7 product positioning templates
The way that people perceive your product is critical to its success. Where does your product or service fit in the marketplace? How do you want it to be known long-term? These are important questions that every product manager should be asking — you want the unique value of your product to be clearly articulated. Product positioning helps you define and capture exactly that.
Product positioning is a strategic exercise intended to define how you can present your product or service in the best possible way to different target audiences. It can be a complex and comprehensive exercise or a more lightweight practice. This depends on what you are using it for, the maturity of your product, or where your organization is in the product lifecycle.
What is product positioning?
Positioning is typically written for internal teams. It is the basis for all of your product marketing — from pricing decisions to competitive analysis to brand messaging.
Developing product positioning is a collaborative effort that involves product management and product marketing teams. The goal is to align the broader team around how to communicate the value of your product to customers.
The key components of product positioning are:
Vision — the overall direction of where your product is headed
Mission — how your vision will become a reality
Market category — your market and key customer segments
Tagline — the slogan used to describe your company or product
Customer challenges — primary pain points felt by your customers
Company and product differentiators — the unique qualities of your company or product that bring value
Brand essence — the core aspects you want your company or product to be recognized for
Mature product organizations use a collaborative, web-based tool like Aha! to capture product positioning. If your team is not ready for purpose-built software, you can download the free templates below to craft your positioning.
What are the types of product positioning templates?
Here are a few templates you can use to capture the key components that will help you define your product positioning.
In addition to defining your product positioning, the template below also includes a section for competitors.
Positioning statement template
At a high-level, a positioning statement describes your product and how it meets the needs of your audience. Your positioning statement should include:
A description of your target market
A description of your target market's needs
How your company will meet those needs
What differentiates your product from competitors
Why customers in your target market should trust your company
Segment positioning template
Segmentation refers to dividing customers into groups based on their needs or buying characteristics. Some examples of segmentation include geography, demographics, psychographics, and behavioral characteristics. Ultimately, segmentation helps you prioritize product features and tailor messaging to each subset of customers. Use this free template to outline your customer segments and tailor your positioning statements.
Positioning map template
A positioning map is a visualization of how you want your product to be perceived in the market. You can use a positioning map to plot where you fit as part of an intentional positioning strategy. You can also add your competitors to get a better sense of the market landscape. Create your own positioning map with the free template below.
Today vs. future positioning template
As your product or organization matures, you may want to reevaluate your product positioning. Or perhaps your product has already been brought to market but you don't have a solid positioning framework. These free templates will help you assess your product positioning today and in the future.
Need to quickly prepare a product positioning document? These templates are a convenient starting point. When you are ready to tie your strategy directly to your product roadmap, try purpose-built product development software to explore your positioning, set your goals, and then build your product plans — all in one place.
Set strategy, capture ideas, score features, and share visual plans with a free 30-day trial of Aha! Roadmaps.
