Positioning is not messaging. And I see this confusion cost teams more than they realize.
Messaging is what you say. Positioning is the foundation underneath it. Market research, your strengths, differentiation, unique selling points, where you’re headed.
Most teams skip the foundation and go straight to writing copy. It feels faster. Trust me, it’s not.
What breaks? Sales doesn’t know how to talk about you against competitors. And because there’s no clear foundation, you can’t say no to anything. Every feature gets added to the pitch, every message gets diluted.
One framework I keep coming back to: think about what a press release would look like before you build anything. Amazon made this famous. It works.
But most people use it to write messaging. That’s not what it’s for. It’s a positioning tool. It forces you to clarify who this is for, why it matters, and what makes it different. The message comes after.
Get the positioning right first. I hate to say this but it won’t make messaging easier. It will make it more durable and give it room to grow.
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