Messaging and positioning
Explain how you’d build a positioning document for a new product line. What sections would you include and why?
Keep it to about three pages and justify each section by the decision it supports. Cover the customer and their current alternative, the problem in their words, the frame of reference buyers should use, the two or three capabilities that matter with proof, an honest competitive comparison, the messaging hierarchy with claims you won’t make, and open questions with owners.
Then name who reviews it.
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What a positioning document is for
Anyone can list the usual sections. The score depends on whether you know what each one is for, and whether you would write a document sales and product open before a call. A positioning document is a decision record. It says who the product is for, what it is compared with, and why it wins, so that a dozen later decisions follow from it.
Length is part of the craft. A long document becomes reference material nobody reads. Around three pages is a useful limit to say out loud.
The positioning document’s sections and the decision behind each
| Section | The question it settles | Who relies on it |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and current alternative | Who is this for, and what do they do today? | Everyone. It anchors the rest. |
| Problem in the customer’s words | What hurts enough to switch? | Content, sales openers |
| Frame of reference | What should buyers compare us with? | Web, pricing, analyst briefings |
| Capabilities with proof | Which two or three things matter, and how do we show them? | Product, demos |
| Competitive comparison | Where do we win and lose, honestly? | Sales, battlecards |
| Messaging hierarchy | One headline, three supports, and claims we won’t make | Every channel |
| Open questions and owners | What isn’t settled yet? | Leadership, the next revision |
The frame of reference is the section people rush. It decides which competitors you appear next to, and it shapes pricing expectations before a buyer reads a single feature.
Rewriting the frame-of-reference section for an invoicing line
“Invoicing is a new product in the accounts receivable category. It competes with standalone invoicing tools and the invoicing modules in accounting software.”
“Buyers should compare this with chasing payment by email and spreadsheet, which is what most freelancers on our platform do today. We place it inside the payment flow they already use, so the comparison is sending a link and getting paid in the same place, versus a separate accounting tool they would need to learn.”
The first draft names a category and a list of rivals. The rewrite chooses a comparison on purpose and explains the advantage it creates. That choice then guides the homepage, the pricing, and which competitors show up in the sales brief.
Walking an interviewer through the document
“I’d keep it to about three pages, because sales won’t read more. Picture a payments company adding invoicing. The document opens with the customer and what they do today, here freelancers chasing clients by email and spreadsheet. Next is the problem in their words, then the frame of reference, which I’d set as invoicing inside the payment flow over another accounting tool. After that come the two or three capabilities that matter, each with what it does for the customer and the proof, such as median days to get paid in the beta. Then an honest comparison with the alternatives. Then the messaging, one headline, three supports, and a short list of things we won’t claim. It ends with open questions and an owner for each, because a document that hides its unknowns gets treated as settled. Product, sales, and design review it before it’s final, and I’d revisit it after the first quarter of real sales conversations.”
A test for your own positioning document
- Can a new sales rep write the first two minutes of a call from it?
- Does every section change a decision someone makes? If not, cut it.
- Is there a list of claims you won’t make? Its absence usually means nobody chose.
- Does each open question have a name next to it?
The Exceptional version on communication anticipates the follow-up about shelfware. It says how the document stays alive, such as a review date and a place in the launch checklist, before being asked.
Follow-ups on the positioning document
| Follow-up | What it reveals | Good handling |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs off? | Ownership | Product marketing owns it. Product and sales leads approve. Name one decider for ties. |
| How often do you update it? | Maintenance | After launch, then each quarter or when a signal changes, such as a new rival. |
| What do people usually leave out? | Experience | The frame of reference and the claims you won’t make. |
| How do you keep it from becoming shelfware? | Adoption | Tie it to decisions, such as launch briefs and pricing reviews, so people have to open it. |
More questions in this category
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a standard positioning template to cite?
- Several exist and they overlap heavily. Pick one you can defend and explain each section by who uses it. Citing a template without that explanation adds little.
- How long should a positioning document be?
- Three pages or fewer for the core. Supporting research can live in an appendix. Longer core documents turn into reference material nobody opens before a call.
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