Nobody remembers a brand that has no recall value, no recognition quotient, and, most importantly, fails to leave an impression on the audience. For your customers to remember you, you must create a safe space in their mindset. Companies think just because they are investing so much in marketing and bringing in creative ideas, they will be able to pull it off. Often they fail, and the reason is the same: they do not understand the gravity of connecting with the audience. That’s where a brand positioning statement comes into play.
A brand positioning statement is your tool to connect and communicate with audiences via means that marketing can never use or fathom. This brand positioning statement guide hits the bullseye because it will enable you to answer the million-dollar question.
Why should your audience care?
Businesses open and shut every day; nobody remembers them. Every single ad, content, and promotional activity is forgettable. Then why should your audience not only connect with your brand but also remember you in the first place? This is why you need a brand positioning statement. That’s the purpose of a brand positioning statement. In fact, research by McKinsey found that companies with strong brand positioning outperform the market by 20%. So now you know that it’s not just a branding exercise. It’s the strategic core of your business identity.
Alright now, let’s move forward and steadily unravel this guide that will teach you how to formulate a clear and compelling positioning statement using a classic structure, apply it to your own business, and ensure it stands apart in such a cutthroat competitive market. But again, let’s start from the basics and move to the top.
What is a brand positioning statement?
It is a statement that defines who you serve, your niche, the core benefit you offer, and, evidently, the reason why your target audience or potential customers should believe in you. According to Lucidpress, consistent brand presentation across all platforms increases revenue by up to 23%. The statement does not change, remains consistent, and brings all the teams parallel and on the same page. You can observe it as an induction of clear consistency on the inside.
The Classic Formula
The whole idea revolves around being straightforward. When you keep it straightforward, you keep it simple, and trust me, that’s the most difficult thing to do. Let’s break down the formula in each element.
Define target audience
A Sprout Social study reports that 66% of consumers desire brands to acknowledge and address their individual needs and expectations. As per this statistic, every brand must work on their target audience in understanding what they want, what they need, and what they expect from the brand. If they are willing to pay, they are going to demand. My simple tip to every founder or entrepreneur is you cannot rely on defining your target audience in just two adjectives or one sentence. Move beyond demographics and shape your ideal customer.
Inserting brand name
This may sound like an obvious thing, but it's more about aligning the brand name with the right tone and category. The brand name and the positioning must be in perfect alignment. This is a combination of art and skill. It’s part of one of the several effective branding strategies Your brand must be strategically placed in the statement; then only it can evoke the right emotions.
Identifying category
Mention your niche, define your category, and secure the space your brand plays in. This way you will anchor your brand to the right shelf, and the audience will automatically associate you with it in their mindset. Even the Harvard Business Review stresses the significance of getting recognition in an existing category before you even try to redefine yourself.
Clarify the key benefit
According to an interesting statistic, 84% of customers believe that experience is as important as the product or service of the same company. As a founder, you should focus on clarifying the key benefit to your audience. This simple trick sets you apart from others. It delivers a strong message as to why you know you're different, you know what you are offering, and you know what makes you stand out from the crowd.
Induce a reason to believe
This is the last part of the formula and, indeed, is the most challenging one. You need to fit in a reason for your audience to believe. This offers you brand positioning credibility. It can be anything from a customer proof to market data, relevant insights, or inside news you are happy to share. This builds trust, and you need it for your brand.
Of course, this is just one way of catering to brand positioning statements. Of course, with teams and brainstorming sessions, you’ll be able to derive many other techniques to implement an impactful brand positioning statement, but this guide further informs you on several other factors that you should consider.
Avoid common pitfalls.
Don’t make this mistake. Do not confuse your brand positioning with your tagline or unique value proposition. All three are completely different elements.
Do not mix features with benefits; what you can offer is your feature, and how it will add value to the customers is the benefit.
Never overstuff your brand positioning statement. The audience can easily catch it.
Nielsen's data indicates that 59% of consumers prefer to purchase new products from familiar brands. This simply means that you need to create that positioning with effective methods with a clear internal strategy.
Final words
At last, I’ll leave you with one final tip: always conduct a competitor’s analysis. Compare your closest competitors and the whole industry. See how they are working and delivering their brand positioning statement. If you fail to create the right brand position and strike a balance. You will fade out in the crowd. Use this brand positioning statement guide as your framework. Write it, test it, and stress it because when your brand shows up with clarity, confidence inevitably follows, and so do your customers.
In this guide we learned the formula for positioning statements, and you must use it and implement it in your branding operations. Your brand promise means nothing without proof. Remember this: every single competitor has a team, but if you have the right tool, which is an effective brand positioning statement, you can create a stir in the market.
