Positioning

April Dunford gives a practical guide to product positioning, using a story about a mispositioned database product to show how context shapes customer assumptions. She argues positioning should be built by starting from competitive alternatives and working through differentiated value, target customers, and market category, while avoiding common traps.

01Key takeaways

• Positioning is about context: it sets customer assumptions about competitors, features, buyers, and price.
• Mispositioning can hide a product's real value, so reframing can turn a failing product into a success.
• Fill-in-the-blank positioning statements can mislead because most products fit several valid positionings.
• Start positioning with competitive alternatives, including the status quo, then work toward differentiated value and target customers.
• Avoid phantom competitors, and prefer existing market categories unless you can afford to define a new one.

02Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.