How to Write a Brand Positioning Statement in 5 Steps

Quick answer

A brand positioning statement is one or two internal sentences that say who you serve, what you offer, how you differ and why anyone should believe it. The fill-in version is: for [customer] who [need], [business] is the [category] that [main benefit], because [proof]. Write it, test it against competitors, then use it to brief every design and copy decision.

A positioning statement is not a slogan and it is not your unique selling point. It is the reference sentence that everything else is checked against: the logo brief, the homepage headline, the price you charge. This guide gives you the template, a worked example, the tests that separate a useful statement from a vague one, and how to put it to work.

What a positioning statement is (and is not)

Three things often get mixed up:

• Positioning statement. An internal sentence describing the place you want to hold in customers’ minds. It is written for you, your staff and your suppliers, not for customers.
• Unique selling point. One specific difference, such as same-day call-outs. It is one ingredient of the positioning statement.
• Strapline or slogan. A short public line derived from the positioning, written to be memorable.

Because the positioning statement is internal, it can be plain and even a little clumsy. Its job is clarity. The polished public versions come later, built on top of it.

The fill-in template

Copy this and fill each part in turn. Each part has one job.

Put together: “For landlords and letting agents in Leicester who need electrical safety certificates without chasing contractors, Brightline Electrical is the domestic electrician that books, tests and certifies within one week, because we keep slots for agency work and send certificates digitally on the day.”

Step 1: pick one main customer

The most common mistake is trying to describe everyone. “Homeowners and businesses across the Midlands” gives you nothing to design around. Choose the customer who is most profitable, most frequent or the one you want more of. You will still serve others; the statement simply decides who the brand is built for.

Look at your last twenty jobs or sales. Who paid the best, came back or referred others? That group is usually the right starting point, even if it is smaller than you expected.

Steps 2 and 3: the need and the category

Describe the need the way a customer would say it on the phone, not the way your industry describes it. “Need their boiler fixed before the weekend” beats “require heating system maintenance solutions”. If you are not sure, read your enquiry emails and reviews and borrow their phrases.

Then choose your category honestly. The category is what customers would compare you with. A bakery that mainly does wedding cakes should probably say “wedding cake maker”, not “bakery”. A narrower category is easier to stand out in and makes the benefit more believable. If your category is unclear, ask a few customers what they would have searched for to find you.

Step 4: state one benefit, not five

Choose the single benefit that matters most to the customer in step 1 and that competitors do not clearly offer. Quality, reliability and friendliness rarely qualify on their own because everyone claims them. Speed, specialism, a guarantee, a price model or a process usually work better because they can be shown.

Step 5: give a reason to believe

The “because” is what makes the statement honest. It should be a fact you can prove: a process, a qualification, a track record, a guarantee you actually offer. If you later use the claim in advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority’s guidance on substantiation is clear that you must hold evidence for objective claims before making them, and the government’s guide to marketing and advertising law sets out the wider rules. Building the proof into the statement from day one keeps the brand on the right side of both.

Testing your statement

Run your draft through these tests. If it fails one, rewrite that part.

The plain words test is worth taking seriously. The Plain English Campaign has promoted clear writing for decades, and the same principles apply to an internal statement as to a customer letter: short words, active sentences, no jargon.

Three more examples, from weak to strong

Seeing a vague statement rewritten is the fastest way to understand the method. All three businesses are hypothetical.

A cafe. Weak: “For everyone who loves great coffee, Corner Cup is the cafe that offers quality and a warm welcome.” Strong: “For commuters at Harrogate station who have five minutes, Corner Cup is the takeaway coffee bar that has your order ready when you arrive, because you can order ahead by text and we hold it for ten minutes.”

An online shop. Weak: “For people who want nice candles, Ember and Oak sells premium candles.” Strong: “For gift buyers who leave it late, Ember and Oak is the candle maker that delivers wrapped gifts next day across the UK, because we wrap to order every afternoon and post by 5pm.”

A cleaner. Weak: “For homes and businesses, Spark Cleaning is a reliable cleaning company.” Strong: “For holiday let owners in the Lake District, Spark Cleaning is the changeover cleaner that turns properties around between guests on the same day, because our teams are scheduled around check-out times and photograph every room when finished.”

In each case the strong version names one customer, one situation, one benefit and a fact behind it. It also makes design decisions easier: the cafe needs a brand that reads instantly at a glance, the candle maker needs gift-worthy packaging, and the cleaner needs to look dependable to property owners who are not there to check.

Putting the statement to work

A positioning statement earns its keep when it shapes decisions. Use it in four places:

• Design briefs. Give it to whoever designs your logo and identity. “Landlords who want speed and paperwork done” points to a very different look from “families wanting a friendly local electrician”. Our guide to brand identity versus logo design explains what an identity project adds.
• Website copy. The homepage headline is usually a customer-facing version of the “that” and “for” parts.
• Pricing. If your benefit is speed or specialism, your price can reflect it.
• Saying no. Work that does not fit the statement can be priced differently or referred elsewhere.

For trade businesses, our guide to branding for trades businesses shows how positioning carries through to vans, workwear and paperwork.

When to rewrite it

Review the statement once a year, or sooner if something important changes: a new main customer group, a new service, a new competitor doing exactly what you do, or a move upmarket. If the statement changes a lot, the visual identity may no longer fit. Our guide to when to rebrand a business covers how to tell whether you need a refresh or a full change. And if your materials have already drifted apart over the years, see our guide to a brand that looks inconsistent everywhere.

From statement to identity

Once your positioning is written, the visual identity should express it. Our Brand Identity Design is £299 and includes the logo, colours, typography, imagery and brand guidelines; send your positioning statement with the brief and we design to it. If you only need the mark, Logo Design is £129 with every layout and file format. All prices are on our pricing page.