Quick, easy and effective marketing advice for small business owners.
1. Luxury Skincare Brand
Brand: Alchemy Botanicals
Target: Women 30–55, affluent, interested in natural ingredients
Category: Premium skincare
Positioning Statement
“For women who prioritize ingredient integrity and results, Alchemy Botanicals is the only skincare line formulated with certified organic botanicals and clinical-grade actives. Unlike mass-market brands that compromise on purity, we deliver efficacy without synthetic fillers.”
Strategy: Heritage + ingredient differentiation + values alignment
Key differentiator: Organic certification + clinical results
2. B2B Software (Project Management)
Brand: Kronos
Target: Engineering teams at mid-size tech companies
Category: Project management software
Positioning Statement
“For engineering teams managing complex, interdependent projects, Kronos is the project management tool built specifically for technical work. Unlike generic tools designed for all industries, Kronos understands dependencies, technical debt, and resource constraints.”
Strategy: Category specification + expertise + use case
Key differentiator: Built for engineers by engineers
3. Direct-to-Consumer Furniture
Brand: Frame
Target: Millennials, first-time homebuyers, budget-conscious
Category: Affordable furniture
Positioning Statement
“For renters and first-time buyers who want quality furniture at fair prices, Frame is the direct-to-consumer brand that cuts out the middleman. We offer contemporary design typically found in premium brands at 40% lower cost by selling directly.”
Strategy: Pricing + distribution + design accessibility
Key differentiator: DTC model = lower prices without quality compromise
4. Specialty Coffee
Brand: Trace Coffee
Target: Consumers interested in coffee origin and sustainability
Category: Specialty coffee
Positioning Statement
“For coffee drinkers who care where their beans come from, Trace is the only brand that provides complete traceability from farm to cup. Every bag includes the farmer’s name, farm location, and impact metrics.”
Strategy: Values + transparency + storytelling
Key differentiator: Full supply chain transparency
5. Health & Wellness Coaching
Brand: Meridian
Target: Professionals 35–50 managing chronic stress
Category: Health coaching
Positioning Statement
“For high-performing professionals with chronic stress, Meridian is the health coaching service that combines evidence-based stress management with personalized accountability. Unlike generic wellness apps, we pair you with a coach who understands executive lifestyle.”
Strategy: Audience specialization + personalization + results-based
Key differentiator: Executive-specific, coach-led, not just an app
What Makes These Strong
Each statement includes:
- Specific target audience — not “everyone.” Don’t EVER try to please everyone. If you do, you’ll please no one.
- Clear category — what it is.
- Specific differentiation — why it’s different.
- Competitive comparison — how it compares to alternatives.
- Defensible claim — not aspirational, but based on actual capability.
What Would Make Them Weak
- “We offer the best quality.” All brands say this.
- Target too broad: “For anyone who wants coffee.” Meaningless.
- Differentiator is a feature, not a benefit: “We have AI.” So does everyone.
- Undefendable claim: “We’re the only sustainable brand.” You’re not.
- Unclear positioning: “Premium yet affordable.” Contradictory.
Brand positioning is the strategic place a brand occupies in the mind of the target audience relative to competing brands. It is the deliberate communication of how a brand is different, what it stands for, and why a customer should choose it.
Positioning is not the same as identity. Identity is what a brand is. Positioning is how the brand is perceived in comparison to other options in the market.
CORE ELEMENTS OF POSITIONING
A positioning statement typically contains:
1. Target audience — the specific customer segment the brand serves
2. Category — what market or industry the brand operates in
3. Differentiation — what makes the brand distinct from competitors
4. Benefit — the primary value or outcome the customer receives
5. Proof point — why the claim is credible or true
If you want some examples in context, check out the post, 5 Positioning Statement Examples
Without clear positioning, a brand competes on price alone. With positioning, it competes on value.
WHY POSITIONING MATTERS
Positioning affects every aspect of brand strategy: pricing, messaging, visual identity, product development, and customer experience. A brand without clear positioning sends mixed signals and fails to create preference in the market.
Customers choose brands based on what they believe those brands stand for. If a brand does not explicitly position itself, customers will fill in the gap with their own assumptions—often incorrect ones.
COMMON POSITIONING APPROACHES
Positioning can be built on multiple foundations:
- Category creation: Own a new market category (not “software,” but “project management software for remote teams”)
- Attribute: Lead on a specific feature or characteristic (durability, luxury, affordability)
- Use case: Focus on a specific situation or problem the brand solves
- Audience: Target a specific demographic or psychographic segment
- Heritage: Build on brand history or legacy
- Values: Lead on beliefs or principles (sustainability, ethics, craftsmanship)
- Emotional: Appeal to how the brand makes people feel
Most strong positioning combines multiple approaches.
POSITIONING VS. MESSAGING
Positioning is internal strategy. It is the lens through which all decisions are made.
Messaging is external communication. It is how the positioning is expressed to the market.
Positioning is permanent. Messaging can evolve.
WHEN POSITIONING FAILS
Weak positioning occurs when:
— The target audience is too broad or undefined
— The differentiation is not defensible or true
— The positioning contradicts the actual brand experience
— The positioning is too similar to competitors
— The messaging does not reflect the positioning
Repositioning (changing a brand’s position in the market) is possible but expensive and time-consuming. It requires consistent communication over years.
POSITIONING AND BRAND IDENTITY
Positioning informs identity design, but they serve different purposes. A brand can have a minimal visual identity and strong positioning, or a distinctive visual identity and weak positioning.
The visual identity (logo, color, typography, imagery) should reflect and reinforce the positioning. If positioning says “luxury” and identity says “budget,” the brand is broken.
EXAMPLES
- A luxury car brand positions on heritage, engineering, and exclusivity.
- A budget airline positions on affordability and reliability.
- A software tool positions on ease of use compared to enterprise alternatives.
- A clothing brand positions on sustainability and ethical manufacturing.
Each position leads to different product decisions, price points, customer service approaches, and visual identities.
POSITIONING RESEARCH
Positioning is typically informed by:
- Customer research and interviews
- Competitive analysis
- Market trends and opportunities
- Brand capabilities and assets
- Stakeholder input and business goals
Positioning should be rooted in fact. A brand cannot successfully position on attributes it does not actually possess.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Brand positioning is the strategic foundation of all brand work.
It is the answer to:
- Who do we serve?
- What do we do?
- How are we different?
- Why should they care?
Without positioning, brand strategy lacks direction. With clear positioning, every subsequent decision—from visual design to customer experience—becomes easier to make and more likely to reinforce a coherent brand in the market.
- Buying habit – Re-buying the same brand.
- Buying motivation – Factors that influence people’s purchasing decisions.
- Corporate image – The way society views a company.
- Market niche – Small but profitable segment of a market in which a company is a specialist, a very specific form of target marketing.
- Market segmentation – Process of defining and dividing a market into different segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics.
- Market share – Percentage of sales of a particular product or service in a market captured by a brand, product, or firm.
- Market size – The number of buyers and sellers in a particular market.
- Marketing strategy – Written plan which includes product development, promotion, distribution, and pricing approach, indicates the marketing goals. Marketing strategy explains how marketing goals will be achieved within a stated period of time.
- Marketing mix – Four basic marketing strategies, known as the four Ps: product, price, place and promotion. * Four more have been added including: People, Process, Physical Evidence.*
- Positioning – To develop a specific image of the brand in the minds of consumers.
- Product catalogue / mix/ portfolio – a company’s products as a group. One of the most used marketing words.
- Product range/line – products of a particular type manufactured and/or sold by a company
- Product life cycle – The complete life of a product, from early planning to production, marketing, use, and disposal and recycling.
- Product positioning – consumer perception of a product as compared to it’s competition.
- Product placement/Plug – a form of advertisement, when a company pays for a product to be seen in films and TV programs.
- Price boom – prices are rising quickly
- Price cut – a reduction in price
- Price hike – an increase in price
- Price war – companies cut prices in response to each other
- Price leader – a company whose price and price changes are followed by the rest of the industry
- Distribution channel – a way of selling a company’s product either directly or via distributors.
- Channel decisions –Channel strategy, Gravity & Gravity, Push and Pull strategy, Cost
- E-commerce – buying and selling of products or services online.
- Public relations – a promotion intended to create merit for a person or institution
- Personal selling – face-to-face communication between the seller and buyer
- Promotion – activities, materials, and techniques used to supplement or coordinate advertising. Sales promotion includes coupons, sales, discounts, premiums, sweepstakes and contests.
- Brand Book/Guidelines: This document outlines your brand’s visual identity, tone of voice, and messaging guidelines. It ensures consistency in your marketing materials.
- Marketing Collateral: This includes brochures, flyers, and other promotional materials that showcase your services and expertise.
- Proposals and Contracts: These documents formalize your agreements with clients, outlining the scope of work, deliverables, and payment terms.
- Case Studies: These documents showcase your successful projects and demonstrate your capabilities to potential clients.
- Presentations: You might need to design visually appealing presentations for pitching your services, reporting on campaign results, or providing client updates.
- Reports and Analytics: These documents provide insights into campaign performance, helping you and your clients assess results and make data-driven decisions.
- Invoices and Estimates: These documents are essential for billing and financial management.
- Social Media Graphics: Eye-catching graphics for your social media channels can help you build brand awareness and engage your audience.
- Email Templates: Professionally designed email templates for newsletters, promotions, and client communications can enhance your brand image.
When you get money for referring someone to another company and they buy something.
“Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.”
A question I’ve gotten a couple times in the past is whether or not my clients should combine their businesses on their website. It just happened in fact.
To make it simple I’ve put some examples below. The Examples with an X should use two separate websites, and the examples with YES, can combine the businesses in their marketing/brand.
Examples:
x Barbecue and home design
x Jewelery and Chinese Food Recipes
x Furniture and Dental Tips Blog
x Fashion and Real Estate
yes – Makeup and hair
yes – Event and catering (food)
yes – Blog/author/speaker/influencer/public figure
yes – eCommerce store that is relevant to your service (Merch)
yes – blog that is relevant to your service
Copy and paste the following into a word document and answer as quickly as you can. The point is to brainstorm.
Demographics:
- Gender:
- Age:
- Location:
- Income:
- Business or Occupation If any:
- Rent or Own:
- Suburban, Rural, or Urban:
Psychographics
- Hobbies & interests
- What is their preferred social media platform?
- Where do they get their info from? What websites or publications do they read?
- How informed are they about your type of product/service?
- Do they currently use a competitor product or service? What do they already know about your industry?
- Are they technically savvy?
- How would you describe their personality?
- What do they like?
- What do they dislike?
- Are they type A or B?
- How do they prefer to communicate?
Buying Behavior:
- How do they usually buy?
- When do they buy?
- Where do they do their research?
- How do they make a decision on which one to buy? What is their role in the purchase decision?
- What influences their decision?
- What is the situation that triggers them to make the purchase?
- What would happen if they didn’t buy?
- What roadblocks might be preventing them from buying?
Do you know how well your online marketing is performing? Today you’ll learn about your marketing and how google analytics can help you make sure that your marketing is effective.
By following the instructions in this post, you’ll:
- Get your marketing on the right track
- Have a better understanding of the results of your efforts
- Know what to fix for the future, and
- Save yourself endless hours of wasted time on marketing that doesn’t perform.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Start Tracking your Marketing
- Get a google account
- Go to analytics.google.com
- Set up a new property
- Grab your analytics code
- Enter your analytics code into your website or header
Step 2: Analyze your marketing analytics
Consider the pain points as they associate with their place in the funnel. I think the best way to explain this is through an example and a diagram
Example:
A client came to me and said “Breezie, no one is buying my eCourse, and I don’t know why”
Luckily she had already implemented Google analytics and had multiple running ads AS WELL AS data for over a year. So we really had a perfect scenario for this tutorial.
The first thing I could tell right away was that the readability of the sales page was not right. It was unorganized and formatted almost not at all.
The analytics were very interesting, however. There was one page that did really well so we focused on that page. As I suspected, there were hundreds of views to the page but no one was signing up for the eCourse.
we went back to the website and from the top of the page down we worked on readability and organization.
They wrote back to me some months later. They’d followed my instructions perfectly and started selling seats in their course—finally.
It was my first time ever doing a professional website conversion rate audit/strategy. I really enjoyed it.
In content marketing, your editorial calendar, or content calendar, maps out your content marketing ahead of time so that it’s ready to post, thought out, and organized.
This is important because for example bloggers have to have blogs prepared and events prepared ahead of time for holidays and events. Same with retail companies.
You will need:
- A google account
- Google for biz is a good idea, it’ll combine your storage plus free office software online AND a custom email (yourname@yourwebsite.com)
- Basic Knowledge of Google Sheets
Instructions:
- Create a spreadsheet in google sheets
- Set up your official Content Marketing Document and call it “Editorial Calendar”
- In the first sheet, call it ‘details’. This will be where your login information is stored as well as your keyword/hashtag/tag sets and any other information. This is also handy for when you get big and famous and hire assistants. They’ll have a much easier time working for you if your stuff is organized ahead of time.
- On sheet two, you’ll title it ‘content’ and start organizing your content details
- In the left column you’ll have your ideas list
- Include columns for the outlet, links to the description, hashtags, and everything else that will need to be included in your posts. This can get really busy, so take advantage of the additional sheets in your document.
Tips:
- Familiarize yourself with sheets if you don’t already know. Also, there are plenty of templates for what you need.
- Start with the bare minimum, and let your spreadsheet evolve naturally. Systems HAVE to happen organically in order to be effective. You’ll be switching columns around and color-coding things in no time!
Did I miss something? Like what you read?
I want to hear from you!
Leave a comment below, and subscribe for more tips!