Positioning: the sentence a customer can pass on
The test for a positioning statement is not whether you like it. It is whether a satisfied customer can pass it to an acquaintance in one sentence — without opening your website and without faltering.
In short
- A workable sentence names three things: for whom, which outcome, and what makes it different from the obvious alternative.
- The test is repeatability — not agreement inside your own company.
- If a competitor could say the same sentence about themselves, it is not finished.
- The obvious alternative is usually not a provider but "do it ourselves" or "do nothing".
The three parts
1. For whom — specific enough to exclude
Not "companies" but a description that makes clear who is not meant. Leave this part out and you get a sentence that fits everyone and speaks to nobody.
2. Which outcome — from the customer's side
Not what you do but what is different afterwards. "We build websites" describes your activity; "your website loads in under a second and needs no maintenance" describes the outcome.
3. What makes it different — against the real alternative
The part missing most often. And the alternative is usually not a competitor but "we will do it ourselves" or "we will leave it".
Worth knowing
The most common mistake is positioning against the wrong opponent. Setting yourself apart from other providers when the actual alternative is "do it ourselves" answers a question nobody asked.
The check is simple: ask, on your last five lost proposals, what the customer chose instead. If three out of five answer "we kept it in-house for now", that is your opponent. And you argue against that opponent completely differently than against a competitor — through time and downstream cost, not through range of features.
Four rounds to the sentence
Round 1 — rough version
Join the three parts into one sentence without attending to the language. The result is usually too long and too clumsy — that is fine.
Round 2 — competitor test
Could a competitor say the same sentence about themselves? If so: which part would they have to change? That part is your position — it has to become clearer.
Round 3 — repetition test
Say the sentence to someone outside the company and ask them to give it back an hour later. What survives is the core; what gets lost was decoration.
Round 4 — cut it down
To at most 20 words. Everything that did not survive round three comes out. The shortened sentence is rarely prettier and always more usable.
Three phrasings that do not hold
| Pattern | Why it does not hold |
|---|---|
| "We combine X with Y" | describes a method, not an outcome |
| "Your partner for X" | interchangeable; every provider is a partner for their field |
| "We make X easy" | claims a feeling instead of a verifiable outcome |
Round three is the only one that counts and the only one regularly skipped. A sentence you wrote yourself always seems clear when you read it back.
The person asked to give it back an hour later is the most honest test there is. A frequent result: of three parts, one arrives — usually "for whom", rarely "what makes it different". The third part is then not wrong but phrased too weakly, and that is exactly where the work lies.
What a good sentence settles afterwards
A positioning statement is not an ornament for the home page but a decision tool. If it holds, it answers in passing:
- Which enquiries you decline. Everything that does not fit the "for whom".
- Which topics you cover. Everything that pays into the outcome.
- Which features you do not build. Everything that dilutes the distinction.
- How your price is justified. Through the outcome, not through the effort.
Help me sharpen our positioning statement. Be strict; praise nothing. Where we stand: - What we offer: [description] - For whom exactly, as narrowly as possible: [description] - What is different for the customer after our work: [outcome] - What customers chose instead of us, across the last five lost proposals: [list] - Our sentence so far: [sentence] Tasks: 1. From my list, tell me which alternative we are actually up against – a competitor, doing it themselves, or doing nothing. Justify it. 2. Check our current sentence: could a competitor say it about themselves just as well? Name the part they would have to change. 3. Phrase three versions with the three parts: for whom, which outcome, what makes it different from the actual alternative. At most 20 words each. 4. In each version, mark which part would most likely be lost when repeated. 5. Name three kinds of enquiry we would have to decline under the best version. Do not use phrases like "your partner for", "we combine" or "we make X easy".
In closing
A positioning statement is finished when someone outside the company can give it back an hour later and a competitor could not say it about themselves.
Most of the work sits in the third part — the distinction. And it is almost always aimed at "do it ourselves", not at another provider. Confuse the two and you argue convincingly against an opponent who is not even in the running.
Common questions
What belongs in a positioning statement?
Three parts: for whom exactly — specific enough to exclude others; which outcome arises for the customer, not which activity you carry out; and what distinguishes you from the actual alternative. The third part is the one missing most often.
How do you test a positioning statement?
Through repeatability: say the sentence to someone outside the company and ask them an hour later to give it back. What survives is the core. In addition the competitor test — could a competitor say the same sentence about themselves?
Who do you position against?
Against the actual alternative, and in B2B that is usually not another provider but "do it ourselves" or "do nothing". You can check it against your last five lost proposals: what did the customer choose instead?
Which phrasings should you avoid?
"We combine X with Y" describes a method rather than an outcome, "your partner for X" is interchangeable, and "we make X easy" claims a feeling instead of a verifiable outcome. None of the three passes the competitor test.
What do you need positioning for day to day?
As a decision tool. A workable sentence answers in passing which enquiries get declined, which topics get covered, which features do not get built and how the price is justified — several decisions a week that afterwards make themselves.
Marketing that sets itself up
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