Positioning Process
How to position your product and
deposition the competition
Agenda
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Need
Company Positioning
Product Positioning
Validation
– 3 Statements that validate your “unique” value
proposition
• Solidify
• Train (memorize) and “become”
Positioning
• Win Before & After Development
– The apex of all strategy is to determine your unique distinctive
competence (unique value proposition) – your positioning
• At CEO/VP Marketing Level – Product is the “Company”
• At Product Management Level – Product line
– Positioning – “Why would anyone want to buy ‘us’”
– The best way to launch your product, is to position it “before” it is
developed—by building your selling hooks (the biggest problem
solved) into the product in advance
– If you inherited a “me to” product, you MUST find (and articulate)
a unique position before the launch materials (or you have
nothing to promote!)
Need for Positioning
• Company/Product Positioning
– Answers the questions
• Who are you?
• What is unique about you—how do you compare?
• What do you do?
– Test
• Who is Panviva?
• What is so unique about your company, your product?
– Your “unique” value proposition
– What is your elevator speech (30 seconds)
Company Positioning
• What promises do our prospects expect from a company
like us?
– List top five
• What promises can we honestly keep?
– Not what are we currently keeping, what can we keep if we
decide or want to
– Which will give us the competitive advantage
• Solidify and wordsmith these
– Now – EVERY action, decision, customer interaction, policy both
internally and externally follows these promises
– You “become” what the market wants (not a person, a “thing” so
there is no identify problem
Company/Product Tag Lines
• Identity (what they make) known
– Microsoft – tag line
– Sun – tag line
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Descriptive (answers, “who are you”)
Positioning (#1, most, leader)
Rules of thumb – 7-9 words (billboard)
Association
– Tied to corporation
• Tivoli – An IBM Company
• Metrowerks – A Motorola Company
– Acid test… worth more with, or without
– Acquisition – watch out don’t loose existing equity in the
transition
Product Positioning
• The apex of all strategy
• How it is positioned within the field of
competitors?
• What is the unique differentor?
• Examples:
– Crossfax – a hook was built in
– Codewarrior for Windows – no hook, made one
• Name reflects positioning – if possible. If not,
tagline reflects it. 3 validation statements “prove”
it.
Positioning - Strategy
• “The answer can be right in front of your eyes.”
Legend of Bagger Vance (See this movie!)
Find the clear path to the hole!
All products shown copyright of their respective owners.
Positioning - Strategy
• How to
– Do you homework (previous variables)
– Immerse yourself
– When you hit the ball 45 degrees to the right, and it turns and goes
in the hole – you have seen the strategy (Tiger Woods)
– The moment will come, everything else will blur, and you will “see”
the answer. It will become clear. You will see the path to the hole!
– THIS is the ultimate moment
– Your strategy becomes clear
– Now…
• Articulate it!
• Execute
Positioning Case Studies
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Dev Tools
E-mail Maintenance
Advanced Set-top
CrossFax
Scratch Out
Positioning
• Case Study #1
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The product manager is the case study--not the software
CodeWarrior for Windows (an IDE for software development)
Developed by copying Microsoft’s features
The Product Manager’s positioning, “Just like Microsoft.” (buzzer
goes off, ton of bricks fall)
– When challenged, “it is cheaper” came out (bricks…). Lower the
price is NOT a differentiator (a difference shouldn’t take seconds to
match)
– Didn’t work, only 2% market share. Reason? The PMM said,
“Missing a few of Microsoft’s features.” (buzzer…)
– What is wrong with this product’s positioning?
• Hint – it wasn’t determined before it was developed and turned into a
“me to” (non-differentiated product)
Positioning
• Case Study #1
– How do you sell (promote) this software?
– You MUST still position it (after the fact)
– How? What are the most unique features of the product that are
valuable to the user (and that they will PAY for)?
– Through homework (research) we found something unique (not
brilliant, but unique).
• Our product was better at cross-development between Windows
and other platforms
• For those porting Window apps to Mac, Linux, Nintendo, or any
embedded system…we had a unique advantage.
Positioning
• Case Study #1
– The ability to use a similar IDE
interface and to port to
multiple platforms was our
distinct differentiator.
– We were also faster, and had
a few unique characteristics,
but the cross-platform
approach was the most
defensible differentiator.
– Leveraged with competitive
matrix
– Offered a “no risk” option
– Promoted “sizzle” (more later)
Lesson Learned
• Position before when possible
• Me too positioning isn’t effective
– Not differentiated – “why different / better”
• Leveraged “family” of products to create
the best position
Positioning
• Case Study #2
– DCA (5th largest software company at the time)
• CrossTalk, #1 rated terminal emulation software
• CrossFax – Added to CrossTalk for Windows
• Competed against Winfax
– I had launched 2 prior versions of Winfax so I knew it’s capabilities &
weaknesses
– Had to determine the unique differentiator to build in (since we
“bought the product”, rather than developed it)
– Variables to research include a) product features (comprehensive
matrix), b) price (especially terms), c) distribution & supply chain
(direct, indirect, conflict, reseller loyalty), e) promotions (how well can
they promote)
– Looking for gapping and subtle holes that are not being addressed
– MUST “see” the positioning strategy – a clear path to the money
Positioning - Example
• Example of CrossFax - Validation
– Chrysler wanted to broadcast fax their brochure via
local dealers
– Winfax had two critical flaws
• Could not broadcast faxes w/out crashing
• Could not fax grayscale
– This is how we positioned ourselves against Winfax…
Positioning - Example
Positioning - Example
Re-creation of the original fax.
In contrast, CrossFax has never crashed during a broadcast fax…EVER!
Positioning - Example
• Did it work?
• Yes! Chrysler selected CrossFax for a 20,000 user license!
• Similarly, you must find a marketing hook, a unique differentiator
that the user values and is willing to PAY for (like Chrysler)
• Key takeaway: It is best to do your homework and find out what
prospects want in advance, so you can build it into your product.
– If you didn’t build valuable differentiators in, you have less leverage to
promote later (i.e., CodeWarrior)
– Regardless of what you have, it must have a unique position to promote
– I am typically called in because there is a PROBLEM
• I seldom get to help position a product prior to development. I’m usually
stuck trying to find a position (a market) for products that were not positioned
and articulated originally. In psychology this is called “Reality Therapy.”
Lessons Learned
• Do not need ALL the features of a
competitor to win
• Need the RIGHT features that meet the
right needs
• Can “de-position” a competitor if you can
find something unique that the prospect
values (and the competitors are missing)
Positioning: Best = Worst Case
• Example
– E-mail storage
• Problem: mandated by law to store it (post Enron).
Penalized ($50 million case) if you don’t.
• Current Solution: Archive. Backup nightly (every 24 hours)
• Major Hole: Avg 81 e-mails received daily (non-spam).
Assume ¼ are “important”. Equals 20 / day x 500 person
company = 10,000 LOST e-mails between backups!
• …and if your backup fails (42% fail), or your Exchange
database is corrupted (72% surveyed have had an Exchange
disaster)?
Question: What is the next phrase out of your mouth
after you tell your CEO you lost TEN THOUSAND e-mails?
Positioning – Example NEW
“Would you like
fry’s with that?”
• Answer:
(Former IT Manager after loosing 10,000 e-mails!)
All products shown copyright of their respective owners.
De-Positions Alternatives
• Problem: Reduce the risk of
loosing 10,000 e-mails
• Solution: DigiVault (by Lucid8)
– Continuous Data Backup
(CDP)
– Loose 1-4 minutes of e-mail,
not 24 hours
– Plus, restore takes apx. 20
minutes, not 3-5 hours!
– Similar cost, negligible loss,
much faster restoration
• Benefit: Lose 10,000 e-mails or
17.
– Which would you prefer?
Lessons Learned
• Positioning was NOT in the technical bits
and bytes, it was Job Security!
• De-positioned entire industry
– Best practice was worst practice
– Took out dozens of competitors in one pass
• Get creative
De-Positioning
• What does De-Positioning mean?
– Articulate your own strength in contrast to your
competitor’s weakness (specific or ALL)
• CodeWarrior for Windows – best for cross-platform
• CrossFax was made to look stronger against Winfax
• DigiVault looks much better than ALL of the 24 hour backup
alternatives
– The strength of your positioning makes the
alternatives look foolish in comparison
• “Negative” campaigning still works
Political positioning,
“It’s the Economy, Stupid!”
Single in on the most
critical differentiator
De-Positioning the Competition
• How to De-Position the Competition? Basics…
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Comparative matrix (Tom Cruise charts)
Positioning grids (Gartner’s Magic Quadrant)
Associate “them” with Negative imaging
Capitalize on Major flaws & Mistakes (actual or perceived)
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Intel inside – a warning label, or much slower dual-core
SalesForce.com (Ad with Dali Lama)
HRW – Competitor’s mistakes in textbooks ($10k/error)
Democrats w/Bush (War, Immigration, Wire tapping)
– Sometimes your best positioning is the weakness of the
competition (you’re not that good, just better than “them”)
– Art of War. MUST be honest and ethical, but it is war. Compete
against the product and company—not the people (will need to
recruit them (part of your counterstrike campaign))
De-Positioning the Competition
• Comparative matrix (Tom Cruise charts)
De-Positioning the Competition
• Positioning Grids (deposition competition)
De-Positioning Case Study
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Price positioning – always an objection
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Arm sales with product price positioning (set-top box example)
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Companies set-top was $800
Competition was $200
Q. How can you “promote” your price?
A. Change the perception. Switch the criteria from price to “cost” or
“revenue potential” and promote how much more they will make.
“Our” system produced up to $129/mo In revenue.
Competitors generated only $59. It required $79 for
their business model to work. We produced over
$3,600 more revenue/5 years—after the difference!
150
100
Local Toll
4%
Internet
7%
50
2001
Calling Card
2%
Local Phone
29%
Cellular
12%
0
1999
Paging
2%
2005
E-Commerce
PPV
T-Commerce
I-TV
Interactive Services
HIS Enhanced Services
High Speed Internet
Standard ISP
Long Distance
Features
Local Voice
Long Distance
20%
Cable/DBS TV
24%
De-Positioning the Competition
• Positioning Grids (Negative Imaging)
Sometimes it
takes creativity to
“see” the absolute
killer positioning.
This one took over
6 months to see…
and then was
irrefutable.
All products shown copyright of their respective owners.
Lessons Learned
• Positioning was NOT the product, it was
the business model
– Took out every competitor that did not make
their business model work (ALL!!)
De-Positioning Alternatives
• Two existing approaches to repair
– Chemical Softeners
• Maxell, Memorex
– Repair minor read errors only
– A majority of the online reviews are negative
– Mechanical Grinders
• Opti Fix Pro – Memorex
• SkipDr Advanced or AutoMax
– Works for minor scratches, but deep scratches require grinding
the entire disk multiple times and can take a LONG time to
remove—if at all
– Versus taking seconds to repair with Scratch Out
Why Order ScratchOut?
•
First – it works!
– Unlike existing products that claim
to repair, but don’t work on
anything but the smallest scratch,
ScratchOut restores a disc to
100% playable, 100% of the time
– Uses commercial grade polishing
agent to remove unseen
microscopic damage to optical
disc
– It’s not the “mountains” that cause
the laser to misread the disk - it’s
the ridges within the mountains
– These ridges are polished smooth
with ScratchOut
Product Positioning
• The undisputed Price/Performance
leader - and the product actually works!
• NEW approach – completely unique microscopic polish (not a filler, cleaner, or grinder)
• GUARANTEED 100% playable, 100% of the time (if it can be fixed, we can fix it)
• ONLY product to repair light to severe scratches*
• OPTIMIZED for impulse buying (price, packaging, location options)
• Undisputed Price / Performance LEADER
* SkipDr (disclaimer on packaging) “…will not repair severe damage, such as gouges and deep scratches”
De-Positioning Specifics
• SkipDr - Mechanical Grinders
– The mechanical grinders look
techy, but they sand the entire
disk. They cannot fix just a
“single” scratch.
– Would you wash your favorite
shirt 10 times in a row just to get
a single area clean?
– Why spend all the time to grind
and sand an entire disk
numerous times just to remove a
single scratch… that takes
seconds to fix with ScratchOut.
De-Positioning Specifics #2
• Opti Fix - Chemical “Softeners”
– Typically a diluted Acetone-based chemical that
softens the top layer of the optical disc to “smooth
out” the scratches.
– Only works on minor scratches – if at all
– Does more to clean the disc than to actually repair it
– Does not repair moderate to severe scratches
– VERY bad online reviews
– Few return purchases – bad for “consumable”
– Old technology, old approach, poor results
Lessons Learned
• Positioning was the price/performance
leader
– Best performance for the best price
• De-positioned alternatives as “old school”
or “wrong technology”
• Leveraged strengths built-into the product
in ADVANCE (done right)
Marketing Tools
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Competitive matrix
Positioning Quadrants
Venn Diagrams
Help us to visualize the strength of our
positioning
• Create 3-5 key differentiators from this exercise
– Forms the main points for your persuasive argument
Exercise
• Create a competitive matrix
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Internal vs external
Shows your strengths and your weaknesses
Shows gaping holes or wedge points
Must know more than the prospect (you’re supposed
to be the expert—not them)
– Covers pricing, distribution, features, support—
anything that might differentiate
– Format competition in RED (sea of red)
Competitive Matrix
Comparative Matrix
Acme
Tires
Most competing applications are missing critical features for end-to-end tire maintenance and tracking.
Acme Tire App —The Most Complete &
Easy-To-Use Tire Maintenance Software
Positioning Quadrant
Gartner Magic Quadrant
Exercise
• Print five copies of the positioning quadrant—you’ll
create five samples
• Plot the variables from competitive matrix on the bottom
and the right
• Your product should be at the top right (best)
• Adjust the name of the variables to make the top right
the best spot
• The further you are from the competitors, the stronger
your positioning
– If the prospect values those variables
Fast to Implement & Affordable
(uses competitors names, plus one category)
Speed to Implement
Fast
• Acme Tire App
• Tyre Check• eTyre
• Arsenault
Slow
• Cetaris
• Fleet Maintenance
• Control Ban•Thread Stat
Expensive
Affordable
Cost of Ownership
Product Positioning
(Mistake: Want top Right)
One-to-many
One-to-one
Classroom Training
Subject Matter Experts
Web Conferencing
Knowledge
Management
(Sharing desktop, training or support)
LMS / LCMS
and Simulation Tools
Documentation
Tools
YOUR COMPANY
Online Help
Performance Support
E-Learning
Formal training
(soft skills)
Formal training
(hard skills)
Informal training
(support )
Positioning against the alternatives
(Change “terms” to put you in top right)
Training
Support
One-to-many
E-Learning
Performance Support
Documentation
Tools
LMS / LCMS
and Simulation Tools
YOUR COMPANY
Enterprise CMS
One-to-one
Web Conferencing
Online Help
Instructor Led Training
Memorization
Subject Matter Experts
On Demand
Integrated
The Most Complete Tire Application
Non-Integrated
Start
Acme Tire App
The #1 Most Complete & Easy-To-Use
Tire Maintenance Software
Mobile/Portal
Software
Hardware Supply
(Gauges, Pressure)
Mobile/PDA
Reader
Reports
Tyre check
Alerts
Inspection
Tyre check
Cetaris
Cetaris
Cetaris
Arsenault
IMI/B udini
Arsenault
Arsenault
IMI/Budini
IMI/Budini
Incomplete
IMI/Budini
IMI/Budini
vs.
Complete
Tracking
End
Exercise
• Determine your top 3-5 best positioned variables
and list them
• Now, list features beneath them that support the
main strengths – PROVE it!
• These features VALIDATE your positioning
• Form the thesis for your persuasive argument
• Beginning of the Persuasive Document
Analogies
• Show analogies that put competitive
applications in perspective
– Motorola
• Hyundai vs. Camry
– Lucid8
• Want Fry’s with That
– Project
• Little dog vs Horse (power)
Alternatives - Compared
“Perceived”
Security
Fast/Accurate
Inventory
Management
Alternatives
1. Fixed RFID
1. Fixed RFID
1. Fixed RFID
2. Mobile RFID
2. Mobile RFID
2. Mobile RFID
3. Bar Code
3. Manual
3. Bar Code
4. Manual
4. Bar Code
4. Manual
Alternatives to capture data, and increase security (reduce shrinkage). Bar code is not an effective alternative—and is often slower
than manual. Made for fast checkout—high volume. Not lower volume and definitely not for fast inventory counting.
Mobile vs. Fixed RFID
Low Cost – Medium Cost – High Cost
Cost
90% of Market
Mobile RFID
 Ideal for Low End to High End
 High perceived security*
* 0% actual shrink with 2.3 million items!
Super High
10% of Market
Fixed RFID
 Super High End
 Highest perceived security
Fixed RFID – OVERKILL!
Mobile RFID
Wall/Floor Safe
Not “as safe” as Fort Knox
Protects 100% of the time
The “right” amount of protection
* Mobil RFID 0% actual shrink with 2.3 million items!
Fixed RFID
Fort Knox
Protects 100% of the time
WAY too expensive
WAY overkill!
Two Categories of Project Mgmt
Basic Project Management
Notepad
Enterprise PPM
No matter how much you dress the dog,
it’s still a dog….
Enterprise needs more horsepower!
MS Word
Tired of Beating a Dead Horse?
Oracle: Primavera P6
HP: PPM Center
CA: Clarity
• Existing Enterprise PMM’s
•
Old legacy interfaces
• Steep learning curves
• Usability problems
•
•
Horror stories of 6 month installs
Outrageous prices
“After six
months…we
just gave up!”
Introducing…
AcmeProject
Tag Line Here
Positioning Dialogues
• One
• Two
• Three
Unfortunately…
• E-mail has problems
– It is not always the best
way to communicate—at
times it is the worst!
– It has a high productivity
and IT cost—and that cost
is increasing exponentially
– It carries a potential legal
and litigation risk
Advantages of VaporStream
1. Most of the advantages of a verbal
conversation—but much more convenient
2. It reduces the growing expense of e-mail
3. Minimizes the risk & high cost of
miscommunication and litigation
Validation
• Prove it!
• List 3 validations for your company
• List 3 validations for your product
– Validate with features/benefits – what makes your
product so unique that your prospects MUST buy it?
– 1,2,3
• These valuators now go into your elevator
speech, your collateral, your website, your
discussions with the press. You are on your way.
Deliverables
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Competitive matrix
Venn Diagram
Analogies
Positioning Statement
Top 3 Supporting Statements
Start the “Persuasive Document”
– Foundation document for everything else