Without Positioning Your Demand Gen Will Fail

Positioning.

Probably the most important thing you need to figure out for the product or service you sell.

Demand generation, also known as Demand Gen, is gaining traction as the essential function of a marketing team, as it should be.

Seth Godin talks about marketing being a force of change and whose primary goal is to serve customers and solve their problems, not serve the business and solve its problems.

Creating demand is a force of change.

But, to create demand, you have to know who you're for, what you're for and the value you provide compared to the alternatives available.

One alternative is always doing nothing.

If you haven't read April Dunford's now classic book on positioning, Obviously Awesome, you need to go to Amazon or wherever you buy books and add it to your cart now.

In her book, April provides a 10-step framework for building your positioning. This framework is built on the following Five Components of Effective Positioning:

1. Competitive Alternatives
2. Unique Attributes
3. Value (and proof)
4. Target Market Characteristics (most importantly, their psychographics more than their demographics- my 2 cents)
5. Market Category
6. (Bonus) Relevant Trends

I see a lot of companies and marketing teams trying to build and execute a demand gen strategy before they have their positioning nailed down.

It's destined to fail, especially since your positioning is the cornerstone of your messaging.

When I work with clients who want to build out their demand gen program and strategy, the first thing I ensure is that their positioning is in place.

Without proper positioning, my work with clients would be like a donation to a charity - well-intentioned but ultimately ineffective.

To sum things up, positioning is crucial for any product or service. Demand generation is gaining importance in marketing, and creating demand is a force of change.

To create demand, you need to know who you're for, what you're for, and the value you provide.

April Dunford's book, Obviously Awesome, provides a 10-step framework for building your positioning based on five components of effective positioning. Without proper positioning, executing a demand gen strategy will fail.

If you want to start engaging in demand gen, I urge you to prioritize positioning before anything else. So, if you haven't already, go grab a copy of April's book and start building your positioning today.

Want to schedule a strategy call to discuss your current marketing and demand gen strategies? Schedule a call today.