April Dunford has an amazing post up titled A Startup Positioning Template. Effectively positioning a startup is incredibly difficult, and most entrepreneurs struggle with it. Over the years I’ve looked at dozens of Simplified One Page Strategic Plans, which has a number of positioning elements, and those are some of the most poorly-done sections.

Here’s the Startup Positioning Template:

• What is it?
  As short as possible statement that describes what you are
• Target Segment
  The specific target market you are targeting in the short term
• Market Category
  The market that you compete in
• Competitive Alternatives
  If your customers don’t use you, what do they use
• Primary Differentiation
  The one thing that sets you apart the most from the competitive alternatives
• Key Benefit
  The biggest benefit that your target market derives from your offering

Entrepreneurs would do well to use a methodology like the Startup Positioning Template and work through the different components. The next time the topic comes up, have everyone read A Startup Positioning Template.

What else? What are some more thoughts on the Startup Positioning Template?