4 Positioning strategies to grow and market your brand

Many brands are struggling with some pretty existential questions. “Are we truly meeting our customers’ needs?” or “How can we communicate our unique value more effectively?” These pain points often stem from a murky positioning strategy or an unclear value proposition.

Having a clear, well-defined positioning strategy addresses these challenges head-on. But when we talk about positioning, it’s not just where you stand in a lineup of competitors. It’s about carving a unique space in the minds of your target audience, about how they see you fitting into their lives.

This distinction is crucial because while it’s tempting to aim for “the best in the market”, that’s simply not a market position. True strategic positioning can’t be done on a simple Price-Quality graph.

An effective market positioning strategy is about embodying a value proposition that resonates through every facet of your company, from your mission to your core values.

However, crafting a positioning strategy that is both authentic to your brand and practically actionable is easier said than done. You want to be looking for that sweet spot where your brand’s true essence meets your customers’ needs and desires. Because a positioning strategy isn’t a fictional goal: it’s a blueprint of how your brand works.

The real challenge? Developing a positioning strategy that’s both authentic and practical. We’ll walk you through everything that comes with formulating a successful positioning strategy and why it’s crucial for your brand’s success.

What is a positioning strategy?

A positioning strategy defines how a brand distinguishes itself in the market and in consumers’ minds, focusing on unique value, competitive differentiation, and customer engagement. It aims to clearly establish a brand’s identity and value proposition, ensuring it resonates with and meets the needs of your target audience.

Formulating a positioning strategy is done by focusing on three key pillars:

1. Meeting your customers’ needs in ways that resonate deeply with them;
2. Standing apart from competitors through clear differentiation;
3. Understanding how consumers interact with your brand to foster a connection that feels both genuine and rewarding.

The benefits of strategic positioning for your brand

Dive into the benefits of strategic positioning and see how it can transform your brand from the inside out, making every decision clearer and every message hit the mark.

A solid brand positioning strategy helps your brand grow in the right direction

When you hone in on a precise positioning strategy, your brand’s growth becomes intentional. This focused approach to growth allows you to concentrate your resources and efforts on what truly matters.

Instead of spreading thin over various markets or messages, you invest in areas with the highest potential for impact.

A well-defined positioning strategy sharpens your messaging

It’s about finding your crowd and speaking directly to them—not trying to win over everyone and ending up with no one. It sets up the boundaries within which your brand operates.

This clarity isn’t just for show; it significantly streamlines how you talk to your customers, making every marketing decision, from campaigns to content, simpler and more impactful.

A strong brand positioning can improve your product-market fit

There’s something incredibly frustrating about finding out that the new product of your favorite brand completely misses the mark. With a clear product positioning, you avoid giving your fans any cause for resentment or disappointment.

When you know your market position and how your products serve your target audience, your marketing messages become sharper, and more likely to convert. It allows you to go beyond broadcasting features; you can communicate value that fits perfectly into your customers’ world, making your product an obvious choice for them.

A strong positioning strategy helps with hiring the right people

When it comes to expanding your team, a clear positioning strategy acts like a magnet for the right talent. You’re not just looking for skilled individuals; you’re looking for people who get what your brand stands for and are eager to push in the same direction.

This alignment is crucial not just for their performance but for fostering a team that’s in it for the long haul

Sticking to your positioning strategy boosts customer trust and loyalty

A distinct, well-articulated positioning strategy that you consistently deliver on directly contributes to building customer trust and loyalty.

When your brand constantly communicates its unique stance and positioning statement and follows through on its promises, customers develop a deeper level of trust in your products and services

Types of positioning strategies to grow your business

If your brand’s been blending into the background, it’s time for a change. Exploring different positioning strategies to find your very own positioning statement can be the game-changer you need to start doing business with purpose and intent.

Let’s uncover the types of positioning strategies that’ll elevate your brand from just another option to the go-to choice for your target market.

Product pricing strategy

An effective positioning strategy always involves price (but not only that). Find a balance that’s going to work not just today, but down the line as well.

Sure, you need to stay flexible—markets change, after all—but hopping from one pricing tag to another can leave your customers scratching their heads and make them wonder about what this says about the product quality.

It’s better to choose a price point that reflects your brand’s value and stick with it, adjusting only when it really makes sense for your business and your customers.

Your pricing strategy should align with the overall experience you’re offering, from the quality of your product to the level of service customers can expect.

Product positioning strategy

Deciding on the quality level of your product means making a long-term commitment. Having a strong product positioning doesn’t mean you can’t improve or change along the way, but it does mean choosing a focus for your quality efforts.

The service surrounding your product—everything from customer support to user experience—plays a big role in how people perceive its quality. So, while you plan for product enhancements, ensure they align with the quality promise you’ve made to your customers.

Unique value proposition

Before you start looking at difficult sentences or long words, hold your horses. The UVP of your positioning strategy is not about who can formulate the most unique one, with the most impressive wording.

This isn’t a contest for who can come up with the most unique, flashy and creative slogan. Your value proposition should be something you can truly stand behind, that everyone understands, and that clearly communicates genuine value to your customers. But above anything else, it should be something that informs your brand’s action.

Competitive positioning 

Positioning your brand in relation to others helps you stay focused on the areas where you should concentrate more or less. Knowing your market positioning through thorough market analysis also helps you get to know your audience better, by getting to know their audience, and seeing the differences and overlap.

Competitive positioning doesn’t mean looking at what other brands are doing and finding ways to do that better — it’s about finding what fits best to your brand and audience.

How to create a powerful brand positioning strategy

Whether you choose to work with an agency or externals to formulate your brand positioning strategy, it’s key that you know what it all entails—because it will mean so much for your business.

We’ll walk you through some of the steps and elements that help you grow a positioning statement on paper, to a powerful brand positioning strategy that you can actually execute.

1. Always start with insights from your target customers

Understanding your market, customers, and competitors is foundational. Use tools like Attest to gather this crucial data.

By analyzing your target market and understanding what drives customer decisions, you can carve out a unique space for your brand.

2. Pinpoint your positioning

What makes your brand unique? Identify your UVP that clearly articulates why customers should choose you — not just over competitors, but because of what you add to their lives.

What do you stand for? How do you want your brand to be perceived? This involves aligning your product’s features, benefits, and the emotional connection you aim to create with your audience. Reflect these in a positioning statement that acts as your north star.

Here’s an example of how psLondon tapped into Gen Z’s values to create distinct positioning strategies for each institution, to differentiate from all other UK universities. By aligning university brands with specific terminal values, they crafted unique value propositions that resonated with prospective students.

This values-based marketing model not only set each university apart but also connected more authentically with their target demographic, proving the power of positioning strategies rooted in deep consumer understanding.

3. Bring your positioning to life

Translate your positioning into tangible examples that reflect across all business activities. From the way you answer customer queries to the stories you tell on social media, each action should embody your positioning.

Create scenarios and examples that help your team understand how to live out this strategy in their daily tasks.

4. Educate and empower your team

No pressure, but the success of an effective brand positioning strategy depends heavily on the team that should be communicating and integrating it. First and forement, they should understand it, and believe in it.

Conduct workshops to immerse them in your brand positioning, helping them understand their role in bringing it to life. This shared understanding ensures everyone, from product development to sales, contributes to a cohesive brand experience.

5. Establish guardrails

To maintain the integrity of your positioning, set clear guidelines and guardrails. These are non-negotiable principles that keep your branding, marketing, and product development aligned with your core positioning.

Regularly review these guardrails with your team to ensure every project or campaign fits within these bounds.

6. Validate your positioning

Constantly validate your positioning strategy with your target audience. Use market research, like surveys and focus groups, to test whether your brand’s message and actions resonate as intended. Tools like Attest can facilitate this by letting you gather and analyze consumer feedback effectively.

One brand that this right is Manscaped, who checked in with their audience to make sure their prices reflect the quality and reputation they were aiming for. When they expanded into new categories, they were keen on hitting the right pricing that matched how people saw their brand.

They used Attest to ask their audience about brand perceptions, especially around quality. The feedback they got backed up their pricing choices, making sure they stayed on target with how consumers view them.

7. Embed your positioning across the business

Finally, make sure your market positioning and value proposition are not just a marketing message but a comprehensive approach that permeates every aspect of your business.

From the product features you prioritize to the partnerships you choose, every decision should reflect and reinforce your brand positioning.

How to write a data-based value proposition

Creating effective positioning strategies that are not just compelling but also deeply rooted in data ensures they resonate with your audience and set you apart from the competition. Here’s how to craft a data-driven value proposition that amplifies your brand positioning:

• Start your positioning strategy project with thorough market research to understand your customers deeply and the market positioning of other brands. Use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather insights about their needs, preferences, and pain points. Tools like Attest can streamline this process, offering rich data to inform your strategy.
• Examine how your competitors position themselves in the market. Identify gaps in their strategies and areas where you can uniquely position your brand. This competitive analysis helps pinpoint a value proposition, the correct pricing strategy for your market and the elements that can that differentiate your brand effectively (p.s. this is also something you can do with a consumer insights platform like Attest 🤫).
• Based on the data collected, list down the unique benefits your product or service offers that meet customer needs and surpass competitors. Focus on benefits that are tangible and meaningful to your target audience.
• Combine your unique benefits into a clear, compelling positioning statement that communicates the value your brand delivers. Make sure that it speaks directly to your target audience’s desires and stands out against competitors. It should be understandable, and practical.
• Use qualitative and quantitative research to test and refine how your target audience responds to your proposed value proposition. Adjust based on feedback to ensure it resonates well and accurately reflects the value your brand provides.
• Ensure your value proposition is consistently communicated across all brand touchpoints. From your website to social media, every interaction should reinforce the unique value your brand offers.
• Don’t just gather data; really listen to it. What are people saying in reviews, on social media, or in response to your surveys? Customer sentiment is more than feedback; it’s the raw material for your value proposition. Look for emotional triggers, the problems they turn to you to solve, and how they describe those transformations. Tools like Attest are brilliant for uncovering these gems.
• Craft stories, not statements. A powerful value proposition often feels more like a story than a slogan. Use the rich qualitative data you’ve gathered to tell a narrative that connects on an emotional level. This could be about the journey from problem to solution, highlighting the real-world impact of your product or service.
• Tailor your value proposition to fit different contexts or customer segments. The core message might remain the same, but how you express it should vary depending on who you’re talking to and where they’re encountering your brand. Use segmentation research to understand these nuances and adjust your messaging accordingly.
• Your value proposition isn’t set in stone. As your business grows and market dynamics shift, revisit and revise it. Conduct ongoing consumer research to stay aligned with your audience’s evolving needs and expectations. This approach keeps your brand relevant and your value proposition sharp.

Replace guesswork with reliable market data

Ditch the guesswork and base your brand strategy on what actually resonates with your audience. Attest gives you direct access to market data and consumer insights that can help you nail your positioning and truly stand out. Make choices that are not just safe, but smart and backed by data—whether that’s deciding on your pricing, understanding your competitive edge, or refining your value proposition.

For brand managers aiming to build something solid and steer clear of mediocrity, it’s crucial to have the right information at your fingertips. Check out how Attest can help with your Market Analysis and learn about ensuring data quality at Data Quality. Take the step from managing to truly leading your brand forward with confidence.