The Positioning Lie: Why Standing Out Starts with Ditching the Playbook
Let’s get something out of the way: following the positioning playbook won’t make you stand out. In fact, it’s probably why no one notices you.
Most companies follow the same five “essential” steps:
Define your competitive alternatives
Highlight your differentiated capabilities
Articulate your unique value
Identify your target customers
Select your market category
The frameworks are neat. The slides look sharp. But they also churn out a conveyor belt of companies that sound almost identical— “innovative,” “customer-first,” “next-gen” clones all battling for the same tired turf. The result? Brands that blend into a sea of sameness, all claiming to be the fastest, smartest, easiest solution around.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If you're using the same framework as everyone else, you’re not positioning—you’re blending in.
To actually stand out, you’ve got to push beyond the formula. Tear up the template, break the rules, ask the uncomfortable questions, and challenge the assumptions baked into these five steps instead of blindly filling them in. Because real positioning isn’t crafted in a vacuum—it’s battle-tested in the market.
In this blog, because the market doesn’t reward those who play it safe—it rewards those who take a stand, I take the five classic steps and call them out. I’ll expose the traps, the clichés, and the false confidence they breed and discuss why treating positioning like a checklist is the fastest route to being ignored.
1. Competitive Alternatives – If We Didn’t Exist, What Would the Customer Do?
The Upside:
Understanding your competition—including the DIY hacks, workarounds, and legacy vendors your customers rely on—is critical. It shows what you're really up against and reveals how people solve the problem today—whether that’s a competitor, inertia, or doing nothing. It’s vital context.
The Trap:
Most teams get stuck here. By obsessing over competitors, they benchmark to death. They chase competitors down rabbit holes. It’s easy to get caught in comparison mode—matching features, mimicking language, chasing trends. Before you know it, you’re not leading anymore, just reacting.
👉 This is where you throw out the positioning playbook. Instead of asking “How do we beat them?” ask “What would we do if they didn’t exist?” Forget the feature checklist. Break the rules by focusing on your customer’s inertia, not your rival’s roadmap.
Ask yourself: Are we carving out a new space, leading the conversation, different by design—or just battling to be “better” in a race we didn’t even choose?
2. Differentiated Capabilities – What Do We Have That They Don’t?
The Upside:
This is your bragging zone. Your secret sauce. Your differentiation and chance to show what makes you worth noticing. Maybe it’s a feature, an experience, or a new way of working. If it truly sets you apart, this is gold.
The Trap:
But not all differentiation matters. It’s easy to fall in love with your own innovation. However, customers don’t care how clever your tech is unless it solves a pain they feel. Just because you think it’s unique doesn’t mean the customer cares. Too many brands focus on what they think is different instead of what the customer needs to be different. Differentiation that doesn’t solve a real problem isn’t positioning—it’s noise.
👉 This is where you break the “we’re special” illusion. Stop asking “What makes us different?” and start asking “What makes us matter?” Kill the vanity metrics. Challenge yourself to ditch the features no one would miss—and double down on what truly shifts customer behaviour.
Ask yourself: Would your customer pay more, change their mindset, switch providers, or even care about this difference?
3. Differentiated Value – What’s the Value We Deliver That No One Else Can?
The Upside:
This is where connection happens. When you link your offering to a real benefit—something that makes your customer’s life better, easier, or more successful—you stop selling features and start driving desire. That’s where loyalty is born.
The Trap:
Most “unique” value props sound like they were written in a corporate echo chamber—vague, copy-pasted, and interchangeable. If your value sounds like something a competitor could claim with a straight face, it’s not unique—it’s noise.
👉 Here’s where you throw out the brand buzzword bingo. If your value prop could sit on your competitor’s homepage without anyone noticing, it’s time to rewrite it. Break the rules by saying something uncomfortably true—something your customers feel but no one else is brave enough to say.
Ask yourself: Does our value hit a nerve, solve a pain, or light a fire? If not, rewrite it.
4. Target Customers – Who Are We Really For?
The Upside:
Clear targeting sharpens everything—your story, your product, your go-to-market. Clarity here changes everything. When you know exactly who you're for—and who you're not—you can craft a story that lands with precision. Speaking directly to the people most likely to love you is how strong brands are built.
The Trap:
Over-segmentation kills growth. But going too broad weakens your edge. And worse, many teams rely too heavily on cardboard personas that don’t reflect how people actually buy. We don’t need more buyer archetypes. We need real insights.
👉 This is where you burn the persona PowerPoint. Don’t market to “CIO Claire” or “Procurement Paul”—talk to real humans with messy, irrational behaviour. Break the mold by grounding your targeting in actual customer behaviour, not hypothetical backstories.
Ask yourself: Are we building around a profile, or around real people with real behaviour?
5. Market Category – What Space Are We Trying to Own (or Redefine)?
The Upside:
Categories are mental shortcuts. People need to know where to place you. Get this right, and everything from positioning to sales clicks faster. If done correctly, creating a new Category for a new and unique offering for a real customer pain can propel you to leadership status.
The Trap:
But misreading or mis-defining your category can anchor you to the wrong expectations. Most companies either cling to categories that box them in—or try to invent new ones that no one understands. Either way, it’s confusing. And confused buyers don’t convert. Worse still, you’ve opened the doors for your competitor.
👉 This is where you rethink the grid entirely. Stop trying to squeeze into a category that wasn’t built for you—or forcing a new one that no one’s ready for. If the space you belong in doesn’t exist yet, don’t rush to name it—own the problem first. Lead with urgency and clarity. When the timing is right, the category will follow.
Ask yourself: Does our category make it easier to understand what we do—or are we making our buyers do mental gymnastics just to get it?
What Now? Turning Positioning into Action
Once you’ve challenged the five steps—and landed on the story that’s actually worth telling—it’s time to put it to work. Your positioning needs to show up everywhere, not just in your strategy deck.
Who’s it for? Make sure your message hits home for your best-fit customer—not just anyone who might buy.
What’s the value? Communicate the impact. What do they gain by choosing you that they won’t get anywhere else?
Who do we compete with? Know them, yes—but don’t make them the star. Keep the focus on your difference.
How do we win? Show the outcomes. Make it clear what success looks like with you in their corner.
Final Word: Positioning Isn’t a Theory. It’s Survival.
Most positioning frameworks are clean, neat, and reassuring—and that’s exactly why they’re dangerous. Real-world positioning is messy, uncomfortable, and full of decisions that will cost you something. Playing it safe might keep everyone happy in the room—but it won’t win in the market.
Positioning isn’t a science. It’s a battle for attention, belief, and relevance.
If you’re not willing to break from the pack, don’t be surprised when you get lost in it. Instead of living on a strategic slide deck, positioning lives in the tension between what you want to say and what your market actually needs to hear. It lives in the decisions you make to stand apart, not play safe.
This isn’t a framework exercise. It’s a fight for relevance.
If you’re not willing to ruffle feathers, challenge assumptions, or risk being misunderstood—you’re not ready to lead.
Forget the playbook. Build your own.