Positioning statement

30-3-30. Starting with a strong positioning statement, a brand can be presented in 30 seconds, 3 minutes, or a 30-minute presentation. The more consistent the statements are from all employees across all hierarchical levels and locations, the better the position is strengthened from within the B2B company.

POSITIONING STATEMENT.
Claim, benefit, and proof in a few sentences.

What is a positioning statement?

In B2B markets, the positioning statement expresses the way in which an industrial product, a technological service, a B2B brand, or the company satisfies certain expectations and needs of decision-makers and users differently from how the competition does. For us in brand consulting, central moments of the brand personality and values also belong to the market position and the value proposition. With increasingly comparable products, machines and solutions, these aspects play a role in increasingly differentiated international technology markets.

Structure of the positioning statement

In essence, the positioning statement describes the performance characteristics of one’s own offer very clearly, briefly, and pointedly for a specific target group. In brand consulting, we bring together four sub-aspects. Brand communication for B2B, industrial, and technology companies is not always about saying everything in one sentence. It is better to steer in a particular direction and build on that.

Offer claim

The offer claim states what the company or B2B brand does for which target group. It is also about the company’s own aspirations and what drives the company or B2B brand. Corporate goals and corporate strategies are only one part of this. The tangible and comprehensible offer for the market develops from the claim, which is defined by brand identity and brand personality.

Offer justification

The reason for the offer explains why the company or the B2B brand is tackling the challenge. It justifies why the products and solutions are the way they are. And it is communicated which expectations can be fulfilled in the market.

Value proposition

The value proposition answers what the products and services of the B2B brand will do better for the decision-maker, the user, and the customer of the customer. Vision and mission, brand values, and brand benefits flow into the factual description. They decisively shape the benefits that can be experienced.

Proof of benefit

The proof of benefit provides security. It is derived from history, experience, the number of projects implemented, and other tangible or experiential aspects. It is about how the performance of the B2B brand works and what the target group can rely on.

The positioning statement has an equally strong external and internal impact in B2B companies. It should be part of every marketing plan and should continually engage the marketing team to understand the characteristics and expectations of the target customers in terms of product and performance. The messages in the positioning statement are the foundation for the diverse instances of brand and marketing communication. They create the frame of reference to the statements that are repeated in different ways — whether in face-to-face communication, classic communication, web and social media, education and training, or even in communication with employees.