What are the top mistakes to avoid when positioning your product or service?

The three biggest mistakes I see within product positioning (particularly from a scale up perspective): - Not being honest (during your research you spot some data or experience that disproves your theory...what do you do? Too often, founders will sweep it under the carpet and continue regardless). - Not being through (you need to make your research as multi-dimensional as possible. I always liken it to playing detective...you are trying to prove your theory). - Not speaking and engaging with customers, these are the reason you exist.

Customers are more interested in the benefits that your product or service brings to them, rather than its features. Avoid this mistake by highlighting the value, convenience, or problem-solving potential of your product or service. Additionally, it's important to remember that the market is dynamic. What worked well a few years ago might not work today. Your positioning in market should be flexible and in line with changing market trends, customer preferences and a continually evolving competitive landscape. Having a strategy is key, but being agile and adaptable to change is just as (if not more) important.

Biggest mistakes: Being a solution looking for problem; not actually starting from pain. Not understanding the emotions, the actions and the story of the users and the problem they are oriented for. Not listening. Not having a deep enough sector knowledge.

Good positioning doesn't come just from doing the right amount of research, it comes from doing the right kind of research. This is especially important for startup founders, who may be susceptible to confirmation bias. It's important to make a distinction between 'what you want to be true' and 'what is true.' I've seen more than one founder take their business off course because their research about what the market needed was either out of date or overly subjected to their own interpretation.

Whether start-up, scale-up or mature, every organization needs to invest the right amount of time developing or transitioning its positioning to occupy a new space in its target market's mind. Think of research in terms of time to value and quality. More research doesn't necessarily mean better insights. It is also very important to use research in a directional manner & be able to separate bias from what the market is saying. Even more important is to test your messaging once developed in a couple of environments. Test the messaging with a handful of your ICPs. Using A/B testing, test variations on your website. Take a handful of your Sales and CSM leaders and test the message with a handful of prospects, customers, and partners.

This is probably one of the more critical components when positioning a product or service. So often, I hear from founders and leaders that I work with that they want to create something "that everyone loves." This is virtually impossible. Honing in on who specifically is going to benefit the most from your product or service, and then laser focusing on language that is going to captivate that specific person will go a long way. Finding your evangelists early and giving them what they want and need will pave the way for the future of your product or service versus trying to please and serve everyone. This audience focus then helps with positioning, messaging, value expression, etc.

You need to talk about your customer’s pain points. What’s the status quo and what pain goes away if they use your product. Building an emotional connection is key too. Many B2B use the same industry jargon and they all sound the same. Be more like B2C and connect with your audience in simple relatable messaging.

Your positioning statement should grow with you: - Startup: “X for Y” e.g. “AI-crafted pitch decks for B2B sales pros” - Scale-ups: sell the vision e.g. “10x your sales team’s productivity” - Scaled: Your brand should stand for something already (to the point it doesn’t matter what your website H1 or pitch deck cover page says) and your positioning statements should reinforce what buyers already believe about you

In the dynamic reality of product strategy leadership, clarity and specificity are key to a compass that can guide every decision. Many often rely on templates in a superficial way, leaving the specifics quite fuzzy. Rigorous clarity is needed to illuminate the path for teams to prioritize effectively and align efforts efficiently. Being rigorously specific increases shared understanding and collaboration. It also reduces ambiguity and assumptions which are often at the root of many missteps and insurmountable debts that kill new product development.

Research shows that people need to receive a message 7-10 times before it starts to click. Sending mixed or, worse yet, conflicting messaging only makes it harder to get your product or service understood by your potential customers. Pairing strong brand guidelines with a positioning document like what is suggested here will help maintain consistent messaging for your products when creating content across different channels and media. This document should be a living document, consistently updated with learnings from data, customer feedback, etc.

The foundation of all content strategy is the E2E customer journey - from discovery to purchase. This needs to be immersive and holistic. So everyone involved in creating customer journeys from engineers to UX and content to SEO, need to pull together and align objectives so the experience is seamless regardless of siloed KPIs. All the marketing in the world won't solve a poor experience or encourage conversion.

I find it useful to keep the positioning statement of the product and services effectiveness by regularly seeking feedback from your active customers on the relevance of the positioning statement . This enables any changes on the statement be amended having the customer and the target market in mind. At the end of the day the product or service should be applicable to the customer needs in-order to realize sales . The customer feedback would also allow the company /leader understand the buyer behaviour , preference and current needs in respect to the product or service.

No one crosses the same river twice because it's not the same river and they aren't the same person... Essentially, consider your product and product positioning as ever adaptable and never final. Insights, new data, unforeseen user feedback, etc are opportunities to adapt your positioning to continue to gain customers and market share - or create bigger "moats" to defend from your competitors.

If you ever think you have the perfect product or service, then you have it wrong. Every offering is simply a work in progress. A good product or service is the culmination of constant iterations and tweaks based on feedback and market dynamics. Being flexible means you are open to change. Embrace it and unlock value at every stage of your product or service life-cycle.

Strategy work often contains an illusion of control and prediction. The reality to wiser strategy is about embracing the power of letting go. Being flexible opens the door to more valuable innovation. Attachment to ideas can stifle growth but an open mind invites well adapted evolution. Strategy is a dynamic practice. It’s like a dance that requires flexibility to lead. Being rigid only drags everything down.

I feel like this statement is highly dependent on what is being positioned. There are definitely advantages at times to a flexible positioning strategy, it enables relevance in a fast paced dynamic market, but sometimes for some products or services this simply isn’t credible and so carful research on the market is key before determining the position.

Differentiation is important in any product/service, but what is most important is having both the Differentiation and Relevance to the buyer. Brands that have a balance of both being distinctive and highly relevant to what the buyer is looking for will stand out. If you are perceived as 'different' but not relevant, your buyers won't engage. Your positioning should always speak to the blend of both.

It is important to differentiate your product from competitors without bad mouthing their products. Highlight differences and quality without shaming or naming the competitors as being inferior. Your product should stand out on its own merits

Differentiation is important for your product or service; ideally, you want to create an 'ownable' positioning statement that no one else can replicate. That doesn't mean you can't make it simple. Many brands try to use buzzwords or jargon or words that might sound good but don't add value. Sometimes the most effective positioning statements are the simplest and most clear. This, paired with 'ownability,' can create a resonant, differentiated message that enhances that competitive edge you're looking for.

Differentiate of Die is the phrase I live by. This is because I want to be at the vanguard of technology. Not offering “me too” products and services. To be in this space you need to know what matters to your target audience. A differentiated banana that is blue not yellow for most would still be a banana.

This is a critical part of the research phase to find the opportunities to build your market share and brand positioning. The enemy of good content is "we should do X as [competitor] has done it" and talking about something where you have no permission to play or next best action. All experiences begin and end with a story, and that story needs to be the unique thread of every part of the through-the-funnel experience.

Using language of the company, engineer or the developer, instead of the language of your target market. Too many products are positioned based on features and capabilities, not in the language of solutions and problems they address. Don't position a product searching for a problem to solve. Position a product that directly solves a challenge that your customer has. For example, what's more compelling: 1. We offer PFM to connect your external financial accounts; or, 2. Get a complete picture of your financial life with actionable financial insights

An insightful article, yet it overlooks a key pitfall in product positioning: failing to highlight the real value to the end user. It's not just about what a product or service can do; it's about how it enriches the user's experience or solves their problems. Simply put, never skip highlighting the value the product or the service is going to produce for the user or the client.

The most common mistake is taking competition head-on when positioning a new product or service. Pick a major weak point or number of weak points in the competition, and attack...with your solution, marketing, and pricing, and ultimately create, and enjoy a slice of a bigger pie.

Stay true to this mantra - It's never about you and it is always about the audience. No matter how good an idea sits with you in your mind, unless it solves a specific pain-point or problem, you will have the wrong solution for the wrong problem. If you are able to provide a product or service which is perceived to hold value and are able to deliver it at the right place at the right time, you will always generate revenue.

I find testimonials are a great way to "sell" your product in a transparent way. Use a video to capture a sound bite as to why the product was useful, helpful, or changed the consumer's life - or create a written testimonial that can be used on social media or through newsletters.