Use This Framework to Craft a Powerful Brand Positioning Statement

Crucial factor you possibly can do in your startup is to focus in your brand positioning. However usually, startups don’t deal with it with the care with which they deal with basic advertising, go-to-market and product growth work. A well-defined model positioning statement gives you readability of focus and will act as a compass for all facets of your online business. If you make strategic choices on launching a brand new services or products, it’s essential make certain that it’s aligned along with your model’s positioning.

If you’re within the course of of making gross sales and advertising collaterals, these must be guided by your positioning assertion. Usually, startup founders and leaders use their judgment and instinct in making such choices when these choices ought to really be pushed by a clearly outlined model place. Given the crucial function it will possibly play, this text will give attention to a positioning framework that you may undertake as we speak in your startup.

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The three Cs

In advertising, we frequently hear concerning the 5 Cs (firm, buyer, competitor, collaborators and local weather) however, in case you are pressed for time, three of these Cs are stable sufficient that will help you arrive at a compelling positioning in your firm. These crucial Cs are your prospects, opponents and firm. Whereas this train will nonetheless require assets and time, it is going to be one of the crucial vital belongings you do in your startup.

It is a very efficient framework. It is best to establish an exhaustive listing of all of the traits of your merchandise and model. The subsequent step must be to establish the strengths of your opponents and what they provide; be sure to do a complete competitive analysis whenever you undertake this step. It is best to then leverage that analysis to zero in on these components which might be distinctive to your organization and are usually not supplied by your opponents.

The final and most vital facet is understanding your customers, what they need and the way badly they need these issues. If your organization gives one thing that your prospects need however is not supplied by your opponents, that is the golden facet you need to give attention to and may drive your positioning. This may imply making some tough choices and selecting that one actually differentiated facet desired by your prospects. You may be tempted to decide on a number of facets, however the troublesome and proper choice is to decide on one and use that one profit to drive your positioning.

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Why does this matter?

You probably have one thing that prospects need however is not distinctive to you and can also be supplied by your opponents, you’ll possible be engaged in a worth warfare and can wrestle to get good ROI in your advertising {dollars}. Alternatively, you probably have one thing that is distinctive to you however your prospects don’t need, you’ll most likely spend lots of advertising {dollars} in useless and wrestle to persuade prospects to spend cash in your product. It’s crucial that your customer research is complete and helps you uncover all the things about your prospects’ wants and willingness to pay for satisfying these wants.

Private expertise: A working example

In my earlier function, I led advertising for a VC-backed menswear ecommerce startup that had over 100,000 prospects. The corporate was three years outdated after I joined it, and it specialised in making chinos — a solitary, hero product. Granted, the chinos have been made in over 30 colours, however chinos in and of itself wasn’t a singular product. Quite the opposite, it confronted immense competitors. However how may we differentiate it?

I targeted on what all we did differently. Our product’s match was appreciated universally by our prospects and obtained tons of repeat orders, however there was a very distinctive facet about our match: We had by no means modified it within the three years of our existence. As somebody who wore chinos nearly completely, I knew that as a shopper, I did not like purchasing repeatedly for my staple trousers; I most well-liked with the ability to flip to the identical model repeatedly for them.

A very good scan of our opponents informed me everybody else modified their match with each season. I used to be intrigued. I then proceeded to undertake buyer analysis that exposed that males did not like having to buy at completely different manufacturers for staples like chinos (because of manufacturers repeatedly altering their product’s match). They wished to have the ability to stick to 1 model and hold ordering their favourite chinos.

Associated: 6 Secrets to Writing a Better Brand Positioning Statement

I had arrived at our holy trinity — one thing that our prospects actually wished and we supplied however our opponents did not. This was extraordinarily highly effective. It then began informing and influencing all of our strategic choices and our model narrative. It additionally had a major affect on our enterprise — we have been within the technique of elevating further venture funding, and this performed a pivotal function in garnering extra curiosity.

We have been initially struggling to get traction from buyers as we weren’t capable of talk a transparent and distinctive aggressive place, however this new positioning and brand narrative dramatically altered that. Not solely have been we capable of get extra buyers , however we have been additionally capable of get $500,000 in funding commitments.