Every market feels crowded. That's not a problem — it's a positioning opportunity.
The Crowded Market Myth
Founders often tell us their market is "too crowded." Our response: there's no such thing as a crowded market. There are only undifferentiated players.
Look at any "crowded" category — project management, CRM, note-taking — and you'll find the winners aren't competing on features. They're competing on positioning. Notion isn't the best note-taking app. It's the all-in-one workspace. That distinction is worth billions.
What Positioning Actually Is
Positioning is the act of defining how your brand occupies a unique space in your customer's mind. It's not what you do — it's what you mean.
The positioning statement framework is deceptively simple:
For [target audience] who [need/pain], [brand] is the [category] that [key differentiator] because [reason to believe].
Simple to write. Brutal to get right.
The Four Positioning Strategies
1. Category Creation
Don't compete in an existing category — create a new one. This is the hardest strategy but the most powerful. When you define the category, you define the rules.
Drift didn't enter the "live chat" category. They created "conversational marketing." Same technology, completely different positioning — and a completely different valuation.
2. Niche Dominance
Own a specific segment completely. Be the undisputed leader for a tightly defined audience. It's better to be the #1 solution for 1,000 companies than the #47 solution for 100,000.
3. Counter-Positioning
Position yourself explicitly against the market leader. This only works if you're genuinely different, not just smaller. "We're like Salesforce but simpler" only works if your simplicity is a genuine strategic advantage, not a limitation you're dressing up.
4. Adjacency
Take a proven model from one industry and apply it to another. "The Uber of X" was overused, but the principle is sound: leverage existing mental models to make new concepts immediately understandable.
The Positioning Process
Step 1: Audit the Landscape
Map every competitor's positioning. What do they claim? Where do they overlap? Where are the gaps? The gaps are your opportunity.
Step 2: Interview Your Best Customers
Not all customers — your best ones. The ones who love you. Ask them: "Why did you choose us over the alternatives?" Their words are your positioning gold.
Step 3: Find the Tension
Great positioning creates tension. It should make some people lean in and others tune out. If your positioning appeals to everyone, it's not positioning — it's wallpaper.
Step 4: Test and Commit
Test your positioning with real prospects. Does it create curiosity? Does it generate questions? Does it make them feel understood? If yes, commit to it completely. Half-committed positioning is worse than no positioning at all.
Own It
The biggest positioning mistake isn't choosing wrong. It's choosing right and then wavering. Once you've found your position, embed it in everything: your homepage, your sales deck, your hiring page, your product roadmap.
Positioning isn't a marketing exercise. It's a business strategy. Treat it accordingly.