Writing Benefit and Positioning Statements

When you meet someone for the first time and they ask you what you do, if you are passionate about how you help your customers, it can be quite easy to create a great impression. You have the advantage of eye contact, facial expressions and hand gesticulations. They can hear the enthusiasm in your voice and see the energy you exude.

But take that live situation away and being left with just words is a whole new ball game.

The good news is that with some effort and help from those around you, it’s possible to write a set of compelling statements that clearly convey:

  • The benefits and value you bring to your customers
  • Positions your business where you’ve planned it to be

It is worth putting quality time in your diary to do this exercise.  Once written, you can keep referring back to your statements every time you need to come up with some words for your marketing material. It will save you a huge amount of time as you won’t have to keep ‘reinventing the wheel’, your marketing campaigns will be more successful and it will put ££££ into your bank account.

5 benefit and positioning statements

First take a look at the five headings below. Write down anything that comes to mind under each heading. When you’ve done this, work on each point adding a bit more detail and finally crafting a compelling paragraph or two.

Keep asking yourself ‘What’s in it for them (your customer)?’  Another way to make sure that you are writing about benefits and value that you bring and not the features of your products or services, is to finish the sentence you’ve written by saying, ‘Which means that…’ and then you won’t be missing the important point.

Here are some ideas of what you might consider including in each statement:

  1. About You – Why should someone come to you rather than your competitors? Include your experience, expertise, awards and accreditations. What about your team? If it’s just you, that’s a benefit too. They’re always getting the ‘boss’!
  2. Products and Services – Have you adapted packages for a specific group and if so how? Do you provide a guarantee? Do you offer a similar service but in a different way. (I saw a mobile veterinary surgery parked at dog training classes the other day!) If you are an outsourced service how do you immerse yourself in their business?
  3. Price – What is your pricing strategy? Are you competitive? Does your price reflect the quality of your products or services? Will you negotiate? Are your prices transparent? What value does your pricing strategy provide? Do you help your customers spread the cost?
  4. Customer Journey – What is the experience your customer has from start to finish including after care? How quickly do you respond? Do you offer a speedy delivery? How do you keep them informed throughout the purchase? Is the telephone always answered by a human being?
  5. CSR – How do you show you care? Do you support a charity? Do you do pro bono work? How do you support your local community? How green are you? Do you recycle? How do you reduce your carbon footprint? How do you go the extra mile over and above what is required?

The answers are closer to you than you might think.

Often we are so close to our businesses we fail to see the benefits that we bring. You may take some things you do for granted, but in fact your competitors are still not offering them. That is why it is really worthwhile asking other people to help you work through this exercise.

Ask your team for their views. If you have a business coach or mentor, ask for their observations. But, by far the best way to help you produce these statements is by asking your customers. Ask them why they chose you in the first place and what it is they appreciate most about working with you.

Don’t wing it! Get the job done.

Once you’ve completed your benefit and positioning statements, review all your marketing to make sure that everything reflects the soul of your business that’s contained within this document.

This is just one exercise in the marketing plan.  If you’d like help to create your own Attractive Marketing plan give me a call on 07565 382803 or email me.