How do you create a memorable positioning statement?

I wouldn't rely on traditional segmentation; instead, I'd dive deep into psychographic profiling and behavioral analytics. A key hack? Developing 'Persona Day-in-the-Life' scenarios that envision a day from the ideal customer’s life. This approach paints a vivid picture, enabling tailored solutions. We don't just need to know our customers; we need to genuinely understand them. When we do, our brand speaks directly to their soul, not just their wallet.

For me I always ask "So What" So if you tell me your USP is service I ask "So What" - what does the client actually get out from that. When you can't answer "So What" anymore you've got some gold to work with.

Understanding your target audience is fundamental in brand positioning, but there's a deeper layer to consider. It's about uncovering not just their explicit needs and wants but also their implicit desires and aspirations. This requires a blend of traditional market research and insightful analysis of consumer behavior. By segmenting the market, don't just focus on profitability; consider the potential for creating meaningful connections and experiences. This approach ensures that your brand positioning resonates on a deeper level with your audience, making your brand not just a choice, but a part of their identity.

If you don't understand your target market's problems and desires it will be hard to craft a memorable positioning statement. To avoid that, spend time getting to know your customers better and specifically their behavior. What do they buy? How often? Why? What results do they expect?

It comes down to understand your audience (their needs, problems, goals and how they do their jobs), the competitive landscape (how are they trying to differentiate themselves), and how your problem aligns with what customers want in a way that allows you stand to stand out from the crowd.

When I started with my legal marketing firm, I did some deep dives online to see what our competitors were up to. It felt like peeking behind the curtain to see how other magicians did their tricks! I looked at the services they offered, how they presented themselves, and the kind of clients they attracted. Some had really flashy websites, while others had testimonials that spoke volumes. But the real gold? Spotting the little gaps they left open. Maybe they didn’t offer content services or lacked in local SEO. This gave me unique angles to work with. By really understanding the competition, I was able to carve out a space for our firm to shine in its own special way.

A quick tactic I would like to point out is to test your competition's positioning concurrently while you stress test your own crafted positioning. In one perspective, having both competitor's SWOTS and your SWOT may give you simple insights into which of their weaknesses and threats your innovation can exploit.

Analyzing your competitors and understanding how they position themselves in the market is an essential step for any business aiming to establish a competitive edge. This involves identifying both your direct and indirect competitors, comprehensively understanding what they offer, how they differentiate themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they are perceived by your target market. Equally important is the assessment of gaps or opportunities in the market that your business can exploit to its advantage.

I believe it’s crucial to analyze my competitors and understand how they position themselves in the market. I need to know who my direct and indirect competitors are, what they offer, and how they differentiate themselves. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses, I can gain a better understanding of where I stand. It's also important for me to assess how my target market perceives these competitors, so I can spot any gaps or opportunities that I can take advantage of. This analysis helps me refine my own strategy and find ways to stand out in a crowded market.

Your competitive advantage is what makes your product or service stand out from the competition. It's the reason why customers should choose you over your competitors. To find your competitive advantage, you need to analyze your competitors. What are they doing well? What are they doing poorly? How can you do things better? Here are a few tips for analyzing your competitors: Look at their marketing. How are they reaching their customers? What kind of messaging are they using? Look at their customer reviews. What are people saying about their products and services?

Your value proposition should always be designed and communicated with clarity, as differentiated from the competitors with real and significant value to the target customers!

A strong value proposition cannot be found on the moodboard. It's much more founded on notes from customer conversations. I believe that good marketing is about creating win-win situations rather than just seeking profit. If we take this seriously and communicate it clearly, our audience will connect with our value proposition. It might seem simple, but if you've tried it, you know it's very challenging. This is what makes marketing beautiful.

When you think you have your value proposition set, ask yourself 4 simple questions: 1. Is it CLEAR? - single and simple-minded 2. Is it MEANINGFUL? - to the target audience 3. Is it DIFFERENTIATED? - from any other alternatives 4. Is it CREDIBLE?- it needs to be believable coming from your brand These four elements are at the core of any great value proposition. Be as objective and critical as possible. Share your positioning with others and ask questions related to the above in order to determine if refinement is required. Good luck!

Crafting a value proposition is more than fitting your offering into a pre-designed canvas or template. It's about storytelling – creating a narrative that not only solves problems but also resonates emotionally with your customers. In a market saturated with similar offerings, your value proposition should not just highlight the functional benefits but also the emotional and experiential aspects that make your brand unique. This approach moves beyond traditional templates, offering a more compelling and relatable reason for customers to choose your brand, making it a part of their own stories.

Crafting a memorable positioning statement that effectively communicates your core offering and its benefits requires you to define your value proposition. Your statement should aim for clarity and conciseness, encapsulating your value proposition in a sentence or two. By integrating this proposition into your positioning statement, you create a compelling message that directly addresses your audience's needs, emphasizes the genuine value you provide, and distinguishes you from competitors, positioning your brand as the preferred solution.

Two important points when drafting your positioning statement: First, it's not about you. Too many brand positions are inward-focused: what the company wants to say about itself. What do your customers want? Your position has to be focused on the benefit to them. Second, you need to find "the white space" that separates you from your competition. When considering positions, plot your brand against your competitors and look for the places where you can stand apart. Your point of differentiation will be key in a crowded market.

Memorable taglines from some of the top brands: 1. Stripe - "Help increase the GDP of the internet" 2. Shopify - "The entrepreneurship company" 3. Figma - "A design platform for teams who build products together" 4. StackOverflow - "Empower the world to develop technology through collective knowledge" You can keep it straightforward and summarise your business like Figma & StackOverflow. Or you can creatively tie it to your brand's mission like Stripe and Shopify. Just make sure that it is concise and clear enough to recollect.

A positioning statement is like your brand's elevator pitch - it's got to be snappy, memorable, and hit all the right notes. Think of it as your brand's superhero catchphrase - it's what sets you apart from the rest and makes your target market go "Wow, I need that!" So, take the time to craft it with care, and don't be afraid to test it out and tweak it until it's just right. Remember, a great positioning statement can be the difference between blending in and standing out in a crowded market. Keep it punchy, keep it true, and most importantly, keep it you! ??

Remember, a positioning statement is NOT CONSUMER FACING. A tagline is the outward-facing manifestation of the positioning statement. The positioning statement is the statement that serves as your strategic north star guiding all decisions for branding and communications. I think many people get hung up trying to write something clever for the positioning statement, and really they just need to write something simple and straightforward.

When crafting a memorable positioning statement, don't just narrate what your business does, or which problem your product solves. Aim to evoke emotions. A truly impactful positioning statement not only informs but resonates on a deeper level, creating an emotional connection with your audience.

There are no absolute. in marketing. Your audience always has the final word. Use your social content to test your position statement. Ask your audience how they feel about it. Remember, it's always about them!

The only real test of whatever idea we're trying to make real and thrive is to test it on the real buying customers. The market is the only place that will give you valuable feedback and make or break your products or services. Always have a problem-solution as product-market fit on your mind to lower you failure risks.

Skip the traditional routes (surveys, interviews, focus groups) and dive into data analytics. It's not just what people say; it's about observing their actions. Measure engagement, track conversions, and analyze sentiment. The wealth of digital insights available can efficiently guide and refine your positioning.

Testing and validating your positioning statement is crucial, but it's important to remember that feedback isn't just about affirmation – it's an opportunity for iteration. Rather than solely relying on standard methods like surveys or focus groups, consider real-world testing through pilot campaigns or social media engagement. This approach provides insight into how your positioning performs in a live market context, allowing for adjustments that are responsive to actual consumer behavior and market dynamics. It's a strategy that blends traditional feedback mechanisms with agile marketing practices, ensuring your positioning is not only resonant but also adaptable to real-world responses.

Does it resonate? Conduct surveys and focus groups. Test it in different market segments. Monitor how it performs in your marketing materials. Does it differentiate you from competitors? Ensure internal alignment; your team should believe in it. Remember, a strong positioning statement is clear, compelling, and reflective of your brand's unique value.

Including frontline employees in the crafting of the statement, by inviting their contribution is invaluable. Interfacing with clients on the frontline allow them to have intimate insights into our clients, their needs, their wants, what works and what doesn't. So bringing those insights to bear in the crafting process will help to make sure that our statement will hit the spot with target customers.

Never ever test a positioning. Why? Because a positioning is a strategic statement that is not meant to be directly shared with customers. It is too abstract and then you'll end up in a semantics debate, which usually kills any specificity. However DO test executions of your positioning: brand tagline, communication campaign, website homepage, etc. Focus on getting respondents to feedback on these tangible assets: are they clear? memorable? differentiating vs competition? consistent? etc.

Tracking is crucial. You'll only truly know that your positioning is working for you if you're able to find out how it's resonating in market. Brand tracking doesn't need to be expensive, I'd highly recommend the work of Jenni Romaniuk on the subject. Her latest book, 'Better Brand Health' offers some invaluable tips, and a handy template for a useful tracking question set. You can use a research or econometrics agency to help with this, but there are ways using your customer base (and possibly purchased data) to do this.

Memorable is a good goal. Though I prefer to think of the objective a bit differently. I strive to develop messaging and creative content that emotionally resonates with my customers. When you evoke an emotional response, your message will be memorable. And then it is easier to bridge the gap to conversion.