Positioning is how you define your product in relation to alternatives in the mind of your target customer. It's not a tagline — it's the strategic foundation that informs messaging, ICP, pricing, and product roadmap. Good positioning answers: for whom, for what problem, why better than alternatives. April Dunford's 'Obviously Awesome' is the best modern framework. Most startups have 'table stakes' positioning that sounds like every competitor.
For example, instead of 'an AI-powered analytics platform,' strong positioning might be: 'For B2B SaaS revenue teams that can't afford to wait for data analysts, [product] delivers automated pipeline intelligence 10x faster than Tableau with no SQL required.'
Positioning workshops are part of our GTM sprint — we help clients articulate a differentiated position, not just describe their features.
Relevant Cactus Services
We implement Positioning strategies for B2B tech startups every day. Book a free 30-minute call to get a concrete plan for your situation.
Book a free strategy call →Go-to-Market Strategy (GTM)
GTM is the complete plan for how you bring a product to market: who you're selling to (ICP), what problem you solve (positioning), how you reach them (channels), what you charge (pricing), and how sales and marketing work together.
Product-Market Fit (PMF)
Product-market fit is when your product satisfies a real market need strongly enough that customers come back, expand, and refer others without heavy marketing.
Messaging
Messaging is how your positioning translates into specific words: headlines, taglines, elevator pitches, email copy, and ad creative.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the degree to which your target market recognizes and recalls your brand.
Buyer Persona
A buyer persona is a semi-fictional profile of your ideal buyer — their job title, responsibilities, goals, pain points, objections, and how they prefer to buy.
Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD)
Jobs-to-be-done is a framework for understanding why customers buy: they 'hire' a product to accomplish a specific job — a functional, social, or emotional outcome.