There is new a bakery in Hastings-on-Hudson, just outside NYC, called “By the way”. This is a quaint bakery that makes everything from scratch, just like old times. You can find a selection of beautiful cakes, cupcakes, cookies and muffins. 
Why am I writing about this bakery? By the way bakery is called “By the way” because all of its products are gluten and dairy free. But even though everything is gluten and dairy free that’s not how they promote themselves. It’s not how they lead. Why? Because promoting first the fact that all their products are gluten and dairy free would indicate that that is their focus as a company. Making baked products for those who can’t eat any gluten or dairy. That would be fine since there is a portion of the population who can’t eat dairy or gluten and it would help differentiate them, right? It would be smart of them to position themselves in that niche market. Then why don’t they do it?

They do promote the fact their products are gluten and dairy free, but they do it in a much smarter way. By leading with the fact that their products are delicious, made fresh everyday from scratch, in house sends the message and creates the image that this bakery is focused on high quality and taste. The fact that their products are gluten free is just a “by the way” and an added bonus. A big added bonus since making tasty gluten free baked good is not easy.

By doing this, By the way bakery is achieving two things:
1. They build an image of a high end, quality bakery.
2. They widen their market target allowing them to both serve the gluten and dairy free niche market as well as anyone who likes fresh great tasting baked goods.

We have to be strategic when choosing which features of our product or services we focus on leading with. This doesn’t mean we don’t let our audience know about our features. What it means is leading with the ones that will benefit us the most and build on our brand image. It is a much stronger brand image to be a high quality and delicious bakery that by the way makes everything gluten and dairy free (so its “safe” for everyone) rather than just a bakery that makes gluten and dairy free products. 

So what are the features of your product and service that will be both relevant and engaging to your audience and will help you build the best image for your organization (build your brand) and provide the strongest position in the market place?