What is a brand position statement?

A positioning statement is a short description of how you want your target customers to perceive you. 

Your positioning will go on to impact all the other aspects of your branding and how you want to be seen by your peers, potential investors and employees.

Your positioning statement essentially conveys the main value proposition of your brand to the brand's ideal customers. 

For example, here's Apple's positioning statement:

For individuals who want the best personal computer or mobile device, Apple leads the technology industry with the most innovative products. Apple emphasizes technological research and advancement and takes an innovative approach to business best practices — it considers the impact our products and processes have on its customers and the planet.

Remember: Sustainability is a business value, not your value proposition.

Sustainability may be the reason your business exists, but in your customer's eyes, it's one of multiple value propositions. Don't compete solely with this because — and as we've seen in multiple markets over the past five years — you're not the only player doing so. And if you are, it won't be long until you have competition.

How to position my brand?

This is an important exercise to demonstrate your understanding of your own industry, and to be able to tell customers and investors, "what's different about your brand". 

It helps you go beyond the answer, "we're more innovative and our technology is better", which literally makes almost everyone roll their eyes.

But how can you get there? The following six steps are a good way to start:

1. Competitor research. Go across to the websites of the ten closest competitors in your niche and try to find words that define each brand. Are they trying to be "eco-friendly" or "impact-driven"? Are they "green thumbs" or "cleantech"? What sets them aside from each other?

2. Competitor terminology research. What terms do they use to describe:

   1. Their technology's USPs?

   2. Their sustainability pledges?

3. Choose matrix dimensions. Choose comparative dimensions on each side of a 2x2 matrix. They should be words or terms that have come up in your competitor research which are the opposite of one another. For example: Simple + Complex, Timeless + On trend, EcoGreen + Cleantech, Luxury + Economy, Convenient + Prestige. 

4. Place. Once you've decided on the comparative dimensions for your matrix, put each of your competitors on there. Then once you've done so, look where there is blank space, and where the crowd is. Chances are, this is a strong option to position your brand.

5. Write.Once you have identified the free space, it's time to write it down. The sentence should look like this: "I want to work with ____________________ that _________ rather than those who ____________________________________." Make it brief, simple and memorable. No more than one paragraph. Focus on what differentiates your brand from your nearest competitors.
   
   

6. Consult. As with almost everything in branding, testing is key. Go out and ask five people in your target market what sets you apart from your competitors. As well as what sets them apart from each other. Test your assumptions and iterate until your happy with the result. 

Your brand position is your target market, polarized

A strong positioning statement will not only describe the target audience, but will speak to their identity, not only their demographics.

So say if you’re trying to market your technology to boutique architecture firms, go one step further and market it to boutique architecture firms who believe that buildings must be energy positive, not energy neutral.