Here is a quick refresher on previous “Words that Work in Tech PR” Topics:
This post discussed story frames and root metaphors, and the importance of finding just the right words.
Discussed research tactics, and getting the information you
need to do a good job of finding the right words.
Discussed the importance of product categories, and how these can affect and help shape your story.
Now in part 4, I will wrap up the first part of the series with a discussion about product positioning.
Hopefully your employer or client has done the right homework prior to launching a new product and service - and this is reflected in product and pricing. Or perhaps you are relaunching or rebranding an existing product, or launching the next major upgrade.
In any event, by the time PR is engaged and ready to go about putting the right words behind the launch story, we are stuck with certain realities - the realities of whatever market you are competing in, as outlined in Part 3, and the realities of the product itself.
On the other hand people can draw different conclusions from the same set of facts. Part of what we need to do as PR pros and marketing strategists is to come up with the story that explains our approach to the market - where and how we fit into the narrative of the space we play in: how we will compete, how we are different than available alternatives, and where we hope to go.
Before developing all the materials that will be needed, you will need to distill the answers to these questions in a positioning statement. This positioning statement will feed into development of the key messages, and taken together these will shape your content development and communications strategy.
Volumes have been written about product positioning, and it is well beyond the scope of this post to cover all the bases. What I want to do here is touch upon some thoughts to consider. I recommend additional reading at the end, for those who are interested in exploring the topic further.
Effective product positioning clearly and concisely states the perch your product or service occupies within the market you are competing in. That is easy enough to say, but much harder to do well - i.e., in a way that is credible, easy to understand, and interesting.
Hopefully by now you are starting to appreciate the importance of the upfront research. How can you even begin to assign a position in a space if you don't understand the existing dynamics - the competitive lay of the land, the history, and what people think is the future direction?
So, in addition to exploring the category (again, Part 3), you will need to build a story about your product that fits into the narrative of the space. You will want to understand where your space is on the adoption curve - is it emerging, or has it "crossed the chasm" (in Geoffrey Moore's parlance, from his classic of the same name) to mainstream adoption?
If it is the former, be prepared to educate about the need for the space and explain how your entry will lead to wider adoption of the type of technology.
If it is the latter, you will no doubt have large and entrenched competition and your positioning will thus need to explain why the market needs a new answer in a maturing and mainstream market. If your offering breathes new life into an established space, say so in your positioning statement.
There are many examples of technologies that seem perpetually just around the corner, but have not crossed the chasm of mainstream adoption (pattern recognition technologies like handwriting and facial, for example). If the category is getting long in the tooth and has still not broken through, you will need deal with the baggage and history of unmet expectations and preempt skepticism by explaining how your product will finally make a difference.
Are you playing in a space that has been hyped to death, and is now entering the "Trough of Disillusionment" (see my last post and description of the Gartner Hype Cycle)? Something Web 2.0-ish perhaps? Be prepared for some apathy. You will need to deal with the burnout and noise, and the perception that the space is a bit over ripe. Perhaps there are ways of positioning your product that don't lean so heavily on the hyped-to-death terms. Every new offering does not have to be an [insert legacy category of choice]-2.0 solution.
If you have a leadership position (I mean top two or three market share leader, not "leader" in the hackneyed sense there are only leaders and no followers) then messaging and positioning will generally be conservative. They should tell the world that you are a leader and why.
Are you a challenger in an established space? Think (and position) boldly: how will you upset the existing apple cart?
I hope this gives you food for thought and connects the dots from my previous posts.
As promised, I am including suggestions for additional reading below:
Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore's classic on technology adoption
Positioning, the Ries and Trout classic
Blue Ocean Strategy, seems to be the marketing strategy book du jour for tech marketers
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