Work
This is the silent crisis in product teams everywhere. We build something magnificent but struggle to explain why anyone should care. And when we do try to explain it, we often resort to the same tired language as our competitors.
What positioning actually is (& isn't).
Positioning isn't what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. It's an organised system for finding a window in the mind. My team discovered this isn't just marketing fluff; it's the fundamental strategy that shapes everything from product development to sales conversations.
In our increasingly noisy digital world, the only hope to score big is to be selective and concentrate on narrow targets. As Jack Trout put it, "In communication, as in architecture, less is more."
The solution to a positioning problem often lies in the prospect's mind, not the product itself. This realisation struck me deeply; we had been looking inward instead of outward.
The components that actually matter.
Through our painful process of trial and error, we identified three components that form the backbone of effective positioning:
Target audience clarity.
Before our workshop, we sent surveys to customers and posted polls on social media, asking questions like, "What's the most important factor when you make a purchase?" The answers surprised us. What we thought customers valued wasn't what they actually valued.
Defining who we're targeting forces specificity. Based on their unique priorities, we must tailor different messages to different buyer types, functional, financial, and technical.
Value proposition that connects.
Our initial value prop was as generic as supermarket-brand cornflakes. We learned that brand messaging should focus on simplicity and results. Instead of saying, "We offer business coaching services," say "You'll get clear steps to grow your business without stress."
This was transformative. Our messaging went from "We provide enterprise data solutions" to "We eliminate the three most expensive reporting bottlenecks that cost mid-sized companies an average of €350,000 annually."
Differentiation that matters.
Differentiation isn't just saying you're different; it's articulating a meaningful distinction that customers care about. This is where most positioning falls flat, including our first attempts.
We realised what Gartner accurately points out: technology products are easily copied and many markets are very mature, making features very similar and hard to differentiate.
Why "disruptive" needs to be disrupted.
Speaking of differentiation, can we talk about the D-word? I've sat through more meetings where someone suggests positioning our product as "disruptive" than I've had cups of tea, and I drink a lot of tea.
As Peter Thiel bluntly puts it, "'disruption' is one of the most horrible, overused buzzwords. A disruptive person is someone who looks for trouble and finds it."
The term has transitioned from being a precise, technical term to an overused, vague, or misleading term in mainstream conversations. It typically happens when.
- It's frequently used in marketing to create hype rather than inform.
- The original meaning is diluted to fit a broader audience.
- It becomes a catch-all term applied to various unrelated products.
- People use it without understanding its technical significance.
I try to avoid the word "disruptive" from my vocabulary, along with "synergy," "low-hanging fruit," and "growth hacking". They're the corporate equivalent of claiming "this one weird trick will solve everything!"
Our positioning workshop:
What actually worked.
After several false starts and one memorable argument about whether our solution was "revolutionary" (it wasn't), we ran a focused positioning workshop that finally broke through.
We invited a mix of stakeholders: business leaders for overarching company goals, brand strategists for expertise, brand managers for insight into daily marketing efforts, and sales managers who understand customer pain points.
The breakthrough came when we stopped trying to position ourselves as everything to everyone. As Anthony Pierri notes, "different customer segments use your product for different reasons… and each will need their positioning strategies."
We conducted a SWOT analysis and identified our actual competitors. Then we evaluated three key factors: our target audience, the competition, and our genuine strengths.
The result was a positioning statement that finally felt authentic. It wasn't trying to be clever – it was trying to be clear. It wasn't claiming to revolutionise an industry but solving specific problems for specific people.
The aftermath:
Clarity brings results.
Here's what happened after we clarified our positioning:
Our developers made better feature prioritisation decisions because they understood the core problems we were solving. Sales conversations became more focused and effective. Marketing materials suddenly had a clear, consistent voice.
Most surprisingly, internal alignment improved dramatically. Collaboration becomes much more effective when everyone understands what you're building and who it's for. The positioning wasn't just external marketing – it became our internal compass.
In the end, good positioning isn't about making your product sound like the only option through marketing tricks. It's about identifying the people for whom your product genuinely is the only logical option, and then communicating that clearly.
And not once did we need to call ourselves disruptive. Though we might have disrupted a thing or two between us, just don't tell the buzzword police.
