Even when leadership teams buy into the importance of positioning, it isn't always obvious what the actual output of a positioning exercise should be. There are a few schools of thought on this.

1. Positioning Statement

In "Crossing the Chasm," Geoffrey Moore shared one of the most commonly used positioning statement templates:

For (target customer) who (statement of the need or opportunity), the (product name) is a (product category) that (statement of key benefit – that is, compelling reason to buy). Unlike (primary competitive alternative), our product (statement of primary differentiation)."

2. Positioning Document

Trying to force your positioning into a pre-defined statement like the one above can be kind of annoying and unhelpful. In her book "Obviously Awesome," April Dunford does an excellent job of articulating why:

One of my biggest complaints about the positioning statement was that the statement itself was too brief to communicate the subtleties of a product's position, and at the same time too contrived and awkward to be memorized or repeated.

She provides an alternative in the form of a "positioning canvas" document that is still very concise but focuses on key elements of positioning that matter – like category, alternatives, unique value, etc.

3. A Sales Deck That Does the Job

Finally, one emerging trend promoted by smart people like Andy Raskin is to lean on your sales deck as the definitive home of your company's positioning. In fact, he takes it a step further and advocates thinking about the story as the master articulation of your company strategy. In other words, don't get hung up on positioning documents that no one will ever look at. Nail the strategic narrative, get the whole company aligned, and live it every day.

-Doug​

Even when leadership teams buy into the importance of positioning, it isn't always obvious what the actual output of a positioning exercise should be. There are a few schools of thought on this.

1. Positioning Statement

In "Crossing the Chasm," Geoffrey Moore shared one of the most commonly used positioning statement templates:

For (target customer) who (statement of the need or opportunity), the (product name) is a (product category) that (statement of key benefit – that is, compelling reason to buy). Unlike (primary competitive alternative), our product (statement of primary differentiation)."

2. Positioning Document

Trying to force your positioning into a pre-defined statement like the one above can be kind of annoying and unhelpful. In her book "Obviously Awesome," April Dunford does an excellent job of articulating why:

One of my biggest complaints about the positioning statement was that the statement itself was too brief to communicate the subtleties of a product's position, and at the same time too contrived and awkward to be memorized or repeated.

She provides an alternative in the form of a "positioning canvas" document that is still very concise but focuses on key elements of positioning that matter – like category, alternatives, unique value, etc.

3. A Sales Deck That Does the Job

Finally, one emerging trend promoted by smart people like Andy Raskin is to lean on your sales deck as the definitive home of your company's positioning. In fact, he takes it a step further and advocates thinking about the story as the master articulation of your company strategy. In other words, don't get hung up on positioning documents that no one will ever look at. Nail the strategic narrative, get the whole company aligned, and live it every day.

-Doug​