Break the Mold: 10 Steps to Get Positioning Right

Read time: 10 minutes

Hey!

Sam here 👋

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Now, let's get to it.

Do any of these issues sound familiar?

• Customers complain that you’re too expensive

• Struggling to turn visitors into customers

• Confusion about what you do

• Losing customers easily

• Long sales cycles

These may be symptoms of a positioning problem.

Don't worry, I'm here to help with a crash course on the often misunderstood but crucial topic of positioning.

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Unclear positioning is like trying to navigate a crowded city without a GPS

People do not buy what they do not understand.

Positioning is the foundation for the success of your business.

It defines where your product fits in the market and why it's the best at delivering value for specific customers.

It will help you:

• Stand out in a crowded market

• Attract the right customers

• Drive faster growth

To get it right, I recommend using April Dunford's 10-step framework, which includes uncovering: competitive alternatives, differentiated features, value for customers, customer segmentation, and the market category.

Let's dive in.

Step 1: Get To Know Your Super Fans

Make a list of your best customers, those that are your raving fans.

Customers that have the following characteristics:

• Have a high net promoter score or product-market fit

• Understood your product quickly

• Stayed with you the longest

• Purchased fast

Step 2: Assemble Your Positioning Team

Positioning is not just a marketing task, it's a company-wide strategy.

Make sure you involve different teams to get their unique perspective and buy-in.

So, who should you include?

Bring in key decision-makers and those who have a close relationship with the customer.

• CEO

• Marketing

• Product

• Sales

• Customer Success

Step 3. Find Common Ground With Vocabulary

Align your team on what positioning is, why it matters, what it consists of, and how the market and competition influence it.

Be willing to let go of how you initially thought about your product and audience, you'll need to adapt to the new findings.

Step 4: List Your Competitors

There are 3 types of competitors: direct, indirect, and alternative solutions.

Before you make the list, know that customers don't see competitors the same way you do.

To find the right answer, ask:

"What would you use if [Product] didn't exist?

When you understand what they compare you and would replace you with, you uncover your true strengths and weaknesses.

Cluster their answers into groups.

Focus on the general case for your best customers.

Years ago, I ran this process for a startup I was working with.

We thought we knew who our competitors were.

But when we asked our best customers that key question, we were surprised to find our main competitor was....YouTube.

This insight changed everything.

Our main benefit was to never run out of ideas.

Go figure.

No wonder our users thought we were expensive and struggled to grow, YouTube is FREE.

Step 5: Isolate Your Unique Attributes

Now that you know who your true competitors are, it's time to highlight what makes you different and better than them.

In this step, list all your unique features and attributes.

Only include those that make you different.

Focus on characteristics that drive purchases (not retention) and make sure you can back it up with evidence.

For example:

• ❌ Great customer service

• ❌ Easy to use

• ❌ Affordable

• ✅ Direct API integration

• ✅ Advanced analytics & reporting

• ✅ Personalized activities

Remember, you can only use these attributes if you have proof like third-party validation, customers' quotes, and certifications.

Step 6. Map the Attributes to Value “Themes”

Now, connect each feature to the value it has for your customer.

Think of it as:

• Feature: what does your product do?

• Benefit: what it's enabled for the customer?

• Value: how is the feature related to the goal the customer is looking to achieve?

To get to value, ask yourself:

• What would [benefit] mean for your customer?

• What can they now do with it?

As you go through the list, group attributes that provide similar value so that you can have a manageable number (1-3).

Step 7. Pinpoint Who Cares Most

Not all customers will value your unique attributes equally. Determine who will appreciate them the most by adding another column to your list.

When it comes to segmentation, keep these two rules in mind:

• There must be enough demand to meet the financial goals of your business

• The segment must have important, specific needs that are currently unmet

Don't worry if your segment seems small, you can always reassess later and expand.

Start by winning one segment, then gradually increase your reach.

Step 8. Find a Market Frame that Puts Your Strengths at the Center

It's time to choose the market category that makes your value obvious to the segment that cares about it most.

You'll be answering the question: “what are you?”

By selecting a market category, you will trigger a set of assumptions in your buyer, like:

• Competitors

• Features

• Pricing

Choose wisely.

There are three positioning strategies you can try:

• 👊 Head to Head: take on the competition and win an existing market

• 🐟 Big Fish, Small Pond: dominate a subsegment of an existing market

• 🎨 New Game: create a new market and win (the most difficult)

When to use each positioning strategy:

Note: For younger companies, it’s okay “to cast a wider net” and refine your positioning later. You have a positioning "thesis" at the earlier stages. Focus on getting more customers and data before narrowing it down.

Step 9. Layer On a Trend (Optional)

After figuring out your market context, you can layer a trend on top of your positioning.

This can be helpful for customers to understand why your offering is important to them *right now*.

It's not a must-have, but use it if a trend reinforces your positioning.

• Trends + Solution + Market Context: hot, current & relevant

• Product + Trends: cool, but maybe confusing

• Product + Market Context: good but maybe boring

• Market Context + Trends: lies, no product to back

Step 10. Make Your Positioning Shareable

Finally, it's time to put it all together and share it with your organization.

This one-pager will inform everything from branding, customer success approach, sales pitches, to marketing campaigns.

You can grab yours here:

How To Implement It: Create a Killer Sales Pitch

Start by creating a sales story or pitch that supports the new positioning, and use it to develop new messaging.

But, what goes into a sales story? I got you.

A Sales Pitch or Story includes:

• Define the problem that your solution was designed to solve

• Describe how customers currently try to solve the problem and where solutions fall short

• Introduce the "perfect world" as April calls it, where you describe the ideal solution based on your understanding of the problem and the limitations of solutions.

• Present your product/company and position it in the relevant market category

• Talk about each value theme in detail, explaining how your solution enables that value

A sales pitch should also include information to address common objections. For example, include a case study and a list of current customers (especially for b2b). End the story with a call to action, outlining what you'd like your prospect to do next.

Lastly, the marketing team will use the sales story as a foundation to create messaging that can be used across all channels.

Remember: positioning is not a one-time thing. Revisit it every 6 months or whenever there are significant product or market changes like:

• New competitor

• Entered a new market

• New tech (like ChatGPT)

• Change in the economic climate

• Shift in customer perception

• Change in government regulations

• Added new features to your product

Keep in mind, a confused mind will always say no. Make sure your messaging is clear and easy to understand.

If you want more examples and are interested in learning more, go and grab April Dunford's book, "Obviously Awesome".

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Until next time!

Sam

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