What founders need to know before creating a company positioning and website

Tips for creating a company positioning, visual identity, & website

So, you want a company positioning and a website?

It’s probably the most common request from companies, especially founders. And it makes sense. A company positioning allows you to articulate who you are, why you’re different, and why customers should care. And, for many, the website is the face of the brand. 

But many founders don’t understand how to begin this process or what goes into building these elements.

I want to demystify the process.

In this article I hope to shed some insight into how one creates a company positioning and a website, as well as provide frameworks to consider before starting this project.

Please note that the information is very generic, and will need to be tailored to your business, industry, and goals. What I am providing is a starting point and context that will help you on your journey. 

Now let’s start from the top.

Traditionally, the positioning and website building process is done in three steps:

If you would like a PDF of this template or the ones below, please email: caylinmay51@gmail.com

If you were to request an RFP from a marketing agency or consultant, this is approximately what you would receive back.

But what does it mean?

Let’s dive in starting with 01: Discovery & Interviews

After you’ve conducted these three steps, you should have a very in-depth understanding of your industry, competitors, and the perceptions of your company.

Pull your notes together and extract 5-8 big insights. Highlight things that really resonated with you or even surprised you. Areas that you think can shed some light on the next step, which is defining who you are, why you’re different, and why customers should buy from you.

I’m not going to lie, this step is hard.

Many times you’ll have three different positioning statements and will need to work with a team to select and refine one. If this process takes you a day, you’re doing it wrong. It should be frustrating, challenging, and difficult to align on. 

In contrast, the next step can be fun, especially when working with a great designer.

When building a website, I find that most founders have an understanding of what they like but they have trouble articulate it.

The tools below will help you better understand the kind of website your company needs and what it should look like. 

At this point, you should have a good sense of what you want your website to look like. Not the specifics, but the general look and feel, color pallete, animations, etc.

The next step is deciding how you’re going to bring that website to life.

Picking your partner is very important.

Clear communication and trust is essential since it’s very easy for these websites to get out of hand in terms of timelines and budget. I guarantee that there will be last minute changes, and copy and design requests. These tweaks, while they may seem small can significantly impact the budget and the timeline.  

Another important thing to remember is that there is a cost to every custom detail you pick.

Here are some of the most common traps I’ve seen:

• The desire for custom art or photography:
  Are you going to pay for a custom art or a photoshoot? Are you willing to use stock images to decrease the budget? If you decide to use stock photos, are you okay seeing that image on other websites? 
  

• The desire for video:
  A similar challenge to the bullet above. Will you shoot this video yourself or will you purchase the rights? This can get very expensive very quickly
  

• The desire for infographics:
  This will increase the price of your website and you will play a big role in mapping out what the infographic will say and how it should say it

In order to help you pick the right partner, I created the chart below outlining the three different ways you can have your website created.

Remember the more complicated the website, the more support (and budget!) you will need. 

Note: these are approximate costs for 03: Design & Website only. Not for the 01: Discovery & Interviews, or 02: Positioning & Messaging

As you can see the price for a website can change drastically depending on what you need. But remember, that not everyone needs a grand website that stands out from the rest. Take a look at your persona. What are they looking for? Is it to be shocked and awed? Or simply to get a little more information? 

Let the upfront work you did speak for itself and guide your decision as you move forward in this process.

And while it may seem intimidating, this work can actually be a lot of fun if you want it to be.

Walk into it with curiosity and the desire to learn more about your company.

You’ll walk away with insights you never knew you needed to know.

Please email caylinmay51@gmail.com for the templates used in this article