How do you position your startup as a leader in a crowded noisy market? This presentation gives you a template and examples of how to get it done.

1. April Dunford
RocketWatcher.com
@aprildunford
Positioning for Advantage

2. I’ve Run Marketing For a
Bunch of Startups
6: Startups
4: Exits
3: Big Co’s (because, exits)
$2B: Exit value
10: Launches
0 - $2M: Budgets

3. The first problem I had to
solve was always the same

4. Weak
Positioning

5. Life would be
easier if you’d just
started on the
inside in the first
place
Weak positioning is like
Racing in the outside lane

6. A Brief History of Positioning
Coined by Ries &Trout in the late 70’s
The Product Era: Focus on Product
Features & Benefits
The Image Era: Me-too Products
could be sold with great brand image
The Positioning Era: In an Over-
communicated world, you have to
create a position in a prospect’s mind
that takes into consideration both
your strengths and weakness but
also those of the competitive
alternatives

7. Positioning: A Definition
Positioning describes how you are
uniquely qualified to be a leader
at something that
an identified market segment
cares a lot about

8. What Positioning Is NOT
A tag line
Messaging
Brand
A Vision Statement
Value Proposition
(although these flow from positioning)

9. Crap I learned in marketing books:
The Classic Positioning Statement
For <Target Market> who <Statement
of Need>, the <Product Name> is a
<Product Category> that <key benefit>
unlike <competitive alternatives> our
product <primary differentiation>

10. Hey let’s take this super important thing
and turn it into the most awkward phrase
in the English language!!

11. Amazon.com circa 2001
“For world wide web users who enjoy
books, Amazon.com is a retail bookseller
that provides instant access to over 1.1
million books. Unlike traditional
booksellers, amazon.com provides a
combination of extraordinary
convenience, low prices and
comprehensive selection.”

12. Yeah, we can do better than this.

13. What is it
As short as possible statement that
describes what you are.
Target Segment
The specific target market you are
targeting in the short term
Market Category
The market that you compete in
Competitive Alternatives
If your customers don’t use you, what
do they use
Key Benefit
The biggest benefit that your target
market derives from your offering
Primary Differentiation
The one thing that sets you apart the
most from the competitive alternatives
Product Name:
Startup Positioning Template
RocketWatcher.com
Date:

14. Don’t Worry, there are still loads of
ways to mess this up

15. Weak Positioning:
Symptoms & Solutions
Symptom Potential Solution
What you are makes no
sense
Test it on more prospects. Simplify the
language, test it again
Your target segment is
way too broad
Focus on who would be the easiest prospects
to close in the next year. What it is about
them that makes them easiest to sell to?
Your key benefit is weak
What is the one thing that would motivate
your prospects to buy?
Your key benefit is just
an opinion
Do you have Proof? What proof could you
have?
Your unique
differentiator is weak
(or not that unique)
What is the one thing that makes you
different (hint: not price). Is it obvious to
prospects? How would they describe it?

16. What is it
Tulip Retail is an Omnichannel
Platform that allows retailers to
deliver consistent experiences across
online, physical and mobile stores
Target Segment
mid to large retailers that want to
deliver Omnichannel solutions such as
order online pickup in store, reserve
online and others.
Market Category
Omnichannel platforms
Competitive Alternatives
Hybris/SAP, Oracle, or a set of
solutions that included warehouse
management, order management, POS
and others.
Key Benefit
The ability to quickly and easily deliver
new retail experiences to customers
Primary Differentiation
A “modern” platform designed from the
ground up to support digital and
mobile
Product Name: Tulip Retail
Weak Positioning Example
RocketWatcher.com
Symptoms: Prospects didn’t get it, Competitors were
large and strong, differentiation was weak

17. What is it
A mobile platform for retail sales
associates
Target Segment
Large retailers with more than 100
physical stores
Market Category
In-store retail platform for associates
Competitive Alternatives
Point solutions for payments or
clientelling
Key Benefit
Put information in the hands of
associates that they need to deliver
better customer service and sell more
Primary Differentiation
A platform that can support
everything an associate does
including payment, product info
lookup, customer info lookup, etc.
Product Name: Tulip Retail
Stronger Positioning
RocketWatcher.com
Advantages: Clear, Differentiated Value, weak
competitors.

18. What is it
A CRM Platform
Target Segment
Mid to large sized companies
Market Category
CRM Platforms
Competitive Alternatives
Siebel, Microsoft (and other contact
managers), various segment-specific
CRM platforms
Key Benefit
Our CRM would allow you to keep
customer information consistent
across various back-end systems for a
more consistent experience for
customers
Primary Differentiation
Integration with back-end systems
where customer data is also used
Cheaper
Product Name: Janna Systems
Weak Positioning Example 2
RocketWatcher.com
Symptoms: Too many competitors, weak
differentiation, complicated benefits.

19. What is it
CRM for Investment banks
Target Segment
Large Investment banks
Market Category
CRM platforms
Competitive Alternatives
Siebel Systems
Key Benefit
We allow investment bankers to track
many to many relationships providing
them to deeply mine their contacts to
close new business
Primary Differentiation
The Janna Hierarchy is the only CRM
system that allows you to model
many-many relationships
Product Name: Janna Systems
Stronger Positioning Example 2
RocketWatcher.com
Advantages: Limited competition, Clear
differentiation, Strong revenue-oriented value

20. April Dunford RocketWatcher.com
@aprildunford Slideshare.net/aprildunford
Questions?