Position X is a framework I developed for finding your ideal positioning in the marketplace. Positioning, as you may know, is an effort to claim a place in the mind of your prospect, relative to your competition. Basically, you’re divining a distinct benefit.
Position X asserts that a successful positioning meets four standards. It must be:
Your positioning lies at the intersection — where all the standards come together.
I originally came up with this framework in the 1990s, working at another company. Back then, I branded it with a different name. Later, I was almost (legitimately) lawyered into not using it, but for the exceptional generosity of my former bosses. I’ll tell you that story later.
Position X is a framework, not a formula. Like any framework, it doesn’t give you an automatic answer. And it doesn’t do the thinking for you. Instead it gives you traction for tackling a large and nebulous task. It gives you an ordered way to think. It allows for gray areas and judgement calls. It helps you think the thing through, and leads you to a conclusion you can feel confident in.
Position X has worked well for large commercial product lines, industrial products, financial services, education, and non-profits. I think it’s best suited for small- to medium-sized organizations. It’s simpler than some methods (such as April Dunford’s, who works in the tech sector). But deeper and richer than others (such as StoryBrand, which is good for solopreneurs). In other words, it’s juuusst right.
Position X plays the same role as a traditional positioning. So let’s hit the benefits of positioning in general. According to ChatGPT:
When done right, positioning makes marketing more effective, drives customer preference, and builds a long-term competitive advantage.
Again I’m gonna let ChatGPT answer this question, because it does a good job with it. But I am going to argue a couple of points.
Positioning is all about defining where your brand, product, or service fits in the minds of your target audience — and making sure it stands out from competitors in a meaningful way. The goal is to create a clear, compelling, and differentiated perception that influences customer decisions.
Why positioning matters:
My responses?
ChatGPT goes on to say the following.
What positioning should do:
• Answer why someone should choose you over competitors.
• Focus on a specific audience — you can’t be everything to everyone.
• Be consistent across messaging, branding, and marketing efforts.
• Connect emotionally as well as logically.
Again I agree with all this except for the last point, for reasons I explained above.
When I created Position X, most positioning frameworks I’d seen accounted for supportable, desirable, and ownable. But I’d never seen one that considered believable. Which was crazy to me. If what you’re promising is supportable, desirable, and ownable, yet it’s in direct conflict with what people already think about you, you’ve got a problem. How can you not take that into consideration? As they say, perception is reality.
Recently, my colleague Ashley Livingston apprised me of a short publication called The CEO’s Number One Responsibility: Identifying And Articulating Your Brand’s Position. It was written in 2008 by Dick Maggiore of Innis Maggiore, which claims to be “the nation’s leading positioning agency.” I don’t know how they measure that, but Dick is a protégé of Jack Trout, so that makes him legit in my eyes. Dick espouses a 3-Cs test, which includes credible. Now we’re talking! In his model, though, credible is a mashup of believable and supportable. Position X distinguishes those two.
No matter what positioning framework you use — mine or somebody else’s — you still have to put the right words in there. And I know some people who are really, really good at that. Can you say the same for all those accounting-based consulting firms? No disrespect to them, but this is about language, not ledgers. It’s the way you frame things that makes your framework work.
It’s the way you frame things that makes your framework work.
Position X turns the four standards into four steps:
Then you analyze all that analysis and determine how it comes together. You draw a directional conclusion. Once agreed upon, you craft the final positioning statement. This serves as your guide for all your messaging going forward. If you like buzzy corporate lingo, it’s your “north star.”
I shan’t share the positioning statements of our clients; that would be bad. But let me make something up to illustrate.
Let’s say you’re a company called Sylvia’s. You make budget-friendly prepared foods and you have a sense of humor about it. You’re launching a new product line called Cheapskate Cheesecakes.
Let’s walk through the Position X process.
| Step | Analysis | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| True attributes | Sylvia’s cheesecakes are priced 15% below others. Yet they’ve won 11 blind taste tests. | Supportable |
| Market perceptions | Sylvia’s story is well known. She came from humble beginnings. She understands the struggle to feed a family quality food on a budget. | Believable |
| Market needs | People like cheesecakes and think of them as a special treat. But families need food that fits their budget. | Desirable |
| Competitor positioning | Competitors position their cheesecakes as a luxury item, touting quality alone. They’re priced at a premium. | Ownable |
What you have here is a value play — a low-price/high-quality combo. (I’m keeping the example easy, folks.) Luckily no competitors currently occupy this positioning, and the market expects this kind of value from your brand. So, value it is. That’s your positioning direction.
You can then articulate this direction with an official positioning statement. Here’s one way to do it, following a popular formula:
For families on a budget, Cheapskate is the brand that makes delicious cheesecakes affordable.
Or if you’re like me, you prefer something simpler:
Best value in cheesecakes.
Congratulations! Your communication criteria is set. Now let me show you how you use this to make decisions about branding, which is the external expression of your positioning.
Imagine your agency comes in and proposes the following tagline ideas. Which one is best?
| Proposed tagline | Judgment vs. positioning |
|---|---|
| “The Cheesecake champion” | Nice alliteration. And true, according to taste tests. But this is only half the story. What about the cost factor? |
| “The cheesecake for cheapskates.” | Again, nice alliteration, and true, but only half the story. What about the quality aspect? |
| “Delectable. Accessible.” | On point. Conveys value. Tricky words, though. Hard to say. |
| “Scrumptious for scrimpers.” | Nice. Alliterative. Conveys value. Helps target audience self-identify. Winner! |
(Personal aside: My Mama (God rest her soul) was named Sylvia. She did come from humble beginnings, and she often made me blueberry cheesecakes for my birthday. They were basic, I guess — she used canned blueberries in syrup — but to me they were terrific and made with love.)
Want another example of how Position X helps? How ‘bout we do Position X for you?
Depends on how much research we do, and how many decision-makers/influencers we need to please. The fewer decision-makers, the better. On the other hand, the more interviewees, the better… up to a point, of course. At minimum, plan on a $15,000 investment. That’s half the cost of a car, for a cornerstone piece of communication that will drive your organization for years to come.
Again it depends on how tricky the message is, how much we have to untangle, and how many approvals and revisions it takes.
Where are you starting from? Maybe you have nothing. Maybe you’ve got a few things in place. Maybe you’ve got too much. Sometimes undoing is more work than doing. So let us take a look at where you are, and we’ll suggest the most sensible approach. Normally, you can put this puppy to bed in 6 to 12 weeks.
These are milestones — and the deliverables — in the Position X methodology.
Want to DIY? If so, you’ve got the basics of the framework above. Godspeed!
Way easier: Get yourself a Counterpart. Because hey, I didn’t tell you everything. There are prompts and pitfalls. Tricks and traps. And other considerations that aren’t alliterative. It sure is nice to have somebody guide you through it all.
Not sure which way to go? Read a post that’ll help you decide between “done by you” vs. “done for you”.
Not sure if you need Position X at all? Hey, maybe you don’t. Book some consulting time with me, and we can figure it out together.
