Unbeatable Market Positioning

A CEO's Guide to Market Positioning, in 5 Actionable Steps

Many startup technology companies pour endless resources into developing innovative products but overlook a key factor that could make or break their success — market positioning. 

Many founders don’t think market positioning is the most glamorous part of business strategy. It might not seem sexy, but positioning directly impacts three vital areas:

1. Lead generation
2. Sales effectiveness & win rate
3. Deal size

What could be more important?

You might have heard of ‘product positioning’. Product positioning looks inward, at what you have now, and helps you understand where you are in the market. Market positioning, on the other hand, looks outward — at what your customers need. Market positioning helps you align your messaging (and eventually your product) with current market trends and true customer priorities. This approach enables you to shape the future of the market, not just conform to fit today.

Companies with clear, compelling positioning see a 32% increase in sales win rate and a 20% boost in lead generation compared to those who neglect to bring on a strategic expert to craft intentional market positioning.

Why does positioning have such a significant effect on these core business drivers? 

At its heart, positioning clarifies who your product is for, why they need it, and what sets it apart from the competition. More importantly, it appeals to the emotional needs of our customers. It creates a cohesive narrative that drives every customer interaction—from marketing campaigns to sales pitches to customer retention strategies. 

When your positioning resonates with your target audience, it brings in more qualified leads, shortens the sales cycle, and justifies higher price points, increasing the average deal size.

Positioning Is the Engine that Drives Revenue 

Let’s start with lead generation — both outbound messaging and inbound advertising. Without clear positioning, business development and marketing teams struggle to craft targeted messages, resulting in a ton of lost hours (even using AI!). 

Those messages and ads attract unqualified leads, or simply result in low engagement. On the flip side, when your product’s value is precisely articulated, you draw in leads who are actively searching for solutions to the problems you solve. In fact, businesses that align their positioning with buyer pain points see a 67% improvement in lead conversion rates.

Sales effectiveness is another area where market positioning shines. When sales teams have a strong, consistent narrative based on clear positioning, they know exactly how to communicate their product’s value and differentiation. This clarity builds trust with prospects and makes it easier to address objections. Companies with well-defined positioning report 38% faster closes, as reps spend less time convincing prospects that your product is the right choice. Good positioning helps your internal champion convince their boss and their peers more easily.

Finally, positioning also directly impacts average deal size. When your product is positioned as the best solution to a high-priority problem, customers are willing to pay more. Positioning helps justify premium pricing by clearly demonstrating the value your product provides. In fact, companies that focus on positioning are able to command 25% higher deal sizes, on average, than those that fail to clearly differentiate their offerings.

Here are the five essential steps to perfect your market positioning, ensuring that it fuels lead generation, boosts sales effectiveness, and increases average deal size.

With strong market positioning, you’ll have the tools your company needs to differentiate and scale your business by driving higher-quality leads, speeding up the sales process, and closing bigger deals.

Here's how you unlock the full potential of market positioning:

Step 1: 360° Analysis of Facts and Feedback

The first step of positioning is gathering the facts. Start by taking a 360-degree view of your market, your business, your customers and your lost deals. This includes:

• Customer and Prospect Interviews: Get direct insights from the people who matter most—your potential and current customers. Understand their pain points, needs, and desires.
• Competitive Analysis: Examine how competitors are positioned. What are they doing well, and where are they leaving gaps?
• Internal Team Feedback: Don’t forget to gather insights from your own team—they often see things from a valuable, unique perspective. Win/Loss analysis is a huge component.
• Customer Data: what are the characteristics of customers who bought the most, churned the least, expanded the fastest, referred the most other companies, and have the highest usage?  How did you acquire them? What demographics and traits do they have in common?

A comprehensive analysis of facts, combined with customer interviews, will give you a full picture of your market landscape. It will help you understand what customers love, why they bought, and how your product is helping them solve big challenges. The analysis of this information is hard and it’s part art, part science. Your analysis will help you understand exactly where your product fits.

Step 2: Unique Value Proposition

Here’s where the magic happens. The unique value proposition (UVP) is the BIG differentiator. It’s the core concept that differentiates your product from the competition - or from maintaining the status quo. It’s the basis for your product’s identity in the market and becomes the focus of your positioning strategy.

Your UVP Idea should answer:

• What sets your product apart?
• Why should customers care?
• Why now?

This BIG Idea comes directly from customer feedback and market data. It has an element of urgency - based on market direction and aspirational market leadership. The UVP drives all the other elements of your positioning.

Step 3: Positioning Blueprints

Positioning is never a one-and-done exercise. To keep your market positioning agile and scalable, you’ll need a set of “living documents”, or blueprints, that continuously evolve as you learn and grow. Your product marketing team is usually the steward of these documents, and they should be available to the entire company to reference:

• Unique Value Proposition (UVP): What makes you stand out?
• Company Narrative: The overarching story behind your brand and its mission.
• Brand Promise: What core promise are you making to your customers? What should they think of when they hear your brand’s name?
• Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Who exactly are you targeting, and what are their needs?
• Buyer Personas: The titles and definitions of the different customer types who will influence purchase decisions and who may interact with your product.
• Benefits Ladder: Outline the tangible benefits of your product, from basic features to emotional payoffs.
• Brand Voice: How should your brand sound in communications?
• Messaging Pyramid: A hierarchy of your key messages, from top-level differentiators to detailed product specs, written for each buyer persona.

These documents are essential tools for maintaining consistent messaging across teams and ensuring your positioning stays relevant as the market shifts.

Step 4: Go-To-Market Strategy

Now it’s time to bring your product to market with a clear strategy:

• Positioning and Pricing: Align your pricing strategy with your positioning. If you’re solving a major problem, price accordingly. Make sure your pricing reflects the value your product delivers, and you have the facts, customer case studies and references to back it up.
• Brand Strategy: Define how you want your brand will be perceived by your target audience. Brands must be approachable and engage with customers - but there are so many ways to go about that. Make it clear to your employees - they are the face of your brand. 
• Sales Narrative: Arm your sales team with a compelling story that highlights your product’s differentiators. In fact, everyone in the company should be able to give your brand’s elevator pitch and story. In the same exact way.
• Distribution Strategy: Plan how you’ll get your product in front of the right people—whether it’s through direct sales, partnerships, or digital marketing channels. Your distribution strategy will be driven by pricing and whether you have a product-lead growth product.

With your GTM strategy in place, you’ll be able to execute align your sales, marketing, customer success and product teams with clarity and precision.

Step 5: Test, Learn, Refine, Repeat

Positioning isn’t static—it’s an ongoing process of iteration. After launching your product, continue to test your positioning with real customers. Ask:

• Is our message resonating?
• Are we attracting the right customers?
• How do we stack up against the competition now?

Collect feedback, refine your messaging, and update your living documents regularly. For a company at the $10M ARR stage, this process should be revisited at least every six months to stay competitive and ensure alignment with customer needs

Final Thoughts

Effective positioning is the difference between a product that sells and a product that scales. By following these five steps—starting with a full-circle analysis and ending with continuous iteration—you’ll have the tools you need to not only differentiate your product but also grow it strategically as your market evolves. Keep refining, stay focused on your BIG Idea, and your positioning will always be one step ahead.

If you're ready to move from uncertainty to clarity and start scaling with confidence, let's connect. I’ve helped dozens of startups like yours fine-tune their positioning and accelerate their success. Let’s make sure yours is next.

About the Author

Tom Kuhr is a revenue-driven Chief Marketing Officer with decades of experience in positioning, pricing, and go-to-market execution. Tom has helped both startups and established companies to fine-tune their messaging, identify their ideal customers, and break through in competitive markets. His strategic approach drives faster revenue growth by translating positioning into actionable sales and marketing tactics. If you’re looking to build a foundation for scalable growth, he's is the expert you want in your corner.