While your Value Proposition was all facts about YOU, your Positioning Statement is all about context—where you fit in the mind of your ideal client. The purpose of a Positioning Statement is to frame how you show up to your ideal client with your offering, and what you’re best at relative to the rest of your category—other financial advisors or wealth management enterprises.
Remember how we compared it to the framing of the house? This is how you want your ideal client to see you compared to others in your category.
The formula for your Positioning Statement is very specific and clear:
WHAT: The only [category]
HOW: that [differentiating characteristic]
WHO: for [your best client ever]
WHY: who [need state]
WHEN: during [underlying trend].
Here’s an example from an iconic American brand, Harley Davidson. This is their actual Positioning Statement:
WHAT: The only motorcycle manufacturer
HOW: that makes big, loud motorcycles
WHO: for macho guys (and “macho wannabes”), mostly in the United States
WHY: who want to join a gang of cowboys
WHEN: during an era of decreasing personal freedom.
Here’s a Positioning Statement for Ikea:
WHAT: The only home furnishing store
HOW: that creates stylish, affordable furniture
WHO: for Starving Artist Sarah
WHY: who wants a well-designed home
WHEN: while everything else in life is getting more expensive.
So how do we translate that to the a financial advisor or wealth management enterprise? Take a look at these:
WHAT: The only Registered Investment Advisor
HOW: who provides comprehensive financial planning
WHO: to millennials who don’t want to deal with it
WHY: and want to build wealth without thinking about it
WHEN: in a world where it’s too easy to lose money as soon as it comes in.
Your Positioning Statement and Value Proposition are for you. These aren’t externally facing. Rather they act as the foundational elements for how you’ll create the other elements of your brand messaging strategy, as well as an important gut check for your content.
For every piece of content you consider creating, you’ll have your Value Proposition to hold it up against, to ask if this content is true to those foundational elements.