Decide six things: the target buyer, the category you compete in, the alternatives buyers consider, what you do differently, why that matters to the buyer, and the proof. Write a short internal positioning statement, use it to guide messaging, design and sales, and test it with buyers and in real deals.
What positioning is
Positioning is the place a brand holds in its buyers' minds compared with the alternatives they consider. Al Ries and Jack Trout set out the idea in Positioning, published by McGraw Hill in 1981. It is not a slogan or a logo; it is a decision about who you are for and why they should choose you, which the slogan, logo and every page then express.
The six parts of a positioning framework
Our working framework has six parts, decided in this order:
- Target buyer: the specific buyers who value what you do most, not everyone who could buy.
- Category: the market you compete in, which tells buyers what to compare you with.
- Alternatives: what buyers would do if you did not exist, including doing nothing or doing it in-house.
- Difference: what you do that the alternatives do not, or do less well.
- Value: why that difference matters to the target buyer, in their terms.
- Proof: the evidence that makes the claim believable: results, nameable clients, process, terms you can keep.
The positioning statement
Turn the six parts into one internal statement: For [target buyer] who [need], [brand] is the [category] that [difference and value], unlike [alternatives], because [proof]. It is a tool for the team, not copy for the website. Every headline, page, pitch and design choice should be checkable against it.
Public examples, in brands' own words
Three well-known brands state their direction plainly on their own sites. Each makes a choice that excludes as much as it includes:
- Google states its mission on its company page: to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. It names a clear job and a broad audience.
- IKEA states on its about page that its vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, alongside affordability, design and comfort. It chooses the many over the few.
- Patagonia lists its core values, updated in 2022 on the eve of its 50th anniversary: quality, integrity, environmentalism, justice, and not bound by convention. It ties its position to what it stands for.
How to research your position
Positioning comes from evidence, not a workshop:
- Interview recent customers: why they chose you, what they compared, what nearly stopped them.
- Interview lost prospects: what they chose instead, and why.
- Ask sales: which deals you win easily, and which you lose on price.
- Review the alternatives' own pages for the claims they make, without copying them.
- List your proof: results, clients you may name, process, certifications.
How to test it
Test the statement before rolling it out:
- Can your team repeat it in one sentence without notes?
- Do target buyers recognize themselves in it?
- Does it make a choice, or could any competitor say it?
- Is every claim backed by proof you can show?
- Over a quarter, do win rates and price discounts improve where it is used?
Common positioning mistakes
The faults we see most:
- Positioning for everyone, so it attracts no one in particular.
- Claims anyone could make, such as quality, service or innovation without proof.
- Superlatives instead of differences. Say what you do differently, not that you are the top choice.
- Changing it every campaign, so buyers never learn it.
Conclusion
A brand positioning strategy decides the place a brand holds in buyers' minds compared with their alternatives. Decide the target buyer, category, alternatives, difference, value and proof; write a short internal statement; research it from customers, lost prospects and sales; test it; and keep it steady. Google, IKEA and Patagonia show on their own pages what a clear choice looks like.
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. Our brand strategy work runs research, positioning and messaging and writes the brief for your identity, as part of our wider strategy and planning work.
Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.