obviously-awesome

# Product Positioning Framework

April Dunford's "Obviously Awesome" methodology: a structured, repeatable process for defining how your product is the best in the world at delivering something a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about. Positioning determines what customers compare you to, which features they notice, and ultimately whether they buy.

## Core Principle

**Positioning is not messaging. Positioning is context.**

Positioning defines the context within which customers evaluate your product -- what category they place you in, what alternatives they compare you against, and how they judge your value. Customers always evaluate relative to alternatives; there is no absolute product perception -- a product that seems expensive in one context seems cheap in another. Deliberately choose the context that makes your unique strengths obvious: get it right and messaging, sales, and pricing become dramatically easier; get it wrong and no amount of clever copywriting will save you.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Rate any product's positioning 0-10 using the bands below, and always state the current score with the specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.

| Score | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| 0-2 | No clear positioning; customers can't explain what the product is or who it's for |
| 3-4 | Vague: category unclear, differentiation weak, target customer is "everyone" |
| 5-6 | Partial: some components clear, others missing; team members describe the product differently |
| 7-8 | Strong: all five components defined, team aligned, customers generally understand the value |
| 9-10 | Exceptional: every component reinforces the others; customers immediately get what it is, why it's different, and why they should care |

## The Positioning Canvas

The 10 outputs of positioning, captured in one place. Steps 1-5 build the top five; the rest are derived from them. Every team member should fill this out and arrive at the same answers -- divergence signals misalignment.

| Component | Fill-in Question | Example Answer |
|-----------|------------------|----------------|
| Competitive Alternatives | What would customers use if we didn't exist? | Spreadsheets, consultants, doing nothing |
| Unique Attributes | What do we have that alternatives don't? | Real-time collaboration on financial models |
| Value Themes | What value do those attributes enable? | Save 10 hours/week on financial reporting |
| Best-Fit Customers | Who cares most about that value? | Mid-market CFOs managing 3+ business units |
| Market Category | What market frame makes our value obvious? | FP&A software |
| Relevant Trends | What market dynamics create urgency now? | Remote finance teams need real-time collaboration |
| Positioning Statement | For [target], we are the [category] that [key value] | "For mid-market CFOs, the FP&A platform built for real-time collaboration" |
| Key Proof Points | What evidence shows our claims are true? | Case studies, usage data, third-party benchmarks |
| Sales Narrative | How do we tell this story in a sales conversation? | Problem -> old way -> new way -> our solution -> proof |
| Messaging | What external headline derives from positioning? | "Financial planning that keeps up with your business" |

See [references/positioning-canvas.md](references/positioning-canvas.md) when filling out the canvas for a real product -- it has the blank template plus three fully worked examples (B2B SaaS, consumer app, professional services).

## The 5-Step Positioning Process

### Step 1: Identify Your Competitive Alternatives

**Core concept:** Understand what your best customers would do if your product vanished tomorrow -- not just direct competitors, but any way they solve the problem today: manual processes, spreadsheets, hiring someone, or doing nothing.

**Why it works:** Customers always evaluate products relative to alternatives, so "differentiated" only has meaning against the real alternatives in your customer's mind.

**Key insights:**
- Interview 15-20 existing happy customers, not prospects -- they can tell you what they actually switched from
- The most common alternative is often not a product -- it's a spreadsheet, a manual process, or the status quo
- "Do nothing" is your biggest competitor in many markets
- Group similar alternatives ("general-purpose spreadsheets" rather than Excel, Sheets, Numbers)
- Different customer segments may have different alternatives

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| New product launch | Interview early adopters on what they used before | "70% used spreadsheets, 20% a generic PM tool, 10% hired contractors" |
| Repositioning | Survey churned and retained customers | Retained customers compared you to consultants, not software |
| Competitive analysis | Map alternatives by segment | Enterprise compares to Salesforce; SMBs to spreadsheets |

**Copy patterns:**
- "Unlike [competitive alternative], [product] does [unique thing]"
- "Stop using [painful alternative] for [job]"
- "You've outgrown [alternative]. Here's what comes next."

**Ethical boundary:** Base alternatives on actual customer research, never assumptions or wishful thinking.

See [references/competitive-alternatives.md](references/competitive-alternatives.md) when preparing or running the customer interviews -- it has the full question script, the five alternative types, clustering, and "do nothing" analysis.

### Step 2: Identify Your Unique Attributes

**Core concept:** List every attribute -- feature, capability, company characteristic, or approach -- that you have and your competitive alternatives don't. They must be both unique AND true.

**Why it works:** Unique attributes are the raw material of differentiation: if it isn't unique it can't differentiate you, and if it isn't true you'll lose trust.

**Key insights:**
- Look beyond features: architecture, business model, team expertise, integrations, community
-