What are some positioning statement examples?

Most positioning statements I get sent read like they were written for a board meeting nobody wanted to attend, which is a shame, because the structure itself is simple. For [audience] who [frustration], [brand] is the [category] that [benefit], because [proof]. Five slots. The hard part is filling each one with something specific enough that a few people should read it and think, fair enough, that's not for me.

Every example below uses that structure. The brands are invented (apart from Servo, which I'd be a bit embarrassed to get wrong), so you can steal the thinking without accidentally copying somebody's homepage.

B2B software

For early-stage B2B founders who cannot explain what their company does in one sentence, Servo is the brand messaging tool that turns 15 minutes of guided questions into positioning and copy you can ship the same day, because it runs the playbook used at Twitch, Amazon Music, Red Bull Media House and X Games.

Why it works: the audience is narrow enough to leave people out, the frustration is something a founder would actually say over a beer, and the proof can be checked.

Developer tools

For platform teams who spend Monday mornings working out which deploy broke production, Tracewell is the release monitoring tool that names the commit behind an error within a minute of it appearing, because it reads your deploy history alongside your error logs instead of treating them as two separate problems.

Why it works: the frustration has a day of the week attached, and anyone who has lived that Monday knows exactly what it means.

Service business

For stressed executives who have started and quit five workout programs, Anchor Coaching is the personal training studio that builds a plan around the schedule you actually have, because every program is rebuilt monthly from your real calendar.

Why it works: the benefit is a change in the buyer's week, not a description of the method.

Accounting practice

For tradies running their own business who find out what they owe the tax office in a panic every June, Ledgerline is the bookkeeping and tax service that tells you every quarter what to set aside, because every client gets a fixed quarterly review with the same accountant, not whoever happens to be free.

Why it works: it names a moment of dread rather than a category of need, and the proof describes how the service runs, which is far easier to believe than a promise about quality.

Ecommerce product

For home cooks who buy knives that dull in three months, Forge is the kitchen knife brand that stays sharp for a year of daily use, because each blade is differentially hardened and independently edge-tested.

Why it works: the promise is measurable, so the proof has something to carry.

Consumer subscription

For parents who have thrown out more uneaten school lunches than they'd care to count, Boxed Lunch is the kids' lunch delivery service that sends meals your child has already picked, because kids choose their own menu each Sunday from the app.

Why it works: the proof is the mechanism. Nobody has to trust that the food is good, because the person eating it chose it.

Consultant

For Series A marketing leads who inherited a brand that means nothing internally, Rakic Studio is the brand strategy practice that produces the one document the whole company aligns on, because it has done it for four brands you already recognise.

Why it works: "inherited" does a lot of quiet work. It tells the buyer this isn't their fault, which is usually the first thing they want to hear.

Healthcare clinic

For runners who have been told to just rest it by three different doctors, Stride Physio is the sports physiotherapy clinic that gets you back on the road with a return-to-run plan rather than a ban, because every assessment includes video gait analysis on a treadmill.

Why it works: it positions against the advice the buyer is already sick of, without naming a single competitor.

Hospitality

For couples who want a weekend away without three hours of driving, The Ridge is the country guesthouse that feels remote from 70 minutes out of the city, because every room faces the valley and there isn't another building in sight.

Why it works: the benefit resolves a trade-off the buyer assumed they'd have to make, close or quiet, and the proof is something you can see in a photo.

Nonprofit

For retired tradespeople who miss being useful more than they miss the work, Toolshed Mentors is the volunteer program that pairs you with an apprentice for one afternoon a week, because every pairing is matched by trade and suburb, so you're never more than 20 minutes from your apprentice.

Why it works: the audience isn't donors or "the community", it's one specific person with one specific itch, which is the same discipline a company would use.

Weak examples, and why they fail

"For businesses who want to grow, we are the innovative platform that delivers cutting-edge solutions." No audience, no frustration, an invented category, no benefit, no proof. Five empty slots, which is almost impressive.

"For everyone who loves coffee, Bean Co is the best coffee brand because we care about quality." "Everyone" isn't an audience, "best" isn't a benefit, and every coffee brand on earth would say it cares about quality.

"For small and medium businesses, Nimbus is the all-in-one solution that saves time and money." It sounds sensible until you try to picture the customer. Small and medium covers a two-person florist and a 400-person manufacturer, and saving time and money is what every product claims right before the pricing page.

"For forward-thinking leaders who value excellence, Apex Advisory partners with you to unlock your full potential." It flatters the buyer instead of describing them. Nobody thinks of themselves as backward-thinking, so the audience slot filters out no one, and "unlock your potential" has been unlocking things since about 1995.

Use them as patterns, not templates

Copying the wording will get you a generic statement with someone else's details in it. What's worth copying is the discipline: one audience, one frustration in their own words, a category they already recognise, one benefit, and one proof point you could defend if someone pushed back.

If you want the definition first, read [what a positioning statement is](/answers/what-is-a-positioning-statement). For the slot-by-slot method, read [how to write a positioning statement](/answers/how-to-write-a-positioning-statement).

Servo writes yours in this same structure after a short interrogation, then pressure-tests each slot and tells you which one is soft.