# Positioning Frameworks Reference Canonical definitions for the 5 positioning frameworks used in this skill. Apply them in order: Dunford's process first (primary engine), then express the result through Moore and Neumeier formats, grounded by JTBD thinking, and sanity-checked against Ries & Trout principles. --- ## 1. April Dunford — Obviously Awesome Positioning defines how your product is the best in the world at providing something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about. **The 5 components (work through in this order):** 1. **Competitive Alternatives** — What would customers do if your solution didn't exist? Not just direct competitors — include manual processes, spreadsheets, hiring someone, doing nothing. This grounds the positioning in reality. 2. **Unique Attributes** — What do you have that the alternatives don't? Be specific and factual. Not "better UX" but "drag-and-drop workflow builder that requires zero code." Capabilities, features, expertise, integrations, data, speed, etc. 3. **Value Themes** — What do those attributes enable for the customer? Map each attribute to a customer benefit. Attributes are features; value themes are outcomes. "Drag-and-drop builder" → "Non-technical teams can build workflows without waiting for engineering." Group related attributes into 2-3 themes. 4. **Best-Fit Customers** — Who cares the most about these value themes? The best customers are those for whom your unique value is critical, not just nice-to-have. Define by characteristics that make them care more than others. 5. **Market Category** — The context you position your product in so the value is obvious. Three options: - **Existing category**: You're a better version of something people already buy (e.g., "CRM for real estate agents") - **New sub-category**: You take an existing category and add a qualifier (e.g., "AI-powered recruiting platform") - **New category**: Rare and expensive to do. Only if nothing else frames your value well. **Adapted 10-step process for AI-guided positioning:** 1. Understand your best customers — who loves your product and why 2. Form the positioning team — in our case: the AI + the founder 3. Align on vocabulary — define terms, abandon preconceptions about current positioning 4. List your true competitive alternatives — EVERYTHING customers would do instead 5. Isolate your unique attributes — what you have that alternatives don't 6. Map attributes to value themes — attribute → "so what" → customer outcome 7. Determine who cares most — best-fit customer characteristics 8. Find your best market frame — category that makes value obvious 9. Layer on a trend — only if genuine, optional 10. Capture the positioning — multiple formats: Moore statement, Onliness, elevator pitch **Common pitfalls by component:** - **Alternatives:** Only listing direct competitors. Miss the status quo — manual processes, spreadsheets, hiring someone, doing nothing. These are often the real competition. - **Attributes:** Listing features that alternatives also have. That is table stakes, not differentiation. If two competitors also have it, it is not unique. - **Value Themes:** Staying at the feature level instead of translating to outcomes. "AI-powered" is an attribute. "Get answers in seconds instead of hours" is a value theme. - **Best-Fit Customers:** Too broad ("SMBs") or demographic ("25-34 year olds") instead of characteristic-based. Define by behaviors, situations, and needs that make them care more. - **Category:** Inventing a category nobody searches for. If customers cannot Google it, they cannot find you. --- ## 2. Geoffrey Moore — Crossing the Chasm Positioning Statement **The template:** > **For** [target customer] > **who** [statement of need/opportunity], > **the** [product name] **is a** [market category] > **that** [statement of key benefit]. > **Unlike** [primary competitive alternative], > **our product** [statement of primary differentiation]. **Field definitions:** - **Target customer** = Dunford component 4: Best-Fit Customers - **Need** = The job to be done (from JTBD analysis) - **Category** = Dunford component 5: Market Category - **Key benefit** = Dunford component 3: Value Themes (pick the strongest) - **Alternative** = Dunford component 1: top Competitive Alternative - **Differentiation** = Dunford component 2: Unique Attributes (most defensible) **Example:** For mid-market engineering teams who need to track deployment reliability across microservices, DeployWatch is a deployment observability platform that surfaces breaking changes before they reach production. Unlike generic APM tools, DeployWatch correlates deployments with performance regressions in real-time. --- ## 3. Marty Neumeier — Zag (Onliness Statement) **Basic template:** > Our [brand/product] is the only [category] that [point of radical differentiation]. **Extended template (6 elements):** > - **WHAT:** The category you are in > - **HOW:** Your point of differentiation > - **WHO:** Your target audience > - **WHERE:** Your market geography > - **WHY:** The customer need you fulfill > - **WHEN:** The trend or moment that makes this relevant **Example (Harley-Davidson):** "The only motorcycle manufacturer [WHAT] that makes big, loud motorcycles [HOW] for macho guys and macho wannabes [WHO] mostly in the United States [WHERE] who want to join a gang of cowboys [WHY] in an era of decreasing personal freedom [WHEN]." **How to use as validation:** - If you cannot complete the basic statement convincingly, your positioning lacks a clear differentiator - If "only" feels like a stretch, you have not found genuinely unique ground yet - The extended version forces completeness — every element should feel natural, not forced - Try completing it from the customer's perspective: would THEY describe you this way? --- ## 4. JTBD — Jobs to Be Done **Core concept:** Customers do not buy products — they "hire" products to get a job done. The job is stable even as products come and go. **Three types of jobs:** - **Functional:** The practical task (e.g., "track my team's project status") - **Social:** How they want to be perceived (e.g., "look organized and in control to stakeholders") - **Emotional:** How they want to feel (e.g., "feel confident nothing is falling through the cracks") **Application to positioning:** - JTBD broadens the competitive alternative set — ALL solutions hired for the same job compete, regardless of category - Understanding the emotional and social jobs reveals positioning angles that feature comparisons miss - The language customers use to describe their job IS the language your positioning should use - Underserved jobs (important but poorly satisfied) = strongest positioning opportunities --- ## 5. Ries & Trout — Positioning Principles **Core principles from "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind":** - **Positioning lives in the customer's mind, not your product.** It is about perception, not reality. You cannot force a position — you claim one that is available. - **Simplicity wins.** In an over-communicated world, only simple messages get through. One idea, clearly stated. - **The mental ladder.** Customers organize brands on mental ladders by attribute. You need to claim a rung. If the top rung is taken, find a different ladder. - **First beats best.** Being first in a category (in the customer's mind) is more powerful than being better. If you cannot be first in an existing category, create a subcategory where you ARE first. - **Consistency over time.** Positioning takes time to stick. Do not change it every quarter. Pick a position and hold it. **Application:** These principles act as a final sanity check. After building positioning through Dunford's process, test it: Is it simple? Does it claim one clear rung? Is that rung available? Would it stick over time?