You don’t drive somewhere new without a map. You wouldn’t want a surgeon just to cut you open and wing it. You won’t pay someone $100 if all you owe is $20.
So why would you want to run an ad in a magazine, or post something on social media without a plan to get a return on your investment?
A brand positioning statement is much more than just another piece of paperwork you should do if you want to be a professional company. It’s everything you stand for wrapped up into a few sentences.
If you’ve read much from us, you’ll know that we’re adamant about preventing the spread of random acts of marketing. Your time is valuable, your knowledge and expertise are valuable, and your budget is limited — so let’s be smart about it.
What is a Brand Positioning Statement?
Your brand positioning statement conveys what you do, why it’s valuable, who will benefit from it the most, and why you’re motivated to deliver on your promise. It’s not a tagline, but rather an internal tool that will keep your marketing aligned with your brand’s goals as you grow.
You probably already know that it’s essential to know your customers. You want to target the people that you enjoy working with, the ones that are the most profitable, and the ones to whom you can deliver the best results.
But — have you built your profile?
Why are you better than your prospects’ other options? Why shouldn’t they hire someone else or simply not do anything at all? You need to be able to sum up what you do, and why it matters, in a concise way. Then it will be the guiding statement for everything you do.
Types of Positioning Strategies
There are five types of positioning strategies that most professional service firms utilize.
You can read and execute the tools we give you in a matter of days — not months. So .Lowest Cost
“We are the cheapest choice for your needs.” We’re personally not a big fan of this strategy. It’s essentially a race between you and your competitors to the bottom. It’s a great way to see who can go out of business the fastest.
Sure, you can utilize technology and streamline your processes to deliver high-quality work faster — but why would you want to charge less just for doing your job more efficiently? You invested time and resources into providing the same or better quality in less time. That kind of investment should result in higher, not lower profits.
Best in Industry
“We are the best choice for ___ industry.” (Hint: this is the direction we took our agency.) By focusing on a specific segment of your audience, you can deliver higher quality and scalable services.
In our case, a B2C company selling $20 widgets has vastly different marketing needs than a business consultant selling his time and expertise for $500/hour to corporations.
By specializing, you can fine-tune your services to the specific needs of your audience and deliver better results.
Best at Providing Service
“We are the best at ____.” Another strategy is to get good at one service in your business and focus on delivering just that to the right audience.
For example, some business consultants focus only on delivering strategic planning or consulting services one-on-one with the business owner. They don’t provide additional services like HR consulting or leadership training courses.
Role-Focused Positioning
“We are the best at helping ____ succeed.” Some people choose to focus on helping a particular type of person in their target marketing.
For example, business consultants may offer services designed for CEO’s, managers, or HR professionals. By narrowing down on that one job role, they refine their tactics for the pain points and goals that specific job entails.
Best Service Provider
“We provide best-in-class service.” This is our least favorite strategy because it is often overused and abused. It’s like when comic sans and papyrus fonts were everywhere. Sure, it seemed great at first, but then when everyone started using it, the novelty wore off fast.
Cliché Phrases like “nobody is more committed than us,” and “customer-first” are going to fall on deaf ears and be ignored. If they are considering hiring you, they want to expect that your customer service is excellent — otherwise, what’s the point.
Your Brand Positioning Statement Templates
Template #1
- [Your Company Name]
- is a
- [category/vertical/industry] business
- that provides
- [target audience]
- with
- [benefit].
- We do this by
- [proof that you can deliver the promise].
Example:
- Voltage Energy Drink
- is an
- on-the-go energy drink company
- that provides
- busy millennials
- with
- the healthy, low-calorie, energy they need to stay active and live their best lives.
- We do this with
- a unique blend of natural energy sources and safe sugars.
Template #2
- For [target audience]
- that [what they want],
- [Your Company Name]
- provides [benefit]
- because
- [proof that you can deliver the promise].
Example:
- For professional service providers
- that want to maximize their ROI from marketing efforts,
- Sparkitive
- provides expert guidance and the execution of strategic tactics without the fluff
- because
- we know the specific challenges that come with trading time and expertise for resources.
Template #3
- At [Company Name],
- a [industry/vertical/category],
- we help
- [target customer]
- achieve
- [benefit of working with you].
- As [key differentiator],
- we
- [provide another benefit].
- Our clients hire us because
- [more benefits or differentiators].
Example:
- At Strategic Consulting,
- a Business Consulting Firm,
- we help
- CEOs of Small to Medium Businesses
- achieve
- lower turnover rates and higher profitability.
- As a firm specializing in HR and Management,
- we
- know how to deliver the strategy and training needed to help a business succeed.
- Our clients hire us because
- the work we do gets measurable results because we build custom programs just for their needs instead of executing a generic one-size-fits-all plan.
Example Positioning Statements
Since 2006, HubSpot has been on a mission to make the world more inbound. Today, over 68,800 total customers in more than 100 countries use HubSpot’s award-winning software, services, and support to transform the way they attract, engage, and delight customers. Comprised of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and a powerful free CRM, HubSpot gives companies the tools they need to Grow Better.
Ascendient is a top-50 consulting firm that serves hospital systems around the nation. Led by a team of practitioners and academics, they have a unique perspective on the future of healthcare. They believe most healthcare systems are not prepared for the massive changes that are about to transform the marketplace. To make their perspective more visible and differentiate their firm from consultants that focus primarily on today’s problems, Ascendient decided to reposition their firm around their future vision. Brand positioning: We’re rethinking the future of healthcare.
Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh is a law firm outside Washington, DC. For decades, they were a general law firm with a strong practice in zoning and land use. But when the top firm in that space dissolved, their leadership recognized an opportunity and quickly rebranded their firm as The Land Lawyers. While they continue to offer a few general legal services, Walsh Colucci focuses their brand message squarely on their area of strength. Today, they have become the region’s dominant player in commercial real estate law. Brand positioning: Northern Virginia’s premier commercial real estate law firm.
Build Your Marketing Plan in Days - Not Months
You are building a positioning statement because you’re ready to level up your marketing and grow your business. You’ve reached the stage where you are prepared to scale and get serious about the results that you’re wanting.
We specialize in preventing random acts of marketing. Our goal is positive ROI in every marketing tactic you do, and we work hard to help you get there.
We’ve worked with lots of professional service providers just like you to build successful marketing plans — so we know what it takes, and we know you don’t have weeks and months to get your marketing off the ground.
You can get the exact methodology that we use in our agency by requesting a free copy of our book: The 5-Step Marketing Plan.
You can read and execute the tools we give you in a matter of days — not months. So download your copy today.
As a professional services provider, your billable time is valuable. You don't want to waste it on bad marketing tactics that won't yield the results you're looking for.
