The seventh eBook in the Foundations category. It walks positioning as a small business job, not a brand-agency exercise - a single sentence that tells the right customer who you're for, what you do better and why they should choose you over the alternatives.
Members ebook·5 chapters· 15 minute read
Chapter 2
The Positioning Statement
The three-clause formula that turns the chosen customer and the differentiator into a single usable sentence.
The positioning statement is short, opinionated and structured. Three clauses, in order: who you're for, what makes you different, what alternative you're better than. Said in a single breath, it does more work for a small business than any other sentence the owner will write all year.
The formula isn't the only way to write a positioning statement, but it's the one that fails least often. The structure forces the three pieces into the open and makes weak positioning visible immediately. If a clause is fuzzy, you can see it. If two clauses contradict each other, you can see that too.
This chapter walks the formula clause by clause and gives you worked examples to draft against.
The full chapter has the three-clause formula, the prompts for each clause, and worked sentences for our six example businesses with the rewrites that made them sharper.
The formula
The positioning statement
For [customer] who [situation],
we're the [category] that [difference],
unlike [alternative].
Walking each clause
Clause one - the customer and situation
Names the customer from the profile sheet and the moment they're in. Not just "landlords" - "landlords with five to twenty properties locally who are tired of weekend emergency calls". The situation matters because it tells the customer you understand the trigger that brought them to you.
Clause two - the category and difference
Names what kind of business you are and the one specific thing that makes you different. Not just "the maintenance contract that's better" - "the maintenance contract that prevents the call rather than answering it". The difference has to be something a customer can picture and a competitor can't easily copy in their next homepage update.
Clause three - the alternative
Names the most likely thing the customer is doing instead. Often it's not your direct competitor - it's the status quo. Pay-as-you-go call-outs. Doing nothing. Hiring an in-house version. Naming the alternative makes the choice concrete and shows you've thought about the customer's actual options.
Six worked sentences
Plumber: For landlords with five to twenty local properties tired of weekend emergencies, we're the maintenance contract that prevents the call rather than answers it, unlike pay-as-you-go call-out work.
Therapist: For working professionals whose stress is starting to affect work, we're the practice that fits around your diary and gives you tools you can use this week, unlike open-ended weekly therapy.
Homeware shop: For people who want their living room to feel calmer, we're the local shop that pairs furniture with the lighting and textiles that finish the room, unlike single-category furniture chains.
Copywriter: For B2B software companies whose homepage isn't converting, we're the copywriter who rewrites the page in a week with conversion data afterwards, unlike agencies booked three months out.
Trades firm: For homeowners planning a kitchen extension, we're the builder who gives you a fixed price and a fortnightly written update, unlike the day-rate builder who quotes by phone and goes quiet.
Coach: For first-time managers feeling out of their depth, we're the coach who runs a 12-week programme with weekly homework, unlike open-ended monthly check-ins.
Common drafting mistakes
Watch for these in the first draft
Clause one too broad ("small businesses")
Clause two too vague ("better service")
Clause three missing or naming a vague "others"
All three clauses fitting a competitor unchanged
The sentence sounding like a brochure rather than a person speaking
If your first draft has any of these, that's normal. The third or fourth draft usually clears them. Read each one out loud - the ear catches what the eye misses.
What to do this week
Draft your positioning statement against the formula. Throw away the first two drafts on principle. Read the third one out loud. Pin it next to the strategy template.
The recurring principle this chapter sits on is make the offer clear. The sentence is the offer compressed. The next chapter, Differentiation Without Gimmicks, deepens the second clause.
The rest of this chapter walks through the practical steps, the templates and the checklists you need to put it into action. It includes worked examples, copy frameworks and the small decisions that make the difference between a plan that sits in a drive and one that gets used.
Inside you'll find a step-by-step playbook, a downloadable template, a checklist you can run this week and a short list of common mistakes to avoid before you start.
The full action plan, broken into weekly steps.
Ready-to-use scripts, templates and checklists.
Worked examples for different sized businesses.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
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