Ashley D. Su 
What can small businesses do to stand out in the crowd? The market has become extremely noisy. Getting your ideal client to notice you is hard. But positioning your brand correctly and communicating it to your target audience can get you noticed. And having an effective brand positioning statement can make your marketing much easier.
What is a brand positioning statement?
A brand positioning statement describes what your business does and what differentiates you from those you serve. It should highlight how we want customers to think and feel about our business through their experience with us. It is an internal statement that guides your trading decisions based on how you want to be perceived in the market.
Your brand positioning is the underlying strategic statement that is at the heart of every marketing campaign. This will help you create messages that establish value in the minds of your customers. Your positioning should be unique, valuable and uniquely yours.
How to Develop Your Brand Positioning Statement
By developing your positioning statement before implementing any marketing activity, you create clarity and consistency in how you address the market. This ensures continuity throughout your marketing and makes all forms of communication less complex and easier to manage. Without a positioning statement to guide the marketing effort, a business is likely to waste time and resources wandering aimlessly without direction or purpose.
The idea behind this concept is to define:
- Target customer
- Statement of the problem and your solution
- Brand promise
- reason to believe
Target customer
Who exactly do you work with and why?
Identifying your target audience allows you to create products and services that meet their wants and needs. But know who you really want to work with. And above all, understand how you can help. This not only makes your messages clearer and more focused, but also helps you
Statement of the problem and your solution
What is the most pressing problem your target customer is facing that you can help solve?
If you understand what your target customer really needs, define your solution that shows them that you understand their situation. Get their attention and they will listen to what you have to offer.
Focus on the benefits for your target. Be clear about how your product or service benefits them and why their life will be better once they work with you.
Brand promise
Knowing your customer’s most pressing problem, how does what you offer help solve it?
The more you can define the value they get from working with you, the more likely they will be attracted to your brand. This brand promise is the tangible advantage that sets you apart from your competitors. It gives your prospects a distinct advantage if they choose to do business with you.
The value is not what you do, but why you do it and the results you get. Define the results your clients can expect when working with you. Providing this value creates an emotional connection with your prospects.
reason to believe
What is the compelling evidence to prove that your brand delivers on its brand promise?
Prospects won’t just believe you deliver. You need to demonstrate why you are the best at providing the solution that helps them. Tell the target audience how your main benefit will help them achieve what they want to achieve. Set their expectations, then stick to them.
Build your positioning statement around the one unique benefit that only you can deliver. Then deliver that promised value to help them achieve what they want to accomplish.
Example of a brand positioning statement
Now, let’s put the information together in a statement that you can use as the basis for your marketing strategy. Here is a template that can help you get started. Don’t worry if after using this to ensure all components are covered, your actual statement is somewhat different. Market category is a further refinement of the industry you are in.
For [target customers], [company name, market category] delivered [brand promise]. We [reason to believe].
Here is an example of a positioning statement for a sales consultant:
For small businesses struggling to increase sales productivity, XYZ Company, a sales consulting firm, offers a repeatable sales process that supports building long-term, profitable relationships with your customers. We combine sales process improvement with technology to help our clients spend more time with them discussing their strategic goals.
You now have the basics of your marketing strategy. When choosing your strategies, you can create your content from marketing materials, websites, and press releases. Make sure your posts support the desired positioning in the market.
Develop your key marketing messages
Your next step is to create your messages to use in all your marketing activities. Your messages should relate to:
- Educate and inform
- Explain the benefits of your services
- Create an image and a perception
Messages should be clear and meet the needs of your potential customers. Make them want to know more, drive them to your website, and inspire them to take action.
Keep in mind the following points:
- Be honest and credible. Tell people who you are and what you do. Be clear and concise with the offer. Make it easy for the reader of your post to know what you are promoting.
- Test your message. Test your message and measure the results you get to make sure the message is clear.
- Know your audience. Send your message to the right audience to ensure the best use of your marketing resources.
When you’ve developed a set of messages that meet the needs of your target market, use them consistently and repeatedly in all your marketing efforts.
Get outside help
As a small business, determining your brand positioning and crafting your key messages can be challenging.
Creating good messages is the result of understanding your audience and the parts of your product or service that are important to them. Although it takes time, the process forces you to focus your efforts. To do an effective job, it is often helpful to have an unbiased point of view to help you in their development. As they say, it is difficult to read the label from inside the bottle.
Do not bypass this exercise. Creating a clear, defensible, and differentiated brand positioning statement and supporting key messages allows you to speak clearly, consistently, and confidently to your target audience.
