Positioning Statement Examples
Eight Filled-In Statements Across Industries, Taken Apart Slot by Slot
Short answer
A strong positioning statement example names a narrow buyer, the alternative they use today, one difference and its proof. For instance: for freelance designers who dread tax season, a small bookkeeping service keeps the books current all year, unlike doing it yourself in a spreadsheet. Each example should also exclude someone.
1. How should I read positioning statement examples?
Read each example for its decisions rather than its wording: who it is for, what it is compared against, the one difference, and who it turns away. Borrowed wording without the decisions behind it produces a statement any rival could publish.
Every example below uses the classic structure popularized by Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm [s1] or the short form from the positioning statement template, and the evidence behind statements like these comes from the process in the guide on writing a positioning statement from competitor data. The companies are invented: the booking software example is Sondera, one of three rival booking tools used across these guides, and the other industries use unnamed businesses, so nothing here describes a real business.
2. What do good positioning statements look like across industries?
Across industries the pattern holds: a buyer narrow enough to list, a situation they are in now, a named alternative and one difference stated as something the company does. The eight examples below each follow it.
| Industry | Company | Positioning statement |
|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | Sondera | For clinic and salon groups with several locations and compliance checks to pass, Sondera is booking and client-management software built for head office. Unlike entry-level booking apps, Sondera includes approvals, seat management and an audit log across every location. |
| E-commerce | A refill cleaning brand | For households who want fewer plastic bottles under the sink, we sell cleaning concentrates that refill one glass bottle for years. Unlike supermarket eco ranges, we ship a refill that fits through the letterbox. |
| Agency | A LinkedIn content agency | For founders of B2B startups who know they should post on LinkedIn but never do, we are a content agency that turns a monthly 45-minute interview into a month of posts in the founder's own words. Unlike ghostwriters who write from a brief, we write only from what the founder actually said. |
| Local service | A neighborhood bakery | For office managers ordering breakfast for meetings, we are the neighborhood bakery that delivers before 8 a.m. with a fixed menu per headcount. Unlike catering platforms, one message the day before is the whole order. |
| Professional services | A bookkeeping service | For freelance designers who dread tax season, we are a bookkeeping service that sends one question a week instead of a year-end scramble. Unlike doing it yourself in a spreadsheet, the books stay current all year for a fixed monthly fee. |
| Consumer app | A dog-walking app | For dog owners who work long office days, we are a dog-walking app that assigns the same walker every week. Unlike marketplaces that match whoever is free, your dog meets one person, and you get a photo and route after every walk. |
| Online education | An online course | For bookkeepers moving into advisory work, we are an online course built around ten real client files. Unlike general finance courses, every lesson ends with a client conversation to practice. |
| Retail and hospitality software | A cafe point-of-sale app | For owner-run cafes with one till, we are a point-of-sale app that runs on the tablet they already own. Unlike full restaurant systems, there is no hardware contract and setup takes one evening. |
3. What does each example actually decide?
Break each statement into buyer, alternative, difference and refusal. The refusal column is the one most drafts leave empty, and it is often the clearest sign the statement is doing work.
| Company | Buyer | Alternative named | Difference | What it refuses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sondera (SaaS) | Multi-location clinic and salon groups | Entry-level booking apps | Approvals and audit log included | Solo practitioners and one-chair salons |
| Refill brand (e-commerce) | Households cutting plastic | Supermarket eco ranges | Letterbox refills | Shoppers who want the cheapest option |
| Content agency (agency) | B2B founders who do not post | Ghostwriters working from briefs | Written only from the founder's words | Brands wanting a company voice |
| Bakery (local) | Office managers | Catering platforms | One message, before 8 a.m. | Weddings and custom cakes |
| Bookkeeper (services) | Freelance designers | A DIY spreadsheet | Weekly questions, fixed fee | Businesses with employees or stock |
| Dog-walking app (app) | Owners with long office days | Match-anyone marketplaces | Same walker every week | Owners wanting last-minute bookings |
| Advisory course (education) | Bookkeepers moving to advisory | General finance courses | Real client files | Complete beginners |
| Cafe POS app (software) | Owner-run cafes, one till | Full restaurant systems | Runs on an existing tablet | Multi-site restaurants |
Two things repeat, and both follow from positioning being relative to what the buyer would otherwise choose [s2]. First, the alternative is often not a direct competitor: a spreadsheet, a ghostwriter, a supermarket shelf. Second, the difference is always a thing the company does (includes, ships, assigns, writes only from) rather than a thing it is (innovative, friendly, premium).
4. What do weak positioning statements look like, and how are they fixed?
Weak statements describe the category, target everyone and rely on adjectives. Each fix narrows the buyer, names the alternative, or replaces an adjective with something the company does.
| Weak version | Problem | Rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| "Sondera is an easy-to-use booking platform for businesses of all sizes." | Every rival says easy; all sizes excludes nobody | "For clinic and salon groups with several locations, Sondera keeps approvals and an audit log across every site." |
| "We offer premium, sustainable cleaning products." | Two adjectives and no alternative | "Unlike supermarket eco ranges, we ship refills that fit through the letterbox." |
| "We help businesses grow on social media." | Category description, no buyer situation | "For B2B founders who never post, we turn one monthly interview into a month of posts." |
| "The best bakery in town for every occasion." | Unprovable claim, no buyer | "For office managers, we deliver meeting breakfasts before 8 a.m. from one message." |
| "We provide comprehensive, affordable accounting." | Two adjectives competing with each other | "For freelance designers, one question a week and a fixed monthly fee instead of a year-end scramble." |
How do I know my statement is too vague?
Swap a competitor name into it. If the sentence is still true, it is too vague. Then list three buyers it turns away; if you cannot, the buyer is too broad. Finally delete the adjectives. If the meaning survives unchanged, they were not doing any work and a sharper difference is needed.
5. What does one company positioned for two audiences look like?
When two audiences compare you against different alternatives, write two statements that share the category but change the buyer, alternative and difference. Keep it to two until the team is large enough to run both.
| Slot | Audience A: owner-run cafes | Audience B: market stall traders |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer and situation | One till, owner behind the counter | Selling at weekend markets, no fixed internet |
| Alternative | Full restaurant systems | A cash box and a card reader |
| Difference | Runs on the tablet they already own | Takes orders offline and syncs later |
| Refuses | Multi-site restaurants | Traders needing stock management across sites |
6. How do I get from an example to my own statement?
Use the example only for structure. Fill the buyer, alternative and difference from your own evidence (competitor claims, reviews and what customers say they switched from), then run the rival swap test.
- Pick the example with the closest alternative. Match on what your buyer would do instead of buying from you, not on industry. A software company whose real alternative is a spreadsheet will learn more from the bookkeeping example than from the SaaS one.
- Write your alternative and difference first. Name what customers used before you, in the words they use, then write the one thing you do that it does not. Leave the buyer slot for last so it can be narrowed to whoever values that difference.
- Check it against live competitor copy. Read the current homepage headlines and ads of your main competitors. If one of them already makes your difference claim, you need a sharper one or a different buyer.
- Fill the refusal column. Write down who the statement turns away. Share it with the team with that list attached, since the refusals are where disagreements surface.
Competitor claims move, so a statement that was differentiated in spring can be crowded by autumn. Oppira watches the homepages, ads and posts of the competitors you track, and when one of them starts claiming your difference, the playbook agent proposes an edit to the positioning statement for you to accept or decline.
Key Takeaways
Read examples for decisions, not wording
Buyer, alternative, difference and refusal are what make a statement work. Borrowed phrasing without them is a category description.
The alternative is often not a competitor
Spreadsheets, ghostwriters, supermarket shelves and cash boxes appear across the examples, because that is what buyers actually compare against.
Differences are verbs
Includes, ships, assigns, writes only from. Each strong example states something the company does, never an adjective about it.
Every statement should refuse someone
If you cannot name who it turns away, the buyer is too broad and the statement will not guide copy.
Two audiences, two statements, one category
Change buyer, alternative and difference per audience. If the category changes too, you have two products.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Crossing the Chasm Wikipedia, September 2026.Background on Geoffrey Moore's book (first edition 1991), where the classic for/who/unlike positioning format was popularized.
- Positioning (marketing) Wikipedia, September 2026.General background on positioning as the place a brand occupies in the buyer's mind relative to alternatives.
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