Over the years, many industries have become increasingly concentrated — resulting in greater competition for and a real need for differentiation. In fact, research like Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey found that this reality “ranks as the fifth biggest global risk in 2025 — and is projected to climb to number three by 2028.”
More than ever, then, businesses are called to find creative ways to set themselves apart and demonstrate their unique value to potential customers. This process, known as brand positioning, can make all the difference in a company’s long-term growth and success.
Gain a deeper understanding of what brand positioning is, why it matters, and how to develop strong brand positioning strategies that allow companies to forge ahead with confidence.
What Is Brand Positioning?
As an element of larger branding efforts, brand positioning refers to the process of establishing your brand’s distinct identity and the ways in which it stands out from competitors. In simpler terms, effective brand positioning answers the question of:
- Who is the target audience?
- What does the brand have to offer?
- Why or how does the brand’s offerings stand out from others?
Why Brand Positioning Matters
Brand positioning is essential to long-term growth and success. Not only does this help your company stand out from its competitors, but it can also foster a stronger connection between your brand and its customers. Over time, this may yield improved customer loyalty and brand recognition.
Additionally, brand positioning can enhance pricing power: When customers associate your brand with quality products or a premium service they can’t get elsewhere, you can more aptly justify your pricing model.
Sampling several hundred organizations in India, findings in the Journal of Business Research share that, in the digital era, a clear, consistent brand identity underpins sales strategy and shapes how the brand is perceived relative to competitors. “Consumer belief in brand” then moderates this effect — meaning that strong, positive brand beliefs make its identity and positioning more likely to translate into favorable purchase decisions.
The Core Elements of Brand Positioning
So, what are the building blocks of a solid brand positioning strategy?
Target Audience
Establishing a strong brand position is all about knowing your target audience. By taking the time to conduct thorough market research, you can get a better feel for who your audience is, what their pain points are, and what their motivations for purchasing your product or service might be.
Market Category
Your market category refers to the segment of the market where your product/service will be competing with others. (For example, if your company sells shampoo and conditioner, then your market category would be hair care.)
Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Every brand positioning strategy should have a unique value proposition (UVP), which explains how its offerings solve a customer problem or otherwise set itself apart from the competition. This might include distinctive features that a competing product doesn’t have, for instance. The main goal of a UVP is to help customers see why they should choose your brand over a competitor.
Brand Promise
Brand promise is another integral part of brand positioning, providing customers with a simple statement or guarantee they can count on. A brand story or promise sets expectations, builds loyalty, and gives customers a clearer idea of what they might expect.
Competitive Landscape
Finally, establishing brand positioning requires businesses to painstakingly compare themselves with their competitors for strategic planning purposes. Conducting a thorough competitive landscape analysis, brands can pinpoint strengths/weaknesses and explore creative ways to improve their positioning.
Types of Brand Positioning
Brands choose their position based on strengths, audience, and market dynamics. When it comes to executing the right brand positioning strategy for a given business, there are a few different types to consider:
- Price-Based Positioning – A brand sets itself apart by offering competitive pricing or a high-end (and thus more expensive) product. Think, for example, buying a sports watch from Walmart versus buying a Rolex.
- Quality-Based Positioning – When a brand focuses on a quality-based positioning strategy, it emphasizes the superiority of its products/services in terms of quality or performance. Brands like Mercedes-Benz vehicles and Dyson vacuums are known for this positioning strategy.
- Value-Based Positioning – Many well-known brands, such as Target, opt for this type of brand positioning — which places the emphasis on offering the best quality or performance for a competitive price.
- Benefit-Based Positioning – This positioning strategy centers on the unique features a product offers or the specific problem that the service is able to solve. Brands like FedEx exemplify benefit-based positioning by drawing in customers with promises of quick and reliable delivery.
- Problem–Solution Positioning – When customers have a highly specific problem to be addressed or resolved, brands may use this positioning strategy to set themselves apart from the competition. The business communication platform Slack applied this approach in aiming to overcome common challenges regarding team collaboration and productivity.
- Niche/Audience-Based Positioning – When a brand aims to target a very small segment of a larger market, it may lean into niche-based positioning. The athleisure brand Lululemon, for instance, does this by positioning itself as a premium and exclusive brand for those committed to health and wellness.
- Innovation-Based Positioning – Brands may draw upon this type of strategic positioning when they want to be perceived as innovative thought leaders in an existing or emerging field. Tesla is a prime example of this strategy, constantly pushing the envelope with new technologies and features.
- Emotional Positioning – Many brands find success with emotional brand positioning, which appeals to the emotional needs of a target audience. Dove represents one brand that has found success with this strategy, particularly with its “Campaign for Real Beauty” initiative.
How to Develop a Strong Brand Positioning Strategy
With a firmer grasp of the common types of brand positioning strategies, where might you begin in creating your own?
Conduct Market Research
First and foremost, get to know your target audience. This will mean taking time to conduct thorough market research to better understand audience demographics, their pain points, and what motivates them to make a purchase.
Define Your Differentiators
Once you get a feel for your ideal customer, it’s time to consider how your products and/or services stand out from those already offered by your competition. This may mean a higher-quality product, a greater value, or the ability to solve a problem/pain point better than a competitor.
Craft a Positioning Statement (Template + Example)
With all this in mind, you may begin drafting a brand positioning statement. Aim to make this statement concise, reflect your brand values, and describe how your product/service fulfills your audience’s needs.
HubSpot’s blog offers a straightforward positioning statement template that you can fill in and make your own:
“For [your target market] who [target market need], [your brand name] provides [main benefit that differentiates your offering from competitors] because [reason why target market should believe your differentiation statement].”
Align Across the Organization
Once you’ve written and perfected your brand positioning strategy, it’s important that your entire business is on the same page. This encompasses your brand’s overall messaging and marketing strategy, too, which will ideally be cohesive and consistent.
Test, Measure, and Refine
What might work well as a brand positioning strategy now might not be as effective as your market and industry inevitably change. Therefore, regular testing, revisiting, and iteration of your brand positioning strategy is valuable.
Examples of Strong Brand Positioning
Whether their UVPs are driven by purpose or personalization, the following brands have made an impact in their respective market spaces:
- Apple exemplifies innovation-based positioning through its human-centric storytelling tactics that stir up excitement surrounding product launches.
- Nike‘s emotion-based positioning motivates athletes to push themselves further with the iconic “Just Do It” slogan — and, as of 2025, a new “Why Do It?” campaign.
- Airbnb relies on problem-solution positioning to take the hassle out of finding the right accommodations when traveling.
- Patagonia appeals to the consumer’s demand for high-quality products they can feel good about buying, thanks to their documented commitment to sustainability (a combination of quality- and emotion-based positioning).
- Dollar Shave Club’s value-driven strategy focuses on providing customers with affordable and high-quality shaving products.
- Starbucks uses both quality-based and digital-first positioning to differentiate itself from other coffee shops.
- Amazon is all about efficiency and convenience, rising to meet the demand to consistently make shopping easier for all kinds of users.
Tips for Strengthening Your Brand Positioning
Looking for ways to further refine and enhance your brand positioning strategy? Here are a few last-minute best practices to keep in mind:
Be Authentic
Today’s consumers are smarter and savvier than ever, so they’ll be able to tell if your branding is genuine. If you’re not coming across as authentic in your messaging, your target customers are likely to turn to a competitor instead.
Keep It Simple
It’s easy to overthink brand positioning, but ultimately, it boils down to focusing on what sets your offerings apart and communicating those differentiators with your audience.
Stay Consistent
Consistent messaging is key to strengthening brand positioning. Work to confirm all members of your sales, marketing, and public relations (PR) teams are aligned with your strategy and brand voice to avoid any confusion or conflict.
Focus on the Customer
Strive to ensure that your brand positioning is more about the customer and their needs than anything else. Knowing your audience and what they’re looking for in a product/service is one of the most vital aspects of brand positioning.
Evolve When Needed
Get into the habit of meeting with your marketing and sales teams to review the brand positioning strategy every so often. From there, you can pinpoint what’s working versus what may not be — along with some changes you may want to make for better results.
Final Thoughts on Brand Positioning
With such a vast variety of approaches to consider, building and refining a brand positioning strategy comes down to knowing your audience and leveraging your unique value proposition. No matter which approach your brand takes, clear and consistent positioning can lead to lasting benefits and competitive advantage.
Set Yourself Apart With a Marketing Degree
Strong brand positioning can set your company apart from its competitors while boosting loyalty and brand awareness — but it’s only a piece of the puzzle. If you’re looking to sharpen your marketing skills and become a more-rounded marketing professional, it could be time to pursue a formal degree.
Specifically, the Bachelor of Science in Marketing program through Johnson & Wales University Online can help you hone your passion for brand development into a fulfilling career. Offered in collaboration with JWU’s College of Hospitality and Business, this 100% online program enables you to learn on your own schedule while enjoying personalized support every step of the way.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected]. Ready to take the next step? You can also get started with your application for admission here.
