--- title: Positioning Strategy — Brand Marketing Module 2 — RGM Training url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/brand-marketing/brand-strategy-and-positioning/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/brand-marketing/brand-strategy-and-positioning/ --- RGM° · Training # Positioning Strategy Positioning lives in consumers' minds, not in marketing decks. This module covers the frameworks that work, the failure modes that recur, the statement template that survives review, and how to make positioning real across the organization. ### What you will learn 1. What positioning actually is and what makes positioning real 2. The Al Ries / Jack Trout original framework 3. The April Dunford repositioning 4. The positioning statement template that survives review 5. Category creation vs category competition 6. Frames of reference and competitive set choice 7. Differentiation: real, sustainable, defensible 8. Positioning failure modes 9. Repositioning a brand: when and how 10. Testing positioning 11. Living the positioning across the organization ## 1. Positioning Positioning is the act of designing the company's offer and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market (Kotler). The "place in the mind" is the operative phrase: positioning lives in consumers' perception, not in marketing decks. ## 2. The original Ries/Trout framework Ries and Trout's 1981 *Positioning* framed brand-building as a battle for share of mind. Core ideas that have aged well: - The first brand in a category has structural advantage. - "Best" claims are weaker than "first" or "only" claims. - Crowded categories require sub-category creation to win share. - Consumers cannot hold many brands in any category. ## 3. April Dunford's reframing April Dunford's *Obviously Awesome* (2019) updated positioning for B2B and SaaS. Her framework: 1. Identify the competitive alternatives (what would customers do without you?). 2. Identify the unique attributes you possess that competitive alternatives do not. 3. Map those unique attributes to value the customer cares about. 4. Identify the target customer who cares most about that value. 5. Select a market category that signals the value and is fastest for the customer to understand. ## 4. The positioning statement The standard format: For [target customer] who [statement of need or opportunity], [brand] is [category frame] that [unique benefit]. Unlike [competitive alternative], [brand] [key point of difference]. ## 5. Category creation vs competition Three positioning strategies: - **Category leadership:** Win the existing category. Hardest when category leaders are entrenched. - **Sub-category creation:** Define a new sub-category you can lead. - **Category creation:** Define a wholly new category. Highest risk, highest reward (Salesforce did this with "no software"; Drift did this with "conversational marketing"). ## 6. Frames of reference The choice of competitive frame — what category you claim to be in — is one of the highest-leverage positioning decisions. Volvo positions in the "safety car" sub-category. Tesla positioned in "electric performance vehicles," not in "alternative-fuel vehicles." Slack positioned against email, not against IM. ## 7. Differentiation that holds Differentiation must be: real (consumers can verify it), sustainable (you can defend it), and defensible (competitors cannot easily copy). Differentiation on a feature any competitor can replicate in 90 days is not durable. ## 8. Failure modes **Anti-pattern:** "We are the leading [category] for [adjective] customers, combining [attribute 1] with [attribute 2]." This is the generic-positioning template that produces interchangeable brands. - Trying to position to too many segments. - Positioning on attributes the customer does not value. - Positioning on attributes competitors can easily match. - Positioning that conflicts with the actual product experience. - Positioning that the sales team contradicts in customer conversations. ## 9. Repositioning Repositioning is the act of changing the brand's perceived position. It is expensive and slow. Common triggers: category disruption, M&A, performance plateau, competitive shift, product evolution. Mature repositioning requires 18 - 36 months of consistent communication to move perception meaningfully. ## 10. Testing positioning - Concept tests with target customers. - A/B tests on landing-page positioning statements. - Sales-pitch testing. - Win-loss analysis (do customers articulate the positioning back?). - Search-volume analysis (does the category you claim have search demand?). ## 11. Living the positioning Positioning fails when it lives only in the marketing deck. The functional implications: - Product roadmap aligned with positioning. - Sales messaging consistent. - Customer success language consistent. - Hiring profile aligned with positioning. - Pricing aligned (premium positioning requires premium pricing). - Partnership and channel selection aligned. **How to use this module:** The Dunford framework (Section 3), the statement template (Section 4), and the testing checklist (Section 10) are the planning artifacts. ### Sources & further reading - Books: Al Ries & Jack Trout, *Positioning*; April Dunford, *Obviously Awesome*; Geoffrey Moore, *Crossing the Chasm*; Marty Cagan, *Inspired*; Andy Raskin essays - [April Dunford's blog](https://www.aprildunford.com/) - [Andy Raskin's strategic-narrative essays](https://medium.com/@andyraskin) - [Silicon Valley Product Group](https://www.svpg.com/articles/) - [HBR Strategy](https://hbr.org/topic/strategy) - [Kim and Mauborgne, *Blue Ocean Strategy*](https://store.hbr.org/product/blue-ocean-strategy-expanded-edition-how-to-create-uncontested-market-space-and-make-the-competition-irrelevant/11108) - [Strategy+Business](https://www.strategy-business.com/) - [Korn Ferry insights](https://www.kornferry.com/insights) - [BCG publications](https://www.bcg.com/publications) - [McKinsey strategy insights](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights) - [Bain strategy](https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/strategy/) - [April Dunford's positioning quiz](https://www.bothbrainsrequired.com/positioning-quiz/) --- Part of the [Brand Marketing](/training/brand-marketing/) series · RGM Training