The Ultimate Guide to Positioning

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Aug 19, 2024

Anthony, a leading writer on Product Marketing with extensive experience at FletchPMM, shares invaluable insights on the art of positioning. He describes how clear messaging can elevate a company's homepage and outlines the collaborative nature of product positioning among teams. Anthony discusses the strategic importance of effective frames of reference for new offerings and the pitfalls companies often face as they grow. He advocates for product-led growth strategies that simplify communication to boost customer engagement and conversion.

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ANECDOTE

Use-Case Positioning

Calendly initially focused on the use case of scheduling meetings, not a specific category.
Tango, similarly, focuses on the use case of creating software demos, leading with clear value.

ADVICE

Positioning in Product

Extend positioning throughout the entire customer journey, including the product itself.
Loom exemplifies this by incorporating its core messaging (saving meeting time) into product analytics.

ANECDOTE

Sales vs. Marketing Disconnect

Many sales-led companies create abstract categories (e.g., "revenue intelligence") but salespeople simplify in calls.
This disconnect confuses prospects who expect the pitched category, not a basic tool.

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Anthony is, perhaps, the web's favorite writer on Product Marketing. So in today’s podcast, we cover a key Product Marketing and Growth topic: The Ultimate Guide to Positioning.

We go deep on 4 main topics:

* Masterclass in Positioning (0:00)

* Building a Great Homepage (41:00)

* Anthony’s Growth Hot Takes (52:25)

* The Role of PMs and PMMs (1:06:00)

Along the way, we get to hear insider tales from Anthony's experience at FletchPMM.

A big shout-out to our launch sponsors that made this possible:

• Attio: A prior newsletter deep dive subject, Attio is the next generation CRM

• BuildBetter: By our very own newsletter collaborator, Spencer Shulem, BuildBetter is your 24/7 AI-powered analyst

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the episode:

1. Positioning is about giving frames of reference to help people understand the value of a new product or category.

* Most companies struggle with positioning as they grow. Increased complexity often leads them to reflect their organization chart in their offerings.

* The solution is to have really clear positioning that that stands on its own, rather than supporting each VP in the company. You do this by providing a frame of reference that highlights the value to the people.

2. Clear messaging on homepages is paramount to entice your potential customers:

* Over time, messaging clarity on homepages tends to degrade due to the complexity of growing companies and the influence of high-level executives.

* Avoid the temptation to include too much information on homepages and focus on providing representative samples of what the product can do.

* It should focus on the differentiated product capabilities rather than high-level outcomes.

3. The future of product marketing is to lead with features and product capabilities, rather than just focusing on benefits.

4. VC-backed companies should adopt a bootstrapped mindset and focus on getting customers and generating revenue.

Of course, you’ll have to check out the whole episode to get all the details.

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