Positioning vs branding: what’s the difference?

Positioning vs branding - what's the difference? At Bc, we regularly get asked this question, so let's take a closer look at the two and how they work together.

Positioning vs branding

There’s no doubt that, especially in today’s super-competitive climate, both positioning and branding can really help your business stand out from the crowd and avoid falling into the trap of 'same-same' and competing on price.

For us, positioning simply means “The promise your business makes to its customers.” – that’s it. A simple but vitally important promise which should really mean something to your customers and should be something which you know you can deliver time and again (nobody likes a broken promise, after all).

So it's not really a matter of positioning vs branding. Rather, much of the time your positioning will form the first step of your branding process. It sums up in a neat, compelling and accurate way what it is that you do, what this means to your customers and – this is the important bit – what it is that makes your business unique (and there is always something, we promise!).

This then forms the foundation of your branding, which everything else is built upon. That is, your product brands, tone of voice and how your brand expresses itself visually: colours, imagery, logo, typefaces and so on. Your positioning can even be used to determine mission statements and internal culture.

At the end of the day, a powerful positioning and brand can help customers pick you out of a line-up of seemingly identical offerings, and really give you the distinction to stand above the crowd. Oh and did we mention it’s fun, too?

To find out how you can build strong and consistent brand foundations with our b2b branding services, get in touch with us here.