6 Key Attributes To Your Product Positioning

I find it funny how some people who can say "Arthur" just fine consistently mispronounce my name.

Just skip the 'r', guys.

Yet, somehow "Aatir" turns into my alternate egos: Ateer and Attaar.

But then I realized that they may not be the ones to blame.

The spelling of my name is unique and thus, they are probably unable to make connections with comparable words.

Thus, I have to enunciate my name every time to put them back on track.

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Product positioning has parallels to this issue.

If customers can't understand your positioning angle (spelling), they won't be able to link it with problems that resonate with them (known pronunciations).

Once that disconnection happens, it's like forcing a rectangle block through a triangle hole.

With the wrong positioning, your conversion rates will clog up and sales cycles will be longer, no matter how much budget you throw behind it.

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How can positioning make an impact? Well, pitch a fidget spinner as a toy and you're in the kid's market. Position it as a stress reliever for office folks - completely different ball game.

I know how positioning might seem needlessly academic to marketers but I'd highly recommend you read April Dunford's Obviously Awesome to change your mind.

While reading her book, I couldn't help but think how Drift is a masterclass example of the concepts she teaches.

Drift could have taken the easy route and challenged chat solutions like Zendesk and Live Chat head on.

But it changed the game by choosing to play on a different turf. Drift positioned themselves against web forms and lead generation tools.

It created a new category of conversational marketing that effectively allowed them to poke holes on why forms are evil.

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April mentions 6 key positioning attributes in her book and I think Drift checks all the boxes:

(a) Competitive alternatives: they went after web forms that weren't engaging and felt like chores for users.

(b) Unique attributes: a plug & play chat tool that converses like a virtual salesman that gets you meetings.

(c) Value: customers get answers to questions specific to them in an easy chat experience that they're used to and familiar with. They book meetings with a few clicks.

(d) Target market: B2B SaaS marketing sites that thrive on customer demos.

(e) Market category: They claim to a lead generation tool in the web forms category. (not live chat).

(f) Relevant trends: they're playing up AI chatbots and workflow-based play books to keep up with rising tech.

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Positioning yourselves right can instantly unlock a relevant audience, reduce cost of acquisition & boost inbound leads.