Brand Positioning Explained, With a Simple Template
How to write a positioning statement that is specific enough to guide design, sales and hiring.
Positioning is the answer to a blunt question: why you, instead of the alternatives? Those alternatives include direct competitors, doing nothing and building it in a spreadsheet.
A template that works
Try filling this in:
For (a specific customer) who (has a specific problem), we are the (category) that (key benefit), unlike (main alternative), because (proof).
The sentence will be clumsy. That is fine. Its job is to force choices, and nobody outside the company will read it.
Common mistakes
- Being for everyone. Narrow positioning feels risky and usually converts better.
- Listing features. A benefit is what the customer gets, not what the product does.
- No proof. A claim without evidence is just a slogan.
- Copying the category leader. If your statement could sit on a competitor's website, start again.
Testing it
Put the statement in front of five customers and watch which part they repeat back. That is the part that landed. April Dunford's work on positioning is widely recommended, and Nielsen Norman Group has useful material on how users read value propositions.
From positioning to identity
Positioning should visibly shape the design. A product positioned as the calm, trustworthy option in a noisy category should not look like an energy drink. This is why a strategy stage sits before the visual identity in any credible process, and why it is worth asking an agency how the two connect. Our guide to questions to ask a branding agency covers this.
Looking for an agency? Read the full shortlist on Founder Brand Desk.
