Ep 99: How To Write A Brand Positioning Statement

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Podcast Show Notes

When offering an outstanding service or building an exceptional product isn’t enough to stand out in your industry, define your brand with a brand positioning statement. In this article, I explain why every size business (from 1 – 1,000 employees) must declare your positioning statement to guide your messaging and ensure all communication is consistent. Plus I share the exact brand positioning statement structure I used to write my own!

When you aren’t standing out like you want do this

By now, you know that offering an outstanding service or building an exceptional product isn’t enough to stand out in your industry.

Instead, you need to set up your unique selling proposition. Do this to define your brand and the solution you provide through consistent brand messaging.

How a brand positioning statement can help your company

And even though YOU may have a clear idea of your product vision and how it fits into your industry – people who join your company do not.

That’s where a brand positioning statement can help ground your company.

So the same story is told to each customer across every touchpoint in your business.

Aligning your brand messaging strategy

In Branding Bites Podcast Episode 94, “3 Steps To Create Strong Brand Positioning,” I shared that even though you can’t control your customer’s mind, you can follow a well-defined brand strategy to positively influence your brand positioning in the eyes of your niche audience.

I discussed three steps to create strong brand positioning: brand messaging, visual branding, and brand story.

Your positioning statement is a way to you help align your brand messaging strategy along with your brand words, adjectives, method, and niche statement.

Whereas a niche statement and mission statement are public-facing statements that identify your brand strategy, a positioning statement is used internally by your marketing and sales teams. 

Even if you are a company of one – it’s still vital to declare your positioning statement to guide your messaging and ensure all communication is consistent.

what is a brand positioning statement?

A positioning statement is a one or two-sentence declaration that describes your product and niche audience and details how it fills a need in the market.

The positioning statement is meant to be used as an internal tool to align your marketing efforts with your brand and its unique selling proposition.

Brand positioning statement structure

A positioning statement structure includes four essential elements.

1. Ideal Client: Who is the niche market segment that needs your solution?
   
2. Product Category: What category is your brand competing in? Where is your ideal client searching for goods and services?
   
3. Product Benefit: Your product or service should aim to address client pains and provide a solution. What is the most compelling need your niche market has that your product can fulfill? 
   
4. Core Belief: Also known here as your brand promise… this is what your niche market stands to gain from using your product or service; it’s what success looks like to them if their pain or problem is resolved. Why do you believe in your solution based on your experiences?

positioning statement format and examples

Here’s a general template you can use for your brand positioning statement:

For [your niche market] who [niche market need], [your brand name] provides [main benefit that differentiates your offering from competitors] because [reason why niche market should believe your differentiation statement].

As an example, here’s my Kristin Korn brand positioning statement:

For motivated women whose purpose extends beyond direct sales, Kristin Korn provides practical brand strategy tools and a proven marketing framework to ignite your personal brand because, without core alignment and consistency, your message will always feel out of whack.

Here are other industry examples of brand positioning statements:

• “Slack is the collaboration hub that brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done. From Fortune 100 companies to corner markets, millions of people around the world use Slack to connect their teams, unify their systems, and drive their business forward.”
• “Airhouse helps direct-to-consumer companies get orders from factory to front door. Sync your shop, send inventory, and you’re all set.”
• “We’re Wistia. We make marketing software, video series, and educational content based on the belief that anyone can use video to grow their business and their brand.”
• “Payhip is an e-commerce platform that enables anyone to sell digital products or memberships directly to their fans and followers. You can embed Payhip directly into your website or you can use our storefront to sell your work. Payhip takes care of everything. We’re an all-in-one e-commerce solution for creators.”

Tips when using this brand positioning statement format

A few things to keep in mind as you write your Brand Positioning Statement include:

1. Keep it short.
2. Make it unique and memorable.
3. Remain true to your brand’s core beliefs.
4. Include a credible promise of what your brand delivers to your clients.
5. Communicate how your business is different from the competition.
6. Keep it simple enough to use as a guideline to assess whether or not business decisions and messaging align with your brand. 
7. Lean on a business colleague for feedback.

Setting up your brand strategy

But at the end of the day, a solid positioning statement is about recognizing the experience you want your clients to have and guiding the internal teams who make it happen.

Every member of your team that touches a client should be the cloned representation of your position.

More ways to position your brand

For more ways to further position your brand and ensure your marketing efforts are aligned with your core brand foundation – I invite you to experience my Personal Branding Playbook Course.

Within this online course, learn How To Develop A Strong Brand Strategy So You Can Stand Out From Competitors And Use Your Influence To Attract A Continuous Stream Of New Clients. A plan that every beginner can use…no marketing experience needed! Get more information about this Personal Branding Playbook Course at kristinkorn.com/playbook.

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Recap: positioning statement structure

With your value in mind and what makes your product or service unique, you must start from within your business to position your brand in your potential client’s mind.

But remember, you must always be genuine in your communication and never make promises you can’t deliver on.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Stay on top of your Content Strategy and keep your Ideal Clients Engaged here.
2. Design a Memorable Brand Identity to Instantly Stand Out from Competition here.
3. Hire us to Build a Done-For-You Lead Generation Funnel to get your Brand in Front of New People. (Booked out 4-6 weeks)

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