Yacht Club

You don’t need to be world-famous. But you need to be famous for something in your space. Is it reliability, sustainability, speed, expertise, an unbeatable warranty, or just the way your team makes clients feel special?

"Commodities can differentiate through branding, value addition, innovation, and reputation for quality or trust. Think Tata Salt’s iodization or the Almond Board of California’s influencer campaigns.”(Forbes, 2023; Slideshare)

Bundle offerings, build personal relationships, reward loyalty—not just transactions. Even in commodity markets, distinctive customer experiences are the armada that keeps price-only pirates at bay.

Alignment—From Boardroom Strategy to Tactical Oarsmen

A lighthouse doesn’t help if the captain and crew refuse to plot the same course. The Playbook drills home that commercial excellence is coordination: aligning the guiding vision (the “beam”) with the specific, measurable, tactical moves of your teams (the “keepers”).

Don’t let sales, marketing, and finance row in different directions.

We often confuse Strategy with Tactics.

For me, Strategy is where your going to go and tactics are the tools you use to get you there. Think of it like sailing up wind. Your strategy may be long reaches with minimal tacks or it may be short reaches with tacks often.

In strategy 1 your tactics may be to use as much width of the channel as you can and optimize wind flow over the sail. Where as in strategy 2 your tactic may be to practice super fast and clean tacks and crew movements across the boat.

Just make sure that the both are aligned in achieving the overall goal.

Commodities & Marketing—Lessons for the Most Skeptical Skipper

This week a client told me: “There’s no point marketing our commodity unit because price is set by the market!” … Nonsense. Even Sugars have brands.

Strategies That Work:

Reframe the Narrative:
Are you UV protection, or youth in a bottle? Commodities become solutions in the right frame.
Brand the Unbrandable:
Tata Salt conquered a market by branding iodization and purity.
Highlight Service, Trust, Guarantee:
Why do customers buy specific home security services or choose airlines? Trust and service, not just base price.
Convenience & Extras:
Loyalty schemes, tailored delivery, personal perks—B2B buyers are people, too.
Influencer Partnerships:
Almonds and eggs are using influencers to build consumer trust and premium perception.
Adjacent Markets:
Explore bundled services or product adjacencies to unlock new “non-price” value.

Market positioning isn’t just about shining—but shining where, and for whom, it matters most. When strategy meets tactical discipline—anchored by sharp customer targeting, a compelling value proposition, and distinct unique selling points—your business becomes a lighthouse, guiding not just your own ship, but the very currents of your industry.

Need help charting your next course? Visit www.commexconsulting.com.au and let’s turn commercial uncertainty into a safe and profitable journey.

Conversion Rate Experts (2024). How to increase your profits when selling commodities (and almost anything else). Retrieved from https://conversion-rate-experts.com/commodities/
Harvard Business Review (2002). A Smarter Way to Sell Commodities. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2002/04/a-smarter-way-to-sell-commodities
Iowa State University Extension (2024). Marketing Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-18.html
Forbes Agency Council (2023). How Commodity Brands Can Thrive With Social Media Influencers. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesagencycouncil/2023/07/03/how-commodity-brands-can-thrive-with-social-media-influencers/
Innis Maggiore Group (2023). Seven Ways to Win in a Commodity Market. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seven-ways-win-commodity-market-innis-maggiore-group
Salesforce (2024). Unlocking Customer Appeal: The Power of a Value Proposition. https://www.salesforce.com/in/blog/value-proposition/?bc=OTH
Trainual (2024). Crafting an Effective Customer Value Proposition. https://trainual.com/manual/customer-value-proposition
SlideShare. Commodity Branding. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/commodity-branding/2877163
Philip Bowler, The Commercial Excellence Playbook (2025). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7QQGYDF
LinkedIn profile: Philip D. Bowler GAICD. https://au.linkedin.com/in/philip-d-bowler
Philip D. Bowler LinkedIn articles, “The Lighthouse Approach to Commercial Excellence” (2025). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philip-d-bowler_the-lighthouse-approach-to-commercial-excellence-activity-7323942021457465344-dhO9
MarketScale (n.d.). Growing Your Business Through the Ripple Effect of the Lighthouse Marketing Strategy. https://marketscale.com/industries/business-services/growing-your-business-through-the-ripple-effect-of-the-lighthouse-marketing-strategy/