The Key to Power Positioning
I was facilitating a session on product positioning. The team was really nailing it, with a strong focus on customer problems. Then the session came to a crashing halt when the VP of Marketing said,
“We need to incorporate the word ‘power.’ Didn’t you notice how the president’s eyes really lit up every time you said ‘power’ yesterday?”
I could feel the energy leave the room. And a few people glanced at me to see how I would handle it.
I said, “You have to decide: are you communicating your product to your president or to your market?” [Tweet this]
Every company has politics, some more than others. You surely need to embrace ideas from others in the company. But you also need to ensure that you’re communicating your message to clients and potential customers—not to your organization’s employees and executives. Agilists, growth hackers, and traditional marketers: test your promotions with the same rigor as you test your products.
After all, who are we selling to? Customers or colleagues? You want your clients' eyes to light up.
Using the language of your market persona is powerful indeed.
About Steve Johnson
Steve Johnson is a product management process coach, author, speaker, and advisor. His approach is based on the belief that minimal process and simple templates result in a nimble product marketing and management team. Before founding Under10, Steve was a Pragmatic Marketing instructor for over 15 years and personally trained thousands of product managers and hundreds of company senior executive teams. Learn more at www.under10playbook.com
In his spare time, Steve enjoys making music, and has an album available on iTunes. Check out Steve’s music at notExactlySteve.com