The Trojan Horse that gets new customers through the door
In the work that came before, we identified dozens of different benefits. We validated several, ranked and scored by clients.
We then narrowed our selection to one persona.
And through our customer interviews, we discovered a range of 'positioning ingredients' that we can deploy throughout our messaging. Things like:
- The industry changes
- The stakes
- The enemy
- Their problems
- The status quo
- The trigger point
- Our superpower to be
- Their promise land looks like
- The proof of results
Now, it may be that this persona highly rated two or three different product benefits that help them get what they want.
But, for our positioning message…
We're focusing on one
For simplicity, we lead with one.
The Trojan Horse to get us through the door (in their mind).
And the way we'll articulate our positioning is through a message that pokes at the symptoms of the problem we solve.
Not the causes
Often, businesses speak to the root cause of the problem.
If you were a company like Drift selling real time messaging, the problem they help a user solve is: inefficient communication and engagement.
Now, if Drift were focusing their message on solving the root causes of that problem, they might address:
- Disconnected communication channels
- Manual communication processes
- Delayed response time
The problem here, from a messaging perspective, is twofold. Firstly, root causes are often broad and generic. They're relevant to many products and problems, and therefore, they're undifferentiated and bland.
Secondly, prospects aren't looking to solve root causes. They may not even be aware of them.
What they're looking to solve are symptoms.
Sticking with the Drift example, those symptoms could be:
- High bounce rates
- Low conversion rates
- Declining customer satisfaction scores
- Low customer communication engagement
See the difference? That's the kind of pain that prospects are trying to solve.
Now, less talk
Let's see what great positioning looks like in practice on your homepage…
Proof
Here, Dropbox leads with the superpower (security), supported by proof (700 million people trust us) that addresses the customer's fear and problem (I have important documents that I need to store without fear of losing access or them getting stolen).
The implicit who
Sometimes, the who isn't explicitly categorised by a job title or market sector. For Canva, it's defined by a pain: a non-designer who needs to create a design. Before Canva, we non-designers were restricted to complicated, difficult-to-use design tools for designers.
Canva's superpower (ease of use) directly corresponds to the ideal customer (who isn't a designer).
The enemy
Fathom Analytics' primary purpose is to provide private GDPR-compliant analytics that respect a user's privacy. They lead with that in their positioning as their superpower, along with simplicity.
But crucially, they also identify an enemy which, in their eyes, represents the antithesis of digital privacy: Google Analytics.
Their positioning is clear - if you use Google Analytics but value privacy, switch to Fathom.
Their Problems
Inturn lead with the number one problem for their customers - Overwhelm of managing excess inventory. They then give us three benefits of the Promise Land when you overcome this problem. Plus, they give us an implicit indication of who this software is primarily for - Firms managing inventory with SAP.
The Superpower
Dropbox Sign (formerly Hello Sign) simply nail their Superpower. Users want to get their contracts signed faster. "That's what we do."
A combination
Wynter has more going on above the fold than previous examples, but I think it works. They tell us who it's for (B2B SaaS), what it's for (get insight from target customers) and what their superpower is (fast and easy)
Over to you
It's time to put everything together.
This isn't easy work. Through this series, you've seen that it takes time to hypothesise your positioning, never mind validate it in the market.
But honestly, when you get this right, this has a fundamental impact on your business. All marketing success stems from your positioning.
I've used Drift as an example several times in these emails. Sure, they were backed by big investment and had smart people onboard to manage tactical implementation, such as paid and organic media, but fundamentally, their wild success came because they developed a category-defining position.
That's the opportunity you have when you get this right.
I'd love to know:
Have you tried using a specific message that’s clicked with your audience recently? What was it?
Until next time,
Oren
P.S. Want help on your SaaS positioning? Here’s how I can help 1:1.
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