The biggest mistake I see with marketing material is when it doesn’t speak to what is unique! In order to stand out in a crowded marketplace, you have little time to make your point. So don’t waste precious time and space with any needless copy. This exercise will help you define your value on paper!


What’s A Unique Positioning Statement?

  • Unique selling propositions of products and services
  • Target customer
  • Place in the competitive market
  • Promise to customers

A brand’s unique positioning statement is different from a tagline. A tagline is a brief (sometimes only a few words in length), but a brand positioning statement is typically one to three sentences. It isn’t a marketing catch phrase. It’s a statement that serves as the framework for a brand’s identity and goals.

Why Do You Need A Unique Positioning Statement?

A brand positioning statement is important because it directs your communication, digital marketing, advertising, strategic plans, and even brand development.

By outlining who you are, what you offer, who you serve, and why you’re different — you clearly tell both customers and your internal team what to expect from your brand.

This statement makes it easier for potential customers to identify if you are the right fit for them. They can see if you are a match for what they need. This introduction starts and strengthens customer relationships and leads to more brand loyalty.

A clear brand direction also sends messages to your internal team. It helps new employees decide if they align with the brand’s mission and goals. And, it helps existing team members stay on the right track and continue to deliver on your brand’s promises.

Step 1: Describe Your Target Audience

Before you can even start marketing your services, you need to know who you are targeting. In this step, you want to be as specific as possible. For example, if you are a Web developer with a CMS expertise, instead of targeting anyone who needs helping building or modifying a CMS, you may identify your target client as a small business owner who is looking for a developer well-versed in MODx to customize his/her site.

Step 2: Explain the Problem You Solve

From your prospective clients’ perspective, what is the individual need or challenge they face that your business can solve for them?

Step 3: List the Biggest Distinctive Benefits

In this step, list 3-5 of the biggest benefits a client gets from choosing to work with you that they could not get from someone else (i.e., what sets you apart from your competition). Again, thinking from the clients’ perspective, these benefits should explain why your services are important to them and why they would choose you over another provider.

Step 4: Define Your Promise

A big part of a successful USP is making a pledge to your clients. While this can be implied instead of spelled out in your USP, write down this promise you make to your clients in this step.

Step 5: Combine and Rework

Once you’ve completed steps 1-4, take all of the information you listed and combine it into one paragraph. There should be some recurring ideas and thoughts, so you’ll want to start merging statements and rewriting in a way that flows and makes sense.

Step 6: Cut it Down

In this step, take your paragraph from step 5 and condense it even more into just a sentence. You want your final USP to be as specific and simple as possible.

Content Sources: Hive Mind Studios and SitePoint


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