Positioning statement examples and a fill-in template

A positioning statement is one internal sentence that says who you are for, what you are, and why that buyer should pick you over the thing they would otherwise choose. Below are twelve positioning statement examples across different kinds of business, the template they all follow, and a test for whether yours separates you from competitors at all.

It is not a tagline, and customers rarely read it. It is the brief your homepage, ads, sales script and pricing page are written from. When two people on your team describe the business differently, this is the sentence that settles it.

The positioning statement template

The format most teams use comes from Geoffrey Moore's book Crossing the Chasm (1991):

For [target customer]
who [need, or frustration with
     what they use now],
[product] is a [category]
that [key benefit].
Unlike [the main alternative],
we [the difference that matters].

Each line does one job.

• For and who narrow the buyer. "Small businesses" is not a buyer. "Owners of one to three site dental practices who run their own marketing" is.
• Is a [category] tells the reader which shelf to put you on. Use the category the buyer already searches for, not one you invented.
• That is the outcome, not the feature.
• Unlike names what they would choose if you did not exist. Often a named rival. Just as often a spreadsheet, an agency, or doing nothing.
• We is the difference, and it has to be something the "unlike" cannot say.

Moore's original wording frames the "who" line as people dissatisfied with the current market alternative. That is the useful nudge: a good "who" line describes a frustration, not a demographic.

12 positioning statement examples

All twelve are hypothetical businesses, written to show the standard. None is quoted from a real company.

Local services

1. Plumber. For homeowners in Leeds who need a repair done this week, Brightside is a plumbing firm that agrees a fixed price before it arrives. Unlike the national call-out chains, we never charge by the hour, so the bill always matches the quote.

2. Dental practice. For working adults who keep putting off check-ups, Canal Street Dental is a family practice open until 8pm on weekdays and all day Saturday. Unlike the other practices in town, which close at 5pm, we can see you without taking time off.

3. Gym. For people who quit gyms because they felt lost in them, Forge is a small-group strength gym where every session has a coach. Unlike the 24 hour budget gyms, we never leave you alone with the machines.

B2B software

4. Invoicing app. For freelance designers who chase late payments themselves, Tally is an invoicing app that sends polite reminders and adds late fees automatically. Unlike full accounting suites, it does one job and takes ten minutes to set up.

5. HR platform. For UK companies of 20 to 150 staff with no full-time HR person, Holdfast is an HR platform that handles contracts, leave and right-to-work checks. Unlike enterprise HR suites, it is priced per company, not per seat.

6. Developer tool. For engineering teams that lose hours to flaky tests, Retest is a CI add-on that reruns and quarantines unstable tests automatically. Unlike building the same thing in-house, it works on day one and nobody has to maintain it.

Ecommerce and consumer

7. Coffee subscription. For home espresso drinkers bored of supermarket beans, Daybreak is a coffee subscription that roasts to order and ships within 48 hours. Unlike supermarket coffee, every bag is printed with its roast date.

8. Skincare. For people with sensitive skin who react to most products, Plain is a skincare range with five ingredients or fewer per product. Unlike the "sensitive" lines from big brands, we publish the full formula, not only the hero ingredient.

9. Pet food. For dog owners whose vet has said the dog needs to lose weight, Portion is a fresh food delivery that pre-weighs every meal to the dog's target. Unlike kibble, there is no guessing with the scoop.

Professional services

10. Accountancy. For limited company contractors who want to stop thinking about tax, Ledgerline is an online accountancy with a named accountant and a fixed monthly fee. Unlike high street firms, we answer every question in writing within one working day.

11. Marketing agency. For dental and medical clinics that have been burned by agencies before, Mortar is a paid search agency on one-month rolling contracts. Unlike agencies that lock you in for a year, we have to earn every month.

12. Wedding photographer. For couples who dread posed photos, Ana Reyes is a documentary wedding photographer who never directs a shot. Unlike traditional photographers, she spends ten minutes on group photos and the rest of the day unnoticed.

What the good ones share

Every "we" line above is a structural choice, not an adjective. Fixed price instead of hourly. Per company instead of per seat. Rolling contract instead of annual. A rival can copy an adjective in an afternoon. Copying a structural choice means changing how their business makes money, which is why it holds.

Brand positioning statement examples

A brand positioning statement covers the whole company rather than one product, and consumer brand teams often use a slightly different shape:

To [target],
[brand] is the [frame of reference]
that [point of difference]
because [reason to believe].

Two hypothetical brand positioning statement examples:

Cookware. To home cooks who want restaurant results on a weeknight, Cast is the cookware brand that makes professional pans for small kitchens, because every piece is tested in a working restaurant kitchen before it goes on sale.

Children's clothing. To parents who are tired of clothes that last one child, Little Loop is the clothing brand built to be handed down, because every seam is double-stitched and we repair anything for free.

The "because" line carries the weight. Without a reason to believe, the point of difference is a claim, and buyers discount claims.

How to test a positioning statement against competitors

Writing the sentence takes an hour. Testing it is where it gets useful. Run these five checks in order.

1. The swap test. Replace your name with each competitor's. If the sentence is still true for any of them, it is not positioning. "For small businesses who want great service" survives every swap, which is why it is worthless.

2. Read their front doors. Collect each rival's homepage headline, the first line of their live ads from the Google Ads Transparency Center and the Meta Ad Library, and their Google Business Profile description. Put them in a column next to your "we" line.

Here is what that looks like for the plumber in example 1:

Rival B already claims fixed prices, so Brightside's line fails the swap test against them. The fix is a sharper difference: "if a job runs over, we absorb the cost", which Rival B does not offer.

3. Check the "unlike" is the real alternative. Ask your last ten customers what they would have done without you. If most say "kept doing it ourselves", your unlike line is the do-it-yourself option, not the rival you worry about.

4. Find the proof. Every "we" line needs a fact behind it: a price, a policy, a guarantee, a number. "We reply within one working day" can be checked. "Great support" cannot.

5. Check it against their reviews. If your difference answers a complaint that keeps appearing in competitors' three star reviews, buyers already care about it. The method is in finding your positioning in competitor reviews.

To see the result visually, plot your rivals on a positioning map using the two things your "that" and "we" lines claim.

Positioning statement vs value proposition vs USP

Three related terms, three different jobs.

• A positioning statement is internal and strategic. It names the buyer and the alternative.
• A value proposition is the customer-facing promise, usually the first screen of your homepage. It is written from the positioning statement.
• A unique selling proposition is the single claim only you make, usually the line that carries your advertising.

Write the positioning statement first. The other two get easier once it exists. For the strategy behind all three, see competitive positioning.

Keeping it true

Positioning decays when competitors move. A rival who starts quoting fixed prices has just taken your "we" line, and nobody announces it. Rerun the swap test every quarter, and whenever a competitor relaunches its homepage or starts a new batch of ads.

Our own Figo reports changed competitor pages, pricing and new ads in a Monday briefing, which is usually how teams find out a rival has borrowed their line. Ours, so judge accordingly. With three or four rivals and a quarterly habit, checking their homepages and ad libraries by hand does the same job for free.