How to develop a product positioning statement
Product positioning is a strategic activity that requires brain power and leg work. Doing it right will help your organization better understand the purpose of your product and will serve to align everyone’s efforts for moving forward. In other words, don’t rush it. Hashing out your positioning statement documents might take a couple of days or a couple of weeks, depending on how much consecutive time the team is available. Here are the steps:
Define what your product is
Market position is about occupying space in your customers’ minds. It is a way for prospective customers to understand who you are and what you’re all about so they can categorize you, associating what you do with them and why it’s important.
That said, humans only have a finite amount of space in their minds. If any particular space isn’t crowded, you have a good shot at joining that space. But if it’s crowded, you will have to displace another company to find room.
Think of it in terms of a grocery store. You need to decide which aisle and place on the shelf your product will occupy. If you’re doing something new and disruptive, try to connect it to something familiar. Remember, if you aren’t associated with something, you won’t be associated with anything. It’s no accident that the first automobiles were known as horseless carriages.

Consider your product’s value proposition
Product positioning and value proposition are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are, in fact, different. Product positioning starts with a product. A value proposition starts with the customer; it is a promise that your product or service will help a customer in a meaningful way. It is defined by customers in a market segment, using language they are familiar with, not your jargon.
Know your target customers
Developing a value proposition starts with a deep understanding of your target customer. What pains are they experiencing? How does that impact them and the company they work for? Your value proposition is to take some or all of those pains away and make life better for them in ways they care about.
You will likely need different value propositions for different target customers in different market segments. And while it may sound like more work, the investment in developing good value propositions will pay lasting dividends.
Develop a message
Once you’ve staked out a market position and developed value propositions, you have to communicate your promise to target customers. The process of messaging involves creating one or more themes that communicate your market position and value propositions to prospective buyers. However, your messaging will be pure guesswork without a market position and value proposition.
In addition to the market position and value propositions, personas and market segments are inputs that will help develop a clear message that conveys your promise to the people you want to help.