Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working with several technology entrepreneurs in Atlanta.   I find that very often, these entrepreneurs need to create a positioning statement.  To me, a positioning statement is not something you would put up on your website or in a sales presentation.  Think of it as a guide to crystallizing your unique place in the market and ultimately, a document to reference as you represent your company and brand to the world.

Here is a positioning statement outline adapted from Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore:

• For (target customers)
• Who must (solve a specific problem)
• Our product is a new (new product category)
• That provides (key breakthrough benefit vs. current way of doing things – which solves dilemma)
• Unlike (competitor in new category)
• We have (whole product most relevant for you)

I have found that this particular positioning statement works well for technology product companies, but not for services companies.   Creating a positioning statement for a services company is a similar exercise, but I find that it’s much more difficult to come up with a legitimate differentiator for a services company.  There are ways to do this, which I may dedicate to a future post.

In terms of the positioning statement, you can approach this one of two ways:  a) fill in the blanks in about 15 minutes, check it off the list, file it and move onto the next action item, or b) work with your team and advisors to give some meaningful thought to a statement which will be the guiding document for your future marketing efforts.

Obviously, I recommend the latter.  Get your trusted advisors together and work on each component.

• For (target customers).  Who is your real customer?  What is their title?  In what size organization?  In what industry?
• Who must (solve a specific problem).   What pain do they have?  What is their recurring nightmare?   Read Forbes, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal – what are the top of mind issues in the industry?  If you are not addressing a top of mind pain for your target customer, you are in for a long and arduous haul.
• Our product is a new (new product category).
• That provides (key breakthrough benefit vs. current way of doing things – which solves dilemma).  What is the pain killer that you are offering to your target customer above?  If it’s preventative vs. a pain killer, you may also be in for a long haul.  People will buy pain killers much more readily than vitamins.
• Unlike (competitor in new category).  Who is your real competition?
• We have (whole product most relevant for you).  What differentiates you from your competition?  Not just the product, but the services, integration, training, etc.  What do you provide that is most relevant to this target customer with this pain?  Perhaps you can gear your product to a specific industry segment or niche that would differentiate you?   Could you legitimately claim that it’s build from the ground up for a particular industry?  What is different about your offering that is sustainable and relevant?

I have found that this exercise, if done properly will get you focused on the right business problems and provide great clarity and coherence to your marketing and sales efforts.

Further Reading.  Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore is the technology industry standard on this topic.  If you only read one book, this is the one.  The Chasm Companion, by Paul Wiefels is worthwhile and Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, by Al Ries and Jack Trout is a classic.