Positioning to stand out from the flock. As covered in an earlier post, positioning is simply how we say to the world, "This is who we are". Positioning your product is actually simple if we understand the basics. A lot of what I write in this post is based on the book of April Dunford - Obviously Awesome, so if you want to go for a deep dive, check out the book.
Our goal with positioning is to make our customers easily understand our product. Why is it useful for them, and how this product solves their problem. This needs to be easily understandable and communicated. The simpler we keep this and the easier it is to communicate to the users, the better. Often, we create confusing positioning and have fuzzy communication when we try to make things fancy for the sake of it or when we follow a trend.
The other goal of positioning is to attract the right customer. And right customer needs to understand your value proposition easily and fast. The attention span is low, and if you put out a muddy or layered proposition, the user will not make an effort to understand. Right positioning will attract the right customer.
Positioning works with context. If you are positioning a new phone which is very durable and handy, but you don't establish the context of its usage, i.e. useful for outdoor workers, hikers, travellers or surfers, potential users won't get it, why should they buy this, or why is it right for them. A product needs context, especially if it's new. Few ways to establish context:
When you build a product, you start with creating X; however, as you build, the product evolves, the market changes, and the customers' understanding of a product/ services is also changing. Market and customers view of products change rapidly and is ever-evolving. So, your positioning should not be the default with what you started but should take a more purposeful approach.
e.g., if you are selling a cool-new cold and fluffy dessert, it may be beneficial for your business to position yourself as ice cream instead of dessert in a crowded desert market but a growing ice cream market. Your email solution might make more sense if it were positioned as chat.