The power of brand positioning: how small businesses can create a lasting impact

Brand positioning for small businesses: 7 steps to building a strong brand identity

What is a brand?

There is so much behind creating a powerful brand. And it isn’t just about creating a professional looking logo. A brand’s value takes time to build and is formed by things you can’t necessarily see or touch. It’s the value people give a company or product by way of how it makes them feel and perceive which builds a certain appeal and ultimate added value.

A brand does not exist within a company. A brand exists in the minds of your customers. A brand is the sum total of impressions a customer has, based on every interaction they have had with you, your company, and your products. (Lucidpress)

Take one of the world’s most powerful and highly valued brands. In 2013, Forbes valued the Coca-Cola Company at $173bn. The value of all its tangible assets, like manufacturing plants, distribution, bottles and the coke mixture itself only came to $93bn. It therefore attributed a further $80bn of value to the brand. This can be placed on its market share, it’s perception and appeal and the associations it has with other companies and so on.

What is a brand positioning?

You may have heard of ‘brand positioning’ but not quite sure what it is or why it is important. It’s a combination of things, including the story behind your business, what you stand for (commonly referred to as your values), your purpose for existing and what makes you different to your competitors. In essence it's the strategy of defining where you want to exist in the mind of your audience.

Can't we just design a logo?

Without going through this exercise you could end up with a brand identity which doesn't resonate, say the same as everyone else and with no real substance behind it.

A brand positioning will allow you to stand out from the crowd, support your pricing strategy and ultimately boost profits.

It’s a really interesting, fun and challenging process all at the same time but once you’ve done it, you can base all your marketing around it so you'll get tremendous value. Plus your business development or sales teams will also find it invaluable. I would recommend this is a collaborative process involving different parts of your business to capture the insight and get a well rounded view with input from different departments,

I've developed a handy cheat sheet for small business owners to make it easier process to develop a brand positioning for your business.

Start my working through the 7 steps outlined below. Begin by capturing all thoughts that come to mind using bullet points. Don’t dismiss anything. Once you've captured your ideas, review and refine them to shape a clear, strategic brand position.

1. Essence – who you are

Jot down your first thoughts that spring to mind. What motivates you to serve your customers.

2. Purpose – what is the problem you are trying to solve

Write down the problems and barriers your customers have.

3. Target audience – who are you targeting

Build a picture of the main audience you are targeting also called an audience persona – where do they live/work, what do they do, what are their likes, dislikes, what are their main concerns.

4. Deliverables – what do you do

Sum up in 5-7 words. These are the features/main components of your product or service.

Consider:

• What do you think you’re the best in the world at?

• What value do you provide your customers that no one else can provide?

• What service offering are you most confident in?

  
  

5. Differentiation – what is unique about you and what are the reasons to believe

Build proof points by identifying three key reasons that support your claims. Summarise each in 5-7 words, ensuring they are clear and compelling. Once refined, these can be used externally in your customer communications.

6. Personality – what are your values

Write down 3-5 words that describe what it is like to work with you/how do you behave?

7. Your positioning statement

Now you've done this, it's time to perfect your brand positioning statement. This can be done by completing the following template.

[Brand] provides [target audience] with [unique value] than any other [your Industry] by [proof points].

A springboard for implementation

Use this statement as a springboard for implementation, serving as a clear internal strategy to guide your brand positioning. Share it with your team to ensure alignment, motivation, and consistency in how your business is presented.

Ideally this should be part of a wider brand strategy for your business where you look at creating key messages which work alongside your positioning statement. If you are looking to create a new brand identity for your business, then discover what colours means in branding.

Want to see how this works in practice? Then view our client case study.

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