Is competitive positioning an output of a feature or a marketing story?

I think you've taken the right approach! I would never recommend only building out your positioning based on features or products. You need a full, compelling story which should include non-product things as well as product-related things. Non-product things could be services you offer, training classes or certifications you give, industries or personas you specialize in, etc. Building out a full story including all of your unique value propositions and differentiators allows you to have a better position in the market and doesn't leave you constantly repositioning if a competitor comes out with a new feature.

As I mentioned in one of the other answers, once you have your unique value props or UVPs, you can then apply the MUD framework (what is meaningful, unique, defensible) and start to layer in your competitive positioning there. Features should never be the only part of your positioning, competitive or otherwise. Your approach with a differentiated story is a good one. Set up your story, surround it with both features and non-feature based UVPs. Then take that story and map out where your competitive differentiators lie (the defensible part of MUD) and you'll be in good shape.

Everything is a marketing story when it comes to communicating with customers. ;) Competitive positioning should be an output from competitive analysis. If you’re not seeing your competitive positioning resonating with your audience, then you need to go back to your analysis. 

I’ve often found that PMMs approach competitive analysis from a feature-comparison perspective. While that can be helpful, it is not the full picture. It’s far too limited, and you cannot create a strong story from this. 

When you approach competitive analysis from a customer’s problem/pain, then you’ll create the competitive positioning that resonates.

Check out my answer to THIS QUESTION to learn more about how I approach competitive analysis with a customer-first perspective.

Good competitive positioning IMO has to do both. Grounding your competitive positioning in features as the tangible, objective capabilities of your product is important. However, the marketing story is how you translate those features into a narrative that resonates with your target audience and taps into their painpoints, desire, and emotions.

To be more concrete, take Company A that primarily appeals to buyers based on a comparison list of features/functionality and what they have that their competitors are missing. Company B, on the other hand deeply understands the painpoints of their target audience. Although they're missing certain features that other competitors might have, the fact that their service & delivery teams take a lot of administration off of their buyer's plate, means that their buyer can focus on more pressing projects. They couple that with a customer story of a buyer who was promoted in their role because they were able to take those time savings and focus on higher level strategic initiatives because of all the time they saved. That story is going to resonate more.

All to say, the most effective competitive positioning starts with a deep understanding of your company and your competitor's features & functionality. But it doesn't end there — they take that understanding to craft a specific narrative that speaks to the emotions, needs, and incentives of their customers.

Here's my two-cents:

• Your feature/product will always have the same competitors. You may see additional competitors in deals as you create new products/features AND these competitors may not recognize you as a true competitor until you're larger (i.e, at Mercury traditional banks were our competitor, but they didn't care about us; same with Concur at Brex). However, your competitive set wouldn't change.

• Competitors can (and often do) have the same basic positioning (just look at "corporate cards" as an example), whereas the messaging might be somewhat different. I do think the most talented PMMs/marketers can leverage their features and jobs-to-be-done to create really great messaging. For instance, at Mercury I spearheaded the positioning of "Banking basics" whereas in my current role at Brex's business account we play into how we have more advanced features "Financial foundation at scale."

• I also think it can be a marketing story if you are trying to move upmarket or change the perception of your company. We did this at Brex recently with our Concur competitive campaign. By putting billboards, social ads, and SEM directly targeting Concur users, we cemented ourselves in the spend management industry (v.s. just card).

Hope this helps!

I would say it's both.

Competitive positioning attracts customers who resonate with your approach and empowers sales teams to highlight key differentiations effectively. However, the success of competitive positioning hinges on the integration of product features that underscore your competitive advantage, ensuring a unified and compelling narrative about your brand's strengths and specialties. This synergy between product development and marketing strategy is crucial for conveying a clear and consistent message about what sets you apart in the marketplace.