My 7-Step Product Positioning Process

If YOU don’t know what makes your product special and unique, then how on earth can you expect your customers to know?! Positioning your product or brand is step 1 in a solid product marketing strategy.

A good positioning strategy will identify your product’s uniqueness and help ensure you’re reaching the right audience with the right message to drive awareness and appeal.

It ensures your marketing efforts are aligned with the product fit. It influences everything you present and share about your product with your target audience. Internally, effective positioning helps sales reps, marketers, and support teams deliver a unified message and experiences for customers.

When customers visit your website, open an email from you, see an brand ad, or check your Instagram page, all those messages should communicate the product’s values - and a positioning statement helps you do that.

Here is the 7 step process I go through with my teams to effectively clarify a brand or product’s positioning in the marketplace:

1. Determine how our product is currently positioning itself

2. Identify the direct competitors

3. Understand how each competitor is positioning their brand

4. Compare our positioning to our competitors’ to identify our uniqueness

5. Develop a distinct and value-based positioning idea

6. Craft a product (or brand) positioning statement.

7. Test the product positioning statement. (see test questions below).

What is a positioning statement?

There are four main elements of a positioning statement:

1. Target Customer: It should include a concise description of the target group of customers our product is attempting to appeal to and attract (WHO)

2. Market Definition: It should define the market category our product is competing in and any context or niche that is relevant to our customers (WHERE)

3. Brand Promise: Clarify THE most compelling benefit to our target customers that our product can own relative to the competition (WHAT)

4. Reason to Believe: Include compelling evidence of how we deliver on this brand promise or why anyone should believe us (WHY)

After answering these questions, we can craft a positioning statement draft using the structure below:

For [target customers], [company name] is the [market definition] that delivers [brand promise] because only [company name] is [reason to believe].

Here are a few examples of positioning statements:

Coca-Cola example positioning statement:

For individuals looking for high-quality beverages, Coca-Cola offers a wide range of the most refreshing options — each creates a positive experience for customers when they enjoy a Coca-Cola brand drink. Unlike other beverage options, Coca-Cola products inspire happiness and make a positive difference in customers' lives, and the brand is intensely focused on the needs of consumers and customers.

Amazon example positioning statement:

For consumers who want to purchase a wide range of products online with quick delivery, Amazon provides a one-stop online shopping site. Amazon sets itself apart from other online retailers with its customer obsession, passion for innovation, and commitment to operational excellence.

Test your positioning statement

Once we have a draft of the positioning statement, we run it through a test by checking if the following questions are true.

1. Does it differentiate our product?

2. Does it match customer perceptions of our product?

3. Does it leave room for growth?

4. Does it identify our product’s unique value to our customers?

5. Does it produce a clear picture of how we’re different from our competitors?

6. Is it focused on our core customers?

7. Is it memorable and motivating?

8. Is it easy to understand?

9. Is it difficult to copy?

10. Is it positioned for long-term success?

11. Is the brand promise believable and credible?

12. Can our brand own it?

13. Will it withstand counterattacks from the competitors?

14. Will it help you make more effective marketing and branding decisions?

Putting it all to use

Now that we have a product positioning statement, we have to put it to use. The most important thing is to communicate this to every member of the team, and work with them to ensure that every touchpoint we have with the customer communicates this position.

A good exercise is to list all our product’s touchpoints —every point of interaction with the customer.  Then, ask the hard questions:

• How can I more fluidly communicate my product’s desired position in this instance?

• Does each touchpoint look, say, and feel like the brand I want my customers to perceive?

It can be hard work, but it’s also fun and creative to brainstorm new ways to turn everything you do into an expression of your desired positioning. It also takes courage. To actively position your product means you are laser focused on your target - and by extension it can also means that you are choosing NOT to target everyone. This can be scary and can feel like you’re leaving business on the table.

As Steve Jobs famously said: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

When you do the work, communicate it, focus and prioritize, that is what will make you memorable to your customers.