Brand Support
The Positioning Statement Comes First
Amy Dennis
CEO | Creative Director
Branding Tips
The best branding firm will tell you that it all starts with positioning. Not with logo design.
"A business has no chance of being properly perceived by outsiders unless it is first clear on how it wants to be perceived, and only then, unleashing properly aligned things into the wild for assumption and classification." This quote from Amy Dennis, the Branding Queen herself, pretty much sums up how important perception is.
But how do you influence perception? It all starts with positioning. I know, I'm repeating myself, but jeez. This best branding firm knows that it's important.
Best Branding Firm Practices: Positioning First
Positioning is defining what you offer, to whom, and why you matter. It's staking a claim in the consumer's mind. Your positioning statement describes what you provide and how you provide it. It explains what differentiates you from your competition.
Nothing that you do from a visual, strategy, or copywriting perspective should be undertaken until you have clearly defined your position. Only then should you start to align your operations, marketing, branding, and messaging with this position.
So, how do you craft this positioning statement?
Here's a simple strategy. And let's be real here. Sometimes this is difficult to do from within the walls of your business. We understand that you're inundated with the day-to-day. And also that you're influenced by what you've always known the business to be. So, it's hard to step out of all of this and craft a true positioning statement.
For those weary souls, it might be helpful for you to Google best branding firm, then look for Nice Branding Agency on the list (it should be at the top) and give us a shout.
However, if you're down to do this yourself, then let's get to it.
Who Exactly Are You?
First, you've got to understand who you are. Not what it says in the about section of your website. But who you really are. Get some people in a room and toss it around. What makes you great? What do you lack? Where do you beat your competition? Where does your competition outrank you? What are your values as an organization?
Write all this stuff down. Then go back through it and cross off anything that would apply to almost every business in your industry. Mark out anything that's not really true. And strike through things that are too negative. It's OK to be honest, but let's not include anything that would really paint the organization in a bad light.
Who is Your Consumer?
From there, it's time to think about your consumer. Who are they? What do they like? What do they not like? Where are they? What is the most important thing to them? What are their pain points? Who is your customer now that's really not your ideal target?
You guessed it. Write down your thoughts here. Start understanding where you've been expending energy trying to service people who are not your ideal client. Think about that for a sec. As it sinks in, you might cringe. But that's OK! We're moving on and moving up.
What Do You Offer?
Now, think about your capabilities. What do you provide to your target customer?
When you've sufficiently fleshed out who you are, what you do, and who you serve, it's time to package that all up nicely. The best branding firm would call this package your positioning statement.
We'll make this easy.
Your company provides _______, _______, and _______ value to _______ type of person by doing _______, _______, and _______.
Now, fill in the blanks above with actual information about your company.
When you've got your positioning statement ready to roll, you'll need to run each and every piece of collateral you've got through this lens. Does it line up, or does it stand out like a sore thumb? The best branding firm will tell you that everything has got to align.
In order to do this assessment properly, you've really got to have a visual direction to pair with your positioning statement. This visual direction can come in the form of a mood board, or something of the sort, that allows you to understand how all visual components should align.
Taken together, your attributes, positioning statement, and visual direction will provide you with a firm foundation for moving forward in attempting to influence perception about your organization.
Need the best branding firm to help you hash it all out? We've got you. Give us a holla.
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