Have you ever been asked what you do, or about your business, said something hastily, and then walked away feeling like your description was totally lame? Have you ever rambled on much longer than was comfortable and ended up feeling like you sounded scattered and unprofessional?

You need a clear branding statement. It’ll live on your website, come through in your marketing materials and will help you sound clear and confident when you talk about your business.

Here’s a simple template you can use from former Google Head of Marketing and Communications, Christopher Escher, to help you with your brand statement.

The branding statement model:

For (target customer) who (statement of need or opportunity), (Product name) is a (product category) that (statement of key benefit). Unlike (competing alternative) (Product name) (statement of primary differentiation).

Your messaging should be simple enough that a 6th grader can understand it!

Example #1 – Amazon’s early positioning statement:

For World Wide Web users who enjoy books, Amazon is a retail bookseller that provides instant access to over 1.1 million books. Unlike traditional book retailers, Amazon provides a combination of extraordinary convenience, low prices, and comprehensive selection.

Example #2 – From my first small business:

For busy professionals and over-extended parents who have demand on their time, Domestic Concierge is a personal concierge company that handles your everyday busy work (and bigger projects too!). Unlike TaskRabbit, Domestic Concierge provides a high-touch, dedicated team to manage tasks, errands, and projects ensuring an exceptional customer experience.

To make it easier for you to create a clear and concise positioning statement, answer the questions below. The more specific you are, the more succinct and human your messaging will be and that is what customers want!

1) What’s different about the way your services work?

2) Why do you do the type of work that you do?

3) What is your broadest circle of prospective customers?

4) What are the pain points that your target audience is experiencing?

5) What emotions does your target audience associate with these pain points?

6) What other businesses solve similar problems? (List your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses)

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Have any questions? Drop them in the comments below.