Marketing & Sales Roundtable Positioning Strategy: The Foundation for Value Proposition and Messaging July 2001

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 2 Agenda 11:35 – Setting the Stage 11:40 – Introductions/Positioning Challenges 11:50 – Roundtable Discussion 1:00 – Summary and Wrap-up

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 3 Setting the Stage Positioning Strategy Challenges Why do you need a positioning strategy statement anyway? How do you use it once you’ve developed it? Today’s Objective Bring people together - exchange ideas

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 4 Positioning Strategy Process Positioning Strategy Statement Technology and Total Product Roadmap Partnerships Total Product Assets (Functional) Programs Business Model Market Entry Customer Segment Critical Need and Total Product Requirements Company Total Product Solution’s Potential Differentiators Competitors’ Total Product Solutions’ Potential Differentiators Company Differentiator Barriers to Adoption Market Drivers Customer/ End-User Problem(s) Definition Mission Statement Applications Technology Enablers Customer Segments Critical Needs Company Product/ Service Match Market Entry Customer Segment Roadmap and Market Segment Leadership Roadmap Market Segment Product/Market Category Market Vision Market/Customer Segmentation Competitive Differentiation Strategy Evidence POSITIONING STRATEGY BRANDING STRATEGY

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 5 Positioning Strategy Realities CEO and executive team must own the positioning strategy There are no ‘right’ answers It’s a process: iterative and successive approximations It’s time consuming It’s difficult

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 6 Positioning Strategy Statement Company’s (product name, relevant product category) for (market segment/market entry customer segment) provides Who need (succinct description of Company’s benefits/differentiator to market entry customer segment, matched to critical need) unlike Competitor and Product which Competitor’s product’s inability to address critical need of market entry customer segment

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 7 Positioning Strategy Statement: An Example Microsoft’s Windows 95, the personal computer OS for business (or, corporate?) users Who need to use a variety of business SW applications to effectively perform their jobs provides an industry standard GUI that allows greater ease of use of major SW applications unlike the Mac OS which is not a industry standard

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 8 Positioning Strategy is Basis for Messaging Consistency and Clarity Employment Ads Press and Analyst Meetings Corporate Identity System Branding Strategy Speeches and Presentations Websites and Extranets Brochures/ Collateral S-1s, Annual Reports, etc. Positioning Strategy Statement

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 9 Critical Need Driving the Buying Decision Customer Segment Problem(s) Customer Buying Decision Strategy Evidence Value Proposition Articulation Competitive Differentiator(s) Identification Product/ Solution(s) Positioning Strategy Elements

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 10 Strawman Company Message Architecture MarketTechnologyProductCompany Do the top level messages support the key elements of the positioning strategy model? -Market Vision -Market and Customer Segment -Competitive Differentiation Do you have ample strategy evidence to support the messages?

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 11 Investors Sales Channels Target Accounts Partners Industry & Financial Analysts Trade & Business Press EXISTING ________ NEEDED ________ Strategy Evidence Positioning Strategy Statement and Value Proposition Positioning Strategy Company Business Strategy Market Entry Customer Segment Messages, Brand Strategy and Programs Taking the Positioning Strategy to the Market – Message Architecture StrategyMarket Leverage Company

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 12 Summary Without a formal positioning strategy and supporting value proposition, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to develop an effective message model Without a value proposition and an effective message model, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to establish an enduring market position And, if the value proposition and the messages do not speak to the customer problem in the customer’s language, they will not be very effective

©2001 Rosemary Remacle 13 Presenters Patty Burke, Consultant Market Focus Rosemary Remacle, Consultant Market Focus