Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Anatomy of a Positioning Statement
- Four Rules for Effective Product Positions
- Two Roles for Your Positioning Statement
Introduction
Question: What do these claims have in common?
- World-class
- First-rate
- Industry benchmark
- Superior
- Advanced
Answer: They are all empty platitudes.
Yet, they often find their way into capital equipment marketing messages. When they do, it is a sign that you are unsure who the customer is, what value you bring, and what your advantages are. Product managers seem to have no trouble generating reams of slides jammed with features and data for their product. Yet, they often struggle to draft a few dozen words to capture the essence of why customers should buy it. Attempts at the elevator pitch or positioning statement too often result in nothing more than empty platitudes.
Imagine you stumbled across this attempt at a positioning statement for Mr. Melty, a fictional multicrystalline silicon ingot growth furnace sold to silicon wafer manufacturers who then sell these wafers to photovoltaic (PV) solar cell makers.
Mr. Melty sets the industry standard for ingot growth furnaces. Its world-class technology provides unmatched performance on the most advanced multicrystalline silicon ingot manufacturing platform available today.
This positioning statement tells you nothing about who should buy Mr. Melty or why. The writer loaded it with empty platitudes. Nowhere in this positioning statement will you find the product’s target market, value proposition, or competitive advantages. As a positioning statement, it is not useful and desperately needs a makeover. What you need is a positioning statement that fits the following definition:
A positioning statement is your most precise and concise description of how you provide unique value to your customers.
Consider this revised Mr. Melty positioning statement:
Mr. Melty saves PV wafer manufacturers ~15% in capital expense. Its:
- 5 kW rhenium heater produces the fastest process times.
- Closed-loop, dual-zone temperature control ensures the highest yields.
From the revised Mr. Melty positioning statement, you know that the value proposition of lower capital expense comes from a unique ability to deliver the fastest process times and highest yields. Plus, you know that Mr. Melty does this specifically for PV wafer manufacturers. The rewritten positioning statement does not contain any empty platitudes and passes the precise-and-concise test.
Anatomy of a Positioning Statement
A positioning statement includes a value proposition and the unique positions that enable it. See Figure 58.
The value proposition for capital equipment is the financial outcome the buyer can expect. The value proposition needs to identify the:
- Product
- Target market
- Quantified value
The quantified value comes directly from your value model. (For more on value modeling, see Part II: Value-Based Strategy.)
Following the value proposition, your positioning statement needs to show how you uniquely deliver that value. You do this by taking positions. These are your competitive advantages that produce your value proposition.
Positions are the unique places you occupy in the customer’s mind where you claim to be the best.
Effective positions have two elements. The first is simply the position. In the Mr. Melty example, the positions are:
- Fastest process times
- Highest yields
Notice that in both positions Mr. Melty claims to be the best. “Fast process times” or “high yields” are not positions. They do not claim a unique space in the customer’s mind. Many suppliers can be fast. But only one can be the fastest. When constructing your positions, a good clue that you are on the right track is an “-st” word, such as:
- Most
- Least
- Fastest
- Highest
All these would describe unique positions—places where only one supplier can exist in the customer’s mind.
Your position is not complete until you indicate the source of your advantage. The source is the unique attribute of your product that enables the position. In the Mr. Melty example, the sources of advantage that produce the fastest process times and highest yields, respectively, are the:
- 5kW rhenium heater
- Closed-loop, dual-zone temperature control
Having the source of your advantage in the positioning statement does two things for you:
- It gives your positions credibility.
- It associates the positions with something your competition does not have.
If you take a position without naming its source, your audience will doubt your claim. But when you point to the exact rationale for claiming that high ground, you become more credible. Plus, when you cite your source of advantage, you thwart your competition’s ability to claim the same position.
Four Rules for Effective Product Positions
For product positions to be effective, they must have these four attributes:
1. True
In capital equipment, the purchasing process is very formal, and you can expect prospects to ask for data and product demonstrations to prove your claims. They will quickly expose unsubstantiated positions.
2. Unique
By definition, a position is a unique place in the market relative to your competitors. If you can attribute your position to a specific product attribute that your competition does not have and cannot imitate, you pass this test.
3. Directly Connected to Your Value Proposition
All that matters is creating financial value. You need to draw a direct connection between your positions and a unique ability to generate more profit for your customers.
- A Buying Decision Driver
For product positions to lead to purchases, they must directly affect factors that are important to the buying decision.
Two Roles for Your Positioning Statement
Your positioning statement has two vital roles in driving the commercial success of your product. A well-crafted positioning statement acts as the compass that will lead your prospects to the conclusion that they should buy from you. This handful of words forms the fountain from which all your marketing messages and activities flow.
The positioning statement also acts as the compass for your product strategy and market requirements documents. It tells you which capabilities you must excel at and how you will measure the results.