Hi I’m looking to build a B2b positioning framework and a matrix for sign off from various teams internally. Does anyone have a template already in place that has worked well for you?

I shared a similar response to a separate question, but positioning is such a nebulous and somewhat vaguely understood topic by product marketers and product managers, that I'd love to help.

Here are the 5 main inputs I think about when defining positioning:

• Market Category – the space in your customer's mind where your company and/or product fits. This is the frame of reference for your buyers.

• Target Audience – your ideal customer profile + the buyer personas and user personas who are a good fit.

• Competitive Alternatives – how your target audience would try to solve this problem if you didn't exist, and why they'd fall short.

• Value Proposition – the main problem you solve for your customers, and the key benefit you provide.

• Differentiation – how you’re unique or comparatively better than alternatives.

April Dunford is probably the most authoritative positioning expert and I'd encourage reading her book Obviously Awesome or checking out her blog. She has a positioning matrix template which contains some similar elements as what you see above.

One hot take I'd also offer up. You likely are familiar with the positioning statement template Geoffrey Moore pioneered, which goes like this:

For < target customer>

who ,

is a

that . 

Unlike ,

.

I love Geoffrey Moore's works and Crossing the Chasm may be the best business book ever written. But I'd steer you away from this positioning statement template. I've created many positioning statements in my career using this format, only to never look at them again. April Dunford has written about why the positioning statement lacks durability, and I've come around to this point of view after too many false starts creating positioning statement shelfware myself.

I'd boil it down to this – positioning is an incredibly strategic and consequential subject. I'd argue it's the most important thing to nail outside of having a good product. Trying to shoehorn positioning into an oversimplified 2-sentence Mad Libs is a surefire way to cut corners and reduce clarity. The whole point of positioning is to create clarity around why you exist, the category in which you play, and your differentiated value. So don't shortchange it with a reductive template.