It can be challenging for companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Especially when competitors have the same features.
This is where positioning is powerful.
To clarify how you can do this with your product, let's walk through some examples of companies you are familiar with in a very competitive space.
Examples of this in practice
Slack, Discord, and Microsoft Teams do very similar things but position themselves differently.
Despite all three having similar features such as threads, reactions, channels, and video chat, they each have a distinct identity and value proposition that sets them apart from one another.
Let’s walk through these examples together.
Slack positioning
Target ICPs
They target growing enterprises and startups, messaging the best user experience
Alternatives
Email, Teams, Skype
Problem
Clunky, poor UI and boring
Benefits
Allows teams to work faster and more flexibly than ever before
Discord positioning
Target ICPs
Targets younger creative groups and gamers, messaging fun and ease of use
Alternatives
iMessage, in-game chat
Problem
High latency and not cross-platform
Benefits
Provides easy way to talk and hang out more often
Microsoft Teams positioning
Target ICPs
With its existing products and large user base, has an advantage over startups. Teams targets existing Office365 users, messaging a more complete experience.
Alternatives
Email, Slack, Skype, iMessage
Problem
Not connected with Office365 accounts
Benefits
Improves Office365 workflows
The takeaway?
For early-stage startups, being very specific in who you target is the only path to carve out a unique spot in the market.
If you're curious to learn more about positioning frameworks or want to chat on this topic, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
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