This diagram “is designed to create a value profile of target customers” to help you position your product with respect
to your competitors.
“The horizontal dimension shows the range of buyer interest in and understanding of high-technology issues.”
“The early market is dominated by specialists who… are more interested in technology… than in market standing.
…The mainstream is dominated by generalists who are more interested in market leadership” than technology.
“The vertical dimension [shows] the buyer’s attitude toward the proposed value proposition, ranging from skepticism
to support.”
In early markets, “the technology enthusiasts are the skeptical gatekeepers.” In mainstream markets, “it is the
pragmatists.”
“The model also points to the fact that people who are supportive of your value proposition take an interest in your
products and in your company.”
In early markets, “basing communications on product or company strengths is a mistake.”
“Even the most skeptical specialists are always on the lookout for new technology breakthroughs.”
Win over skeptics by getting “them involved in understanding [your product's] technology.”
“Skeptical generalists may not take an interest in an unproven company but are always interested in new market
developments.”
Win over generalists by showing them “that there is an emerging unmet market requirement” that your product
covers.
The two “natural” marketing rhythms in high-tech are “developing the early market and developing the mainstream
market.”
“You develop an early market by demonstrating a strong technology advantage [and] product credibility, and
you develop a mainstream market by demonstrating a market leadership advantage [and] company credibility.”
“The ‘chasm transition’ represents an unnatural rhythm.”
This “means moving from the familiar ground of product-oriented issues [and like-minded specialists] to the
unfamiliar ground of market-oriented ones [and uninterested generalists].”
Positioning
What is positioning?
It is “an attribute associated with a company or a product, and not as the marketing contortions that people go
through to set up that association.”
It “is the single largest influence on the buying decision.”
It “exists in people’s heads, not in your words.”
It is difficult to change once it’s been established.
These are the “four fundamental stages in this process, corresponding to the four primary psychographic types”:
Name it and frame it
“Potential customers cannot buy what they cannot name, nor can they seek out the product unless they know
what category to look under.”
Who for and what for
“Customers will not buy something until they know who is going to use it and for what purpose.”
Competition and differentiation
“Customers cannot know what to expect or what to pay for a product until they can place it in some sort of
comparative context.”
Financials and futures
“Customers cannot be completely secure in buying a product until they know it comes from a vendor with
staying power who will continue to invest in this product category.”
The Positioning Process
This process has four components:
The claim
“Reduce the fundamental position statement… to a two-sentence format”
The evidence
“Develop sufficient evidence as to make any such disputation unreasonable.”
Communications
“Identify and address the right audiences in the right sequence with the right versions of the message.”
Feedback and adjustment
Make adjustments to your positioning as the competition responds to you.
The Claim: Passing the Elevator Test
“Can you explain your product in the time it takes to ride up an elevator? Venture capitalists use this all the time as a
test of investment potential. If you cannot pass the test, they don’t invest. … Here is a proven formula for getting all
this down into two short sentences.”:
For (target customers, beachhead segment only)
who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternatives)
our product is a (new product category)
that provides (key problem-solving capability).
Unlike (the product alternative)
we have assembled (key whole product features for your specific application).
The Shifting Burden of Proof