As we continue along the left axis of our segment on positioning we now move onto the third stage which is understanding the market problem. In part 1& 2 we previously discovered Strategy and Identity.
When designing your organizations positioning strategy as the age-old strategy goes you need to “know your customer” but furthermore –know your market. Organizations can have strong value propositions but are completely unable to convince customers that they understand the problem. People buy solutions to their problems and if you cannot paint a picture of how you understand the problems and identify problems your market isn’t looking for you’re at a disadvantage.
Identifying pain points in a market ranges across six primary verticals:
Cost - Organizations measure cost multiple ways – a currently used legacy solution could have simply too much overhead, the talent that understands and can use the solution may becoming more expensive or is in short supply, or alternatively the current process in the absence of a solution is costly in terms of liability exposure
Efficiency - A solution that an organization is using could be incredibly inefficient as organizations grow in a dynamic business environment so do their needs, if the current solution remains static tedious and unadaptable to scale & change it can become a useless process add on rather than an efficient solution to managing and removing problems an organization may be facing.
Productivity - is the second part of efficiency from a quantitative measurement next to other solutions how much time does your solution help achieve results. Are you familiar enough with the general scope of work in a market by users that your solution saves time?
Process - How is your solution reduces steps in a process and fits into a procedure of operations of an organization is on its own a value proposition.
Fit - Product fit expands into all aspects of the organization – can your solution be customized to address specific areas of a problem users are facing can it be narrowed and expanded based on pain points is one solution offering a part of a suite of tools and offering that can enable a unified solutions ecosystem?
Support - Finally, are you helping organizations to be successful with your product by providing adequate DIY resources, case insights, and material support to help solve pain points as the organization navigates change over time.
