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?
Hey David – thanks so much for the mention and glad you liked the post!
Awesome, thanks for writing the great content.