❯ Practical Positioning

STP. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning. The holy grail of marketing. I'd wager the most effective marketing teams spend the bulk of their time STP—living in the arena of market orientation and customer understanding. They don't over-invest in the philosophical (purpose) or short-term (tactical decisions). Marketing strategy lies in STP, and the trio sets out to answer organization-level decisions:

• Segmentation - what market are we aiming to win in and what groups are in that market?

• Target - who are the most valuable groups or customers in that market? What cohort does our company target?

• Positioning - how do we show up in the market and to our target?

Great positioning can leapfrog competition. Apple's privacy positioning kicked the ladder out from underneath Meta (Facebook). Nike has leveraged positioning to keep market leadership for decades. Data company dbt Labs leaned into positioning for explosive growth (6x revenue YOY).

Positioning is grounded in reality—the reality of the customer and the market. Netflix's Reed Hasting (famously) said they competed with sleep, but snoozed on market competitors and had their lunch taken. So, let's take the philosophy of positioning and make it realistic. The three frameworks below represent three levels of positioning depth and marketing maturity.

• Brief positioning: a rough start, moving conversations forward by creating shared understanding.

  • Target: Who is your target?

  • Offering: What are you selling?

  • Alternatives: If you didn't exist, what would your target buy or do?

  • Better: What about your offering is better or unique from the alternatives?
    

• Detailed positioning: a serious look at positioning, informing product development, roadmaps, and marketing efforts.

  • Target: Who is your target?

  • Offering: What are you selling?

  • Alternatives: If you didn't exist, what would your target buy or do?

  • Better: What about your offering is better or unique from the alternatives?

  • **Value + Proof: What value do the better or unique features above enable for customers? What proof do you have?

  • **Target Characteristics: Who cares a lot about that value? Is it your target?

  • **Category: In what market and context is your value obvious to the target?
    

• Comprehensive positioning: an in-depth look to provide organizational direction, informing how you operate and how you will win at the firm level.

  • Target: Who is your target?

  • Offering: What are you selling?

  • Alternatives: If you didn't exist, what would your target buy or do?

  • **Alternatives Marketing Mix: What are the 4Ps of the alternatives?

  • Better: What about your offering is better or unique from the alternatives?

  • Value + Proof: What value do the better or unique features above enable for customers? What proof do you have?

  • Target Characteristics: Who cares a lot about that value? Is it your target from step one?

  • Category: In what market and context is your value obvious to the target?

  • **Relevant Trends: What industry or consumer trends are relevant to your business and product right now?
    

WHY THREE FRAMEWORKS?

Proper positioning takes significant effort. Each framework level can be used to right-size against the demand: exploration with Brief positioning to investment with Comprehensive positioning. Each level talks to the customer and researches the market in increasing depth.

STRATEGY CHECK

Positioning works in conjunction with business strategy (and is reflected in the marketing mix). If it hasn't been done, check for structural attractiveness of the intended business: typical margins, moats, and market conditions. For example, brands and products have the potential to be de-positioned quickly if barriers to entry are low. This context enables teams to keep the right pulse on their positioning.

Snapshot:

I've come to appreciate your patience and joy. A year of research and six months of waiting on your new car (the chip shortage is something else). And, through the waiting, you had no complaints (even when I did). Driving to pick it up, your delight was infectious. It's funny how a new vehicle symbolizes so much.

Striving for better,

Justin Pichichero