In the early days of many agencies, marketing is simple: show the work and hope the right people reach out.

That often means combining every recent launch into a single newsletter, a law firm next to a nail salon, an investment bank next to an apparel brand. The thinking is: “if it’s great work, it’ll speak for itself.”

But that approach often creates more confusion than clarity.

In our early days, one financial services client, featured in a launch roundup alongside a local small business, put it plainly: “First time I’ve seen us mentioned in the same place as a nail salon.”

It was said with a laugh. But the insight was real.

What Unclear Positioning Looks Like

• Emails that feature wildly different client types

• Case studies that don’t speak to a consistent buyer

• Leads asking, “So what exactly do you specialize in?”

• Sales calls that require starting from scratch every time

• A website that says "we do it all," and convinces no one

Is More Work Really Better?

In the beginning, versatility feels like a strength. The ability to work across industries, platforms, and client types can be a survival mechanism. But as the agency grows, that same flexibility becomes a liability.

Not because the work isn’t good, but because it’s hard to tell who it’s for.

Positioning Is a Long Game

Focus doesn’t happen overnight. It takes repetition, discipline, and some hard trade-offs.

For Barrel, that clarity came through years of narrowing in on a specific client: omnichannel CPG brands, especially in food and beverage.

Recent client engagements include Shopify website builds and retention marketing projects for snack brands, beverage startups, and specialty products. The internal newsletter features aligned work. The external newsletter tells one cohesive story.

Even the inbound leads now resemble a walk through the grocery aisle: condiments, supplements, snacks.

That’s not luck. It’s positioning doing its job.

How to Tighten the Story

If the work is good but the message is still muddy, here’s where to start:

1. Group your past projects by client type.
   What patterns emerge? Where is the strongest cluster? What are the unique services you provide to this specific group? The best-fit future clients will come from that same lane.

2. Refine what you show and how you show it.
   Share focused launch content, even if it means shorter newsletters or segmenting lists. Make it easy for prospects to see themselves in the work.

3. Say no with purpose.
   Declining misaligned work is part of the positioning process. Every "no" frees up space for the right "yes."

The Takeaway

Positioning doesn’t need to be flashy. But it needs to be consistent.

The more focused the work, the more coherent the story, the easier it is for the right clients to say yes.

Over time, that focus evolves into a clear signal of what the agency does, but also who it’s for.

And that’s what good positioning is supposed to do.