How To Write A Brand Positioning Statement (And How It Helps You Think About Your Business)
By Jane Dawson
If you are like many online entrepreneurs, you jumped in with both feet and having been learning as you go and getting better at what you are doing. Or, you may be like the minority of sellers and spent the upfront time to do some analysis, figure out keywords, refine your target market and then developed a killer website.
Now, if you are extremely unusual, you put yourself through a brand positioning exercise that most people see as being too obvious to be worth it and most people would be wrong! A brand positioning statement is a wonderful way to understand who you are, where your products fit in the marketplace and as a result, how to market your business or products to others.
There are several elements involved in a brand positioning statement.
Target Market
First you need to know who makes up your target market. Is it first time mothers? Exercise fanatics? Poker players? Millennials who like to travel? The home improvement do it yourself market? The I need the hottest new fashion all the time, regardless of the price market? (Lucky you!) You cannot position your product until you know who you are positioning it for.
Competition
Next, you need to know who competes with you for business. If you sell garden tools, you may be competing with Wal-Mart on the low end or Smith and Hawken on the high end. Where do you fit in the marketplace? If someone does not buy your product, whose product will they buy?
Competitive Advantage
Why should your target market buy from you? Is your product less costly? Higher quality? Backed by a more extensive guarantee? Sold with other products that make it easier to one-stop shop? Nicer color selection? Used by a celebrity or a professional in the field? Part of a package of support and community that will help you?
Credibility
What is the proof that your claim of superiority is valid? Make it part of your statement. Is it because two out of three mothers recommend it? You will feel the difference yourself? Walls are twice as thick?
Putting it All Together
Now that you know something about your target market, your competition and your advantage, you need to put together the positioning statement. There are a number of formulaic ways to create the statement such as:
- For (target audience)
- Brand X is the only (market context)
- that (unique benefit delivered)
- because (reasons to believe).
Here are some ways to use the formula:
For the hard core exerciser, Tom’’s rigid exercise bands create more muscle more quickly than any comparable cost in-home piece of equipment thanks to their revolutionary rubber fabric system that challenges even the fittest athlete.
For the home improvement do-it-yourselfer, our Do-it-Yourself Bible to Plumbing makes it so easy to keep your plumbing working that even a ten year old could fix the toilet.
Can you create a brand positioning statement for your products? If not, why not? What knowledge are you lacking? Don”t you think it is time to get it?
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