Product Positioning: Why It Matters and Where It Starts - Part I
Product positioning is one of the most important parts of building a strong brand, yet it is also one of the most overlooked. Many businesses jump straight into selling without understanding the real story behind their product, their customers, or their competition. This leads to mixed messages, weak marketing, and inconsistent results.
Before you talk about your product, you need to understand it. Before you tell customers why it matters, you need to know what makes it different. Positioning is your foundation. It is how you set up your product to succeed.
Part one breaks down where product positioning truly begins.
1. Why Positioning Must Start With Research
Strong positioning is never a guess. It is built through research and clarity.
You need to understand three core areas:
Your product
Your customers
Your competition
This is the groundwork that shapes everything that comes next.
2. Know the Product Inside and Out
You cannot position what you do not understand. You must know your product in detail:
What it does
What problem it solves
What makes it unique
Why someone would choose it
Where it wins and where it needs improvement
When you understand your product deeply, your messaging becomes confident and clear. You are able to highlight real value, speak to real needs, and create a story that resonates.
3. Begin With a SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis is the smartest place to start because it forces you to look at the full picture:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
This gives you direction. It tells you where your product stands and how you can position it in a meaningful way. Without it, positioning becomes a guess. With it, positioning becomes intentional.
4. Understand Your Customer on a Deeper Level
Positioning is not just about describing your product. It is about speaking to the person who needs it.
You need to know:
What they care about
What problems they want solved
What motivates them
What holds them back
How they make decisions
When you understand your customer, your messaging becomes personal and effective. You are no longer speaking into the void. You are speaking directly to the person who is most likely to say yes.
5. Why Part One Matters
Most brands skip the research and jump straight into writing taglines, launching ads, or developing websites. But without this foundation, none of that work sticks. Part one gives you clarity. Part two will show you how to turn that clarity into strategy and messaging that converts.
Stay tuned for Part Two: How to Position Your Product Across Every Marketing Channel
This next part will walk you through how to take your message and apply it to direct mail, email, social media, your website, and every other vehicle your customers interact with.
If you want your message, visuals, and strategy to work together with ease, let’s talk about how we can elevate your brand.