Make a Statement: What's Your Brand Position?
When we first start helping our clients discover their "Brand Position", a lot of them haven't even considered it because they aren't completely sure what a brand position is.
They (and you) may be more familiar with the term elevator pitch, or Unique Value Position, or even Brand Statement. In fact, let us know in the comments which one you are more familiar with - we'd love to know!
Here at Lab Creative, we call it the Brand Position, and we have a unique formula and process for creating the most impactful statements possible. This is a pivotal part of our Signature Program, Brand Camp, but we're going to dive in deep on the process today, here on the blog.
So let's talk about it!
What is a Brand Position?
A Brand Position (by any of the names above) is essentially your opening line about what you do when talking with potential clients, colleagues or those in the general public. It's the statement that sums it all up on your website, and in your marketing materials.
This should be a concise description of how you want your brand to be perceived in the minds of your customers or clients.
So how do you create your Brand Position?
Use the Lab Creative Formula
To create your very best Brand Position that gives you currency in the market, helps you make better decisions for your business, and allows you to attract the right customers, you'll need to apply - and understand - the following four elements.
1. Who You Serve
Knowing your target market is key to success. In business in general, and definitely when crafting your Brand Position. If you have not done the research to fully understand your ideal customers or clients, this is step one.
You'll want to go deep on this - not by pinpointing people of a particular age, income bracket or gender, but by looking at the similarities among all your current and prospective clients to understand what's important to them. At Lab Creative, we call this the Common Thread.
2. What You do or Problems That You Solve for this Market
This is where understanding what you specifically offer your market becomes very important. You must be able to clearly state the problem you solve, from your clients' perspective, so that it speaks to their struggles and challenges.
3. Your Client's Most Desired Outcome
When you solve problems for your clients, the result is the benefit of working with you. Make a list of the benefits your ideal people will be rewarded with here. (If you're not sure about the benefits you provide, check out this blog post!)
4. What Sets You Apart
There may be hundreds or even thousands of businesses that serve the same market, solve the same problems, and provide the same (or similar) desired outcomes. So how are YOU different? What makes YOU stand out? Write it out concisely here.
Now, take a breath. That's a lot of good stuff right there, isn't it? But, creating a succinct, powerful statement is way more important than trying to cram in all the details.
Write it All Out
Your first pass at your Brand Position is going to be a brain dump of all of the above. Write it all out. Don't filter, just get it down. Write that crappy first draft! Then go back and see what stands out for you, what resonates.
Focus your statement on your clients' most desired outcomes as the ultimate element in your Brand Position and you'll be ahead of the curve. That's what the big brands do, and we can get inspired by looking to them as we outlined in this recent blog post.
Trust us, we know this is easier said than done, so we're sharing some powerful examples of brand position statements that several of our clients created, with our help.
Example Brand Position Statements
The bottom line here is that your Brand Position must be intriguing. Use it to make people want to know more about your business and how you can help them!
Then, once you have it nailed, you can share your statement in your social media bios, on your website, even in your email signature to continue to drive the point home.
If you're feeling stuck on this, and truly want to get it right, we invite you to join us for our next round of Brand Camp. Developing an impactful Brand Position is a key part of this program. Check out all the details here.