Positioning statement
For whom, what you are, and the one reason to choose you, in a sentence tested against real customer language.
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Know exactly who you are for and why they should choose you
Design and marketing without a strategy produce pretty things that do not convert. Positioning answers the questions first: who the customer is, what they are choosing between, and the one reason you win. Everything else, from the logo to the ad copy, gets easier.
WorkshopResearchPositioning statementAudience profilesBrand platform
Workshop outputs
- Positioning statement you can say in one breath
- Three audience profiles with real buying triggers
- Competitor map showing the gap you own
- Three to five differentiators backed by proof
- Brand values that guide hiring and service
- Tagline and elevator pitch options
- A one-page brand platform for your team
Half-dayworkshop with your team
Interviewswith your best customers
2 pagesthe whole brand platform, written to be used
Flatproject price, agreed up front
The short version01
Most small businesses describe what they do. The ones that grow describe who they are for.
Ask ten plumbers, lawyers or boutiques what makes them different and nine say quality, service and experience. Customers cannot choose on that, so they choose on price. Positioning is the work of finding the difference that is true, that customers care about, and that competitors cannot easily claim, and then committing to it in every piece of marketing.
Our process combines a half-day workshop with your team, interviews with a handful of your best customers, and a review of your competitors’ messaging. The output is a brand platform: a positioning statement, audience profiles, differentiators with proof points, values and a tone of voice. It fits on a page and it drives every design and marketing decision afterwards.
Because aStash also builds the website, runs the SEO and designs the content, the strategy does not sit in a drawer. It becomes headlines, page structure, ad angles and social themes within weeks.
How we work
A workshop, customer interviews and a competitor review
Positioning is not invented in a meeting room. It is found by asking the customers who already chose you why they did, and by reading what your competitors say so you can say something they cannot. We do both before the workshop, so the half-day with your team starts from evidence.
The workshop narrows the field: who the ideal customer is, what they are choosing between, what they are afraid of, and the one promise you can prove. Then we test the candidate positions against real objections and pick the one that survives.
01Customer interviewsa handful of your best customers, asked why they chose you
02Competitor auditthe claims your market already makes, so yours can differ
03Half-day workshopyour team, our facilitator, one position at the end
0clear reason to choose you, written down and provable
Deliverables
What the brand platform contains
Every item is written in plain language so sales, service and marketing people can use it, not just designers.
Audience profiles
Three profiles of the customers you most want, with their situation, the trigger that starts the search, their objections and the proof that convinces them.
Competitor map
A simple map of how competitors position themselves, where they cluster and the open space you can claim credibly.
Differentiators and proof
Three to five claims you can make that competitors cannot, each paired with evidence: numbers, guarantees, credentials, process.
Values and tone of voice
The principles behind how you serve customers and the way you talk, with examples of what to say and what not to say.
Tagline and pitch options
Several tagline directions and a 30-second elevator pitch, ready for the website, the van and the next networking event.
Before and After
What positioning changes in your marketing
The same business, before and after it decides what it stands for.
Without positioning
With a brand platform
Homepage headline
“Quality service you can trust”
A specific promise to a specific customer
Ad copy
Lists services and a phone number
Leads with the differentiator and proof
Pricing conversations
Compete on price
Compete on the thing only you offer
Design decisions
Taste and trends
Judged against who the brand is for
New hires
Learn the vibe by osmosis
Read the values and tone on one page
Reviews and referrals
Generic praise
Customers repeat your positioning back to you
Selected work
Projects like yours, done for real clients.
Web Design · UX · MembershipInscape Deals ↗A membership platform designed from homepage to dashboard
Web Design · WordPress · BrandingBig Guys Agency ↗An agency homepage in black and gold
Branding · Packaging · IllustrationSeren CBD ↗A calm, premium brand for a crowded CBD market
Web Design · Branding · EcommercePearland Neighborhood Center ↗A non-profit site with donations, sponsorships, tickets and volunteering built in
Why aStash
Strategy from the team that will build everything on it
The position is set by the same people who then write the site, design the identity and run the marketing.
2017family-owned since
0five-star reviews
Flatproject pricing for strategy work
NOCOTop 30 Under 30 honoree
2017the year we started doing this for Colorado businesses
What you get
A brand platform your website, ads and sales calls run on
The output is a brand platform: a positioning statement, audience profiles, a value proposition, proof points and a message hierarchy. Short enough to fit on two pages, specific enough to settle arguments about the homepage headline.
Because aStash builds the website, runs the SEO and designs the content, the platform becomes headlines, page structure, ad angles and social themes within weeks, not a document waiting for an agency to interpret it.
- Positioning statementwho it is for, what it is, why it is the better choice
- Audience profilesthe customers worth winning and the questions they ask
- Message hierarchywhat to say first, second and third on every page
Questions We Answer
Ten questions the workshop settles
If your team would give different answers to these, positioning work will pay for itself.
- Who is the customer we most want, and who are we happy to turn away?
- What are they really choosing between when they consider us?
- What do our best customers say we do differently, in their words?
- Which of our claims can we prove, and with what?
- Where do our competitors all sound the same?
- What would we never do, even for revenue?
- What does the customer feel at the end of working with us?
- What is the one sentence a happy customer would use to refer us?
- Which services lead, and which support?
- How should we sound: on the phone, on the website, in a review reply?
Process
Three steps to a brand platform
Three to four weeks from kick-off to a document your whole team can use.
Research
Interviews with five to eight customers and your front-line staff, a review of reviews and sales conversations, and a competitor messaging audit.
Workshop
A facilitated half-day session with your leadership team to test positioning options against the research and choose the one you can own.
Platform and rollout plan
The brand platform written and designed, with a prioritized plan for applying it to the website, Google Business Profile, ads, social and sales materials.
Client reviews
Rated five stars by the businesses we work with.
5.0★★★★★Google Business Profile5.0★★★★★Clutch · 15 verified reviews4×UpCity Excellence Award
★★★★★Verified on Clutch
“The game changer for us was how much they care about you and your brand. We are happily receiving positive feedback on our brand and products and were able to easily get in to retail stores.”
SerenCo-Founder
★★★★★Verified on Clutch
“Bringing their team's creativity and attention to detail into every challenge, they definitely heard my ideas. The team was very professional and saw eye to eye with our founders.”
Stag Building SolutionsManaging Partner
★★★★★Verified on Clutch
“They brought wonderful designs to the table and were quick to add in or change anything I wanted. I've noticed my online store is getting more orders since the new site was live.”
Burlap & Lace Soap CompanyOwner
Related services
Pairs well with
FAQ
Straight answers before you call.
Anything else? (970) 399-9004 reaches a person in Fort Collins, not a call center.
What is brand positioning?
It is the decision about who your business is for, what you are compared to, and the single most compelling reason to choose you. Everything in branding and marketing either supports that decision or dilutes it.
Is this only for large companies?
No. Small businesses benefit most because they cannot outspend competitors, so they have to out-position them. The process is scaled to a half-day workshop and a handful of customer interviews.
What do I need to prepare?
A list of five to eight customers we can talk to, access to your reviews and any sales materials, and a half day for your leadership team. We handle the rest.
How long does it take?
Three to four weeks: research, workshop, then writing and designing the brand platform with a rollout plan.
What happens after the workshop?
You receive the brand platform and a prioritized plan. If you want, the same aStash team applies it to your website, Google Business Profile, ads and social content, so the strategy becomes visible within weeks.
How is it priced?
A flat project price agreed up front for the research, workshop and platform. Rollout work is quoted separately or folded into a monthly marketing plan.