SHFT Agency

06/05/2026

I'd rather walk barefoot across a floor littered with LEGO than hand clients three adjectives and some values and call it a brand strategy. 🤮

(and my floor is literally filled with Lego)

06/04/2026

A brand guide is not a brand strategy.

Most agencies won't tell you that.

Because brand guides are an easier sell.

They look good. Show up in portfolios better. And 90% of businesses see brand as just a design.

But brand guides only give you colors, fonts, and designs.

Brand strategy gives you:

→ A differentiator worth owning
→ Positioning that separates you from everyone who does what you do
→ Messaging built around what your clients actually care about
→ An offer structure that reflects your real value
→ A clear narrative for every sales conversation
→ An experience your customers enjoy
→ A system the whole team can use

And my favorite part:

→ MD files so your LLM knows your business
(and can produce copy that sounds like you)

That's what the Brand OS does.

We don't just hand over a polished brand deck you'll stick in a filing cabinet and never use.

We turn your differentiator into an operating system.

All so you attract and convert the right customers.

As a brand SHOULD do, boo.

✌🏼



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PS. Ready to build your brand OS?

Attract, convert, delight, and keep your ideal customers with a brand strategy, marketing strategy, and design to stand out in your industry.

06/03/2026

Who are you NOT for?

Answering that question is part of great positioning.

Because, like it or not, your offer is not for everyone.
Even if they do fall into your demographic and industry niche.

That's the part that trips up most business owners.

Just because you manufacture vacuum pumps for food processors doesn't mean every food processor that needs one is your ideal customer.

Just because you develop MVPs for tech startups doesn't mean every tech startup is your ideal customer.

Wild, I know.

Getting granular with your customer persona requires defining who you are NOT for.

And the best way to do that:

Create an Anti-Persona.

I walk you through building one in the article below.

I even gave you a link to download my Customer Persona template WITH an Anti-Persona section for free.

(I'm generous that way)

Read the article.
Grab the template.

And get clear about who you ARE and are NOT for.

✌🏼



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Read the full article here → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-craft-anti-persona-jason-vana-atdgc

06/01/2026

Your positioning statement has one job.

Explain why your ideal customers should care about your brand.

Not what you do.
Not how great you think you are.
Not some lame claim that you're the best.

Why should THEY care?

Because that's the foundation for great marketing.

Most founders focus on their service.

"We create websites that sell."
"We do brand strategy."
"We develop MVPs."

Those are service descriptors.
(and sh*tty ones at that)

Clients want to know what changes for them.

→ How their business changes.
→ How their lives improve.
→ How they transform.

Take this positioning that a strategy workshop client came to me with:

"The most influential climate tech ghostwriter in Europe."

It explains nothing about the change their clients experience.
And focuses all on what they think about themselves.

Versus what they left with:

"Taking climate tech founders from invisible to investable."

Which one do you think lands better?
Or would make a prospect want to learn more?
Or would get climate tech founders to hand over their money?

Always, always, ALWAYS focus on the transformation.

What changes for your clients when they work with you?

That's what your positioning statement should answer.

Because that, boo, is what your clients actually care about.

✌🏼



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Refine your positioning in 90 minutes with my 1:1 strategy workshop → https://shft.agency/services/strategy-workshop/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=positioning-statement-one-thing

05/29/2026

“Testing” is just another term for flinging sh*t against the wall and hoping something sticks.

05/28/2026

Your competitors aren't beating you with better products.

They're beating you with better positioning.

Let's break it down ↓

Better puts you in the same position as your competitors.

It says:

→ We provide the same value
→ In a similar fashion
→ For the same people

We just charge more for it.

A differentiated position sets you apart from your competitors.

It says:

→ No one else provides this value
→ No one else does it this way
→ No one else gets these results

If you want this value, you can ONLY get it from us.

And here's the kicker:

Strong position + average offer = makes more money
Weak position + best offer = makes less money

Want to beat the competition?

Build a stronger position.

And by stronger, I mean DIFFERENT.

Doing so puts you in a class of your own.

Or, you know, keep trying to be the "best."

Just don't go crying when prospects choose to get the same value somewhere else for cheaper.

Because, boo, that's what happens when you compete on being the best.

✌🏼



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PS. Get more tips like this to position your 7-8 figure B2B brand as the only choice → https://shft.agency/newsletter?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=better-positioning

05/27/2026

The fastest way to lose trust with your ideal customers?

Be inconsistent.
Be confusing.
Be boring.
Be everything.
Be features-focused.

☝🏼 All of those work against the Reptilian brain.

That pesky bouncer that categorizes every stimulus.....determines if your brand is friend or foe.....and decides if your ideal customers actually trust you.

90% of decisions are made by that part of the brain.

More than logic.
More than emotions.

Work WITH the Reptilian brain.

Your ideal customers will trust you more.

I explain how in the article below ↓

Apply those lessons if you want to build serious trust.

Or keep getting bounced by the Reptilian brain.

That's a choice, too, I suppose.

✌🏼



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Read the full article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/psychology-branding-jason-vana-dcirc

05/26/2026

The question I ask every new client before we touch a single deliverable:

Most founders expect me to ask about their goals.
Or what they want their brand to feel like.
Or their ideal customer.

I ask this instead ↓

"Who do you want to lose as a customer if we get this positioning right?"

I live for the uncomfortable silence after asking that.
(I'm evil that way)

Because that question assumes you've been attracting the wrong people.
Which most founders know, but don't want to admit.

What I hear back tells me everything.

Those who answer quickly already have a sense of their positioning.
They just don't know how to communicate it yet.

The ones who can't answer?

They need a lot of positioning work.
And a lot of coaching.
And a good smack.

Because if you don't know who you're willing to walk away from, your positioning will try to speak to everyone.

And everyone is not a strategy.

Get clear on who you're not for.

The right people find you faster, boo.

✌🏼



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PS. Get more tips like this to position your 7-8 figure B2B brand as the only choice → https://shft.agency/newsletter?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=first-question

05/22/2026

I'd rather lick a subway pole than read another "we care about our customers" value proposition.

Caring is not a differentiator.
It's a baseline expectation.

Saying you care about your ideal customers is the messaging equivalent of putting "breathes oxygen" on your resume.

Your ideal customers aren't asking "do they care?"
They're asking "are they the right fit for us?"

Very different questions.

Answer the second one, boo.

✌🏼



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PS. Create a differentiator your customers actually care about. I show you how every Saturday → https://shft.agency/newsletter?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=caring-sucks

05/21/2026

3 questions every positioning statement needs to answer.

Most B2B companies can only answer one 😬

See how you rate ↓

1. Who are you for?

The more specific your answer, the more your ideal customers feel like you're talking directly to them.

🚫 "B2B companies" "7 figure founders" "B2B SaaS"

✅ "B2B service companies with 2-15 people who keep losing deals to competitors they're more qualified than."

Tell me that doesn't feel more personal.

2. Why should customers choose you?

Focus on something you do, rather than something you are.

And please, for the love of everything sassy, avoid weak differentiators that are nothing more than basic business expectations.

🚫 "We care" "Industry leading" "Best quality"

✅ "We look at how a B2B company operates to find the one thing they already do that competitors can't copy — then build their entire brand around it."

The first are expectations.
The second is a true differentiator.

3. Why can't a competitor say the same thing?

This is where most positioning statements fall apart.

If a competitor can swap their name in without changing more than a few words, you don't have a compelling reason for customers to choose you.

🚫 "Because we're the industry leader" "They don't have our team"

✅ "They build brands based on vibes (personality, adjectives, feelings), not on operations.

And it all relies on your answer to question 2.

Vague on 2 = impossible to defend on 3.

What you do. Who you do it for. Why others can't copy it.

That's what your positioning statement should clarify.

Can't answer those questions clearly?

You don't need a rebrand, new website, or new message.

You need a clearer strategy.

And I might just know a team that can help.

✌🏼

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PS. Get actionable advice to position your 7-8 figure B2B service company every Saturday → https://shft.agency/newsletter?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=positioning-questions