Positioning isn’t new, and it isn’t trendy. And while many of us now what it is, only few of us  understand how to do it. The way we market and sell products is constantly changing, yet  positioning remains the unchanging foundation beneath it all. Why does this matter? Because every  single sales and marketing tactic we use, from paid campaigns to pitch decks to pricing pages, relies  on strong positioning to succeed. As I reminder, when I speak of positioning, I’m referring to the act of deliberately defining how you are the best at something that a defined market cares about lot about.  

If we fail at positioning, we fail at marketing and sales, the entire business fails. Example: putting a  bigger marketing budget behind confusing and unclear positioning doesn’t work. Weak positioning  diminishes the results of of everything we do in marketing and sales. It's like entering a baking  competition with a beautifully decorated cake made from ungodly amounts of salt instead of sugar.  No matter how polished it looks, no one is going to ask for seconds.  

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April Dunford, author of Obviously Awesome, outlines several key reasons positioning often falls apart:

1. Default positioning: Many companies default to explaining their product the way they see  it internally: using legacy terms, technical jargon, or company-centric logic. This results in  messaging that doesn’t land with the customer. Instead of addressing real customer  problems, the messaging revolves around internal narratives that only make sense to  insiders.  

2. Markets shift, but positioning doesn’t: Even if your positioning was great a year ago, it  might not resonate today. Competitors evolve, customer expectations shift, and new use  cases emerge. If your messaging remains static, you risk becoming irrelevant. Companies  that fail to revisit their positioning end up sounding outdated, even if their product is still  strong.  

3. Lack of a structured approach: Positioning often feels vague and unapproachable because  there’s no standard framework. Teams end up with unclear narratives and inconsistent  messaging across sales, marketing, and product. Without alignment, internal teams spin in  circles trying to define the same thing differently.  

Let’s take a fictional example: a SaaS company builds a platform to manage team workflows.  Internally, they see it as a "collaboration hub for cross-functional alignment." But their customers  are using it to speed up status reporting for client updates. While the company keeps positioning it  as a strategy tool, their best users simply want faster updates. This disconnect creates friction in  adoption, sales cycles, and retention.  

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Positioning is an established concept, yet we have no established way of doing it. Positioning can  be a big and somewhat complex concept, so breaking it down to it’s components helps creating a  structured approach to fixing it: 

1. Competitive alternatives: What would customers do if your product didn’t exist? This might be a competitor, or it might be doing nothing at all, hiring an intern, or using Excel.  Knowing your true competitors helps you frame your value in context. It forces you to see  the world from your customer's perspective, not just your category's.  

2. Unique attributes: What features make your solution different? Think of this as your  product’s secret sauce, your differentiators from a customer’s point of view. These attributes  should be things only you can claim, not generic benefits anyone can say. If someone else  can say the same thing, it’s not unique.  

3. Value (and proof): What benefit do those features create for customers? And can you prove  it? This is where customer outcomes and real evidence come in. Value statements need to be  paired with credibility through metrics, testimonials, or real-world examples that  demonstrate outcomes.  

4. Target market characteristics: Who cares a lot about that value? These are your high-fit  buyers aka the ones who convert quickly, rarely churn, and spread the word. They have a  specific set of needs or constraints that make your solution a perfect fit. Identifying them  allows for focused marketing and faster sales cycles.  

5. Market category: What context or category helps customers understand your value fast?  This acts as a shortcut for how customers place you in their mental map. Picking the right  category sets expectations for features, price, and value. It can give you credibility by  association or allow you to redefine the space.  

6. (Bonus) Relevant trends: What industry or user trends make your solution timely? Trends  can help add urgency and modern context. They help your audience feel like they’re part of  something current and necessary. A good trend connects your offering to broader company  priorities.  

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Each component has a relationship to the others. Attributes of your product are only “unique” when  compared with competitive alternatives. Those attributes drive the value, which determines who the  best target customers are, which in turn highlights which market frame of reference is the best one  to highlight your value. Trends must be relevant to your target customers, and can be used in  combination with your market category to make your product more relevant to your buyers right  now. Because these relationships flow from one another, the order in which you define the  components is very important.  

When these elements are defined and validated, teams stop guessing. You shift from saying, "Here’s  what our product does" to "Here’s why this matters to you."  

Positioning is not just the foundation of marketing. It is the foundation of your go-to-market engine.  If it’s off, every downstream activity suffers from conversion to retention to pricing. But if it’s right,  everything you build on top of it works better.