positioning

Core Philosophy

Positioning is not copywriting, taglines, or branding fluff. Positioning is the strategic exercise of defining the specific context in which your product wins. Following April Dunford’s Obviously Awesome principles, positioning clarifies what your product is, who it is for, why it is uniquely valuable, and why the customer should care—relative to the realistic alternatives they would use if you did not exist.

5-Step Positioning Architecture

Step 1: Identify Real Competitive Alternatives

Unpack the Default:
- Ask: "What would the customer do if our product vanished tomorrow?"
- True alternatives are rarely just direct software competitors; they are usually:
  - Internal spreadsheets (Excel/Google Sheets).
  - Manual labor or hiring an intern/contractor.
  - Custom-built internal bash/python scripts.
  - Doing nothing and tolerating the status quo.