Master the “For, Who, The, That, Unlike, Our” Framework for Powerful Product Positioning
What Is a Positioning Statement?
A positioning statement is a concise, internal strategic tool that describes a product or service and its target audience, articulating how it solves a specific problem better than alternatives. Unlike a public tagline or mission statement, a positioning statement is designed to align your internal team, product, marketing, sales, leadership, on a shared understanding of what your product is, who it’s for, and why it matters in the competitive landscape.
A strong positioning statement acts as a filter for every decision you make: product features, marketing messages, sales conversations, and pricing strategies should all flow from and reinforce your positioning. When executed well, it becomes the “north star” that keeps your entire organization aligned as you grow.
The Geoffrey Moore Framework: “For, Who, The, That, Unlike, Our”
The most popular and effective positioning statement template comes from Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” methodology. This framework provides a clear, logical structure that builds from customer context to competitive differentiation.
The Template Structure
For [TARGET READER]who [STATEMENT OF NEED/OPPORTUNITY], the [PRODUCT NAME AND CATEGORY]
that [KEY BENEFIT/REASON TO USE]
, Unlike [PRIMARY COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVE]
our product [STATEMENT OF DIFFERENTIATION]Breaking Down Each Element
For [TARGET READER]
-
Who is this product designed for?
-
This should be a specific segment or persona, not “everyone”
-
Examples: “For busy professionals,” “For marketing teams at startups,” “For enterprise IT leaders”
-
Avoid vague descriptors; use language that captures how your customer identifies themselves
who [STATEMENT OF NEED/OPPORTUNITY]
-
What is the problem, pain point, or need this customer segment experiences?
-
This is the emotional or functional gap that makes your product relevant
-
Examples: “who struggle to manage multiple SaaS applications,” “who need faster time-to-insight,” “who want to reduce operational overhead”
-
Pro tip: Frame this as something your customer is actively looking to solve or achieve, not just a problem they have
the [PRODUCT NAME AND CATEGORY]
-
What is your product, and what category does it belong to?
-
This anchors customers’ understanding in a familiar frame of reference
-
Examples: “the [ProductName] is an integrations platform,” “the [ProductName] is an AI-powered analytics tool”
-
The category helps position against known alternatives in customers’ minds
-
Choose a category that resonates with how your customers think about the space, not how you think about it
that [KEY BENEFIT/REASON TO USE]
-
What is the primary outcome or benefit your product delivers?
-
Focus on the business value or outcome, not the technical features
-
Examples: “that helps teams connect their tools in minutes instead of weeks,” “that gives executives visibility into customer health in real time”
-
This is the “why should I care?” moment, the promise you’re making to the customer
-
Critical distinction: Benefit ≠ Feature
-
Feature: “Uses machine learning to predict churn”
-
Benefit: “Helps prevent customer churn before it happens”
-
Unlike [PRIMARY COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVE]
-
Who or what are you positioning against?
-
This might be a direct competitor, an alternative category, or the status quo
-
Examples: “Unlike manual integration,” “Unlike legacy analytics platforms,” “Unlike spreadsheet-based forecasting”
-
Choose the alternative that your target customer is actually considering as an alternative
-
You can position against multiple alternatives across different segments (different positioning statements for different segments)
our product [STATEMENT OF DIFFERENTIATION]
-
How do you outperform, deliver differently, or stand apart from the alternative?
-
This is your unique selling proposition (USP), the sustainable competitive advantage
-
Examples: “our product enables setup in 15 minutes with no code,” “our product uses proprietary data to eliminate guesswork,” “our product focuses on simplicity over feature complexity”
-
The differentiation should be credible and defensible (not just “we’re better”)
-
Connect it back to the key benefit when possible, the differentiation should enable the benefit
Step-by-Step Process: How to Build Your Positioning Statement
Step 1: Define Your Target Customer Clearly
Questions to answer:
-
Who is the primary buyer or user of your product?
-
What are their specific characteristics? (Industry, company size, role, pain points, aspirations)
-
How do they identify themselves? (“I’m a product manager,” “I’m a busy parent,” “I’m an ops leader”)
-
If you serve multiple segments, create a positioning statement for each major segment
Why this matters:
The more specific your target customer, the more resonant your entire positioning will be. Vague targets (“businesses,” “professionals”) dilute your message and make differentiation harder.
Example specificity:
-
Too vague: “For business teams”
-
Specific: “For product marketing managers at B2B SaaS companies with 50-500 employees”
Step 2: Identify the Core Problem or Opportunity
Research methods:
-
Conduct customer interviews (ask about frustrations, current workflows, what they wish was easier)
-
Review support tickets and feature requests (what problems are customers surfacing?)
-
Analyze your top churning customers (what problems drove them away?)
-
Shadow customers in their environment (contextual inquiry)
Questions to answer:
-
What is the biggest problem this customer segment faces that your product addresses?
-
Why is this problem painful or costly for them?
-
What happens if they don’t solve this problem?
-
How are they currently trying to solve this problem?
Articulate the need clearly:
The statement of need should feel urgent and real to your target customer. When they read it, they should nod and say, “Yes, that’s exactly our problem.”
Example statements of need:
-
“who need to integrate 20+ SaaS tools but have limited engineering resources”
-
“who want to make data-driven hiring decisions but lack visibility into their pipeline”
-
“who need to reduce costs without sacrificing customer experience”
Step 3: Define Your Product Category
Why category matters:
Your product category is the frame of reference customers use to understand what you do. A well-chosen category immediately communicates value and context.
Examples of smart category choices:
-
If you help people manage photos, you could be: “a photo storage tool” (functional) OR “a digital memories platform” (emotional) OR “a cloud backup solution” (benefit)
-
Each frames the product differently and appeals to different customer segments
Questions to answer:
-
How do your customers currently talk about this type of product?
-
What’s the simplest, clearest way to describe what your product does?
-
What category would immediately signal value to your target customer?
Avoid vague or made-up categories:
-
“A synergy platform for enterprise data optimization”
-
“A data integration tool” or “An API platform for connecting tools”
Step 4: Articulate the Key Benefit
Critical principle: Lead with outcomes, not features.
Features are how your product works. Benefits are what customers achieve by using your product. Positioning statements must focus on benefits.
Example conversions:
-
Feature: “Automates data entry with AI”
-
Benefit: “Saves your team 10 hours per week so they can focus on strategic work”
-
Feature: “Real-time synchronization across platforms”
-
Benefit: “Ensures your teams are always working with current information”
-
Feature: “Supports 500+ integrations”
-
Benefit: “Connects your entire tool stack without custom code”
The benefit should answer:
-
What outcome or result does the customer achieve?
-
How does their situation improve? (faster, easier, cheaper, safer, more confident)
-
What does this enable them to do or become?
Make it specific:
-
“Saves time and improves productivity”
-
“Reduces onboarding time from 2 weeks to 2 days, freeing engineers for feature development”
Step 5: Identify Your Primary Competitive Alternative
The key insight: Your customer isn’t choosing between your product and nothing. They’re choosing between your product and something else they’re currently doing.
Types of alternatives you might compete against:
-
Direct competitors: Other companies with similar products
-
Indirect competitors: Different products solving the same problem (e.g., spreadsheets vs. database)
-
Status quo: How they’re currently handling it (manual processes, legacy systems)
-
Do nothing: The customer decides the problem isn’t worth solving
Choose strategically:
-
Position against the alternative your target segment is actually considering
-
Different segments might have different primary alternatives (position separately for each)
-
For your first positioning statement, choose the most credible threat
Examples:
-
If targeting ops leaders migrating from Excel: position against “spreadsheet-based forecasting”
-
If targeting agencies from freelance platforms: position against “juggling multiple freelancers”
-
If targeting SMBs from manual processes: position against “manual data entry”
Step 6: Define Your Differentiation (USP)
Differentiation types:
-
Speed/Efficiency: “You’ll save hours compared to traditional methods”
-
Cost: “We’re 60% cheaper than enterprise alternatives”
-
Simplicity: “No technical setup required; configure in minutes”
-
Capability: “The only platform with native AI-powered recommendations”
-
Approach: “We focus on user experience first, features second”
-
Technology: “Proprietary machine learning algorithms”
-
Service: “Includes dedicated customer success support”
Rules for strong differentiation:
-
It should be defensible (not easily copied by competitors)
-
It should enable the key benefit you articulated earlier
-
It should be credible and provable (not vague marketing speak)
-
It should matter to your specific target customer (not generic)
Red flags:
-
“Best-in-class solution” (not a differentiation, just a claim)
-
“Fastest, cheapest, most innovative” (vague superlatives)
-
“Reduces implementation time from 6 months to 2 weeks using our proprietary onboarding framework”
Complete Template with Examples
Template (Geoffrey Moore Format)
Example 1: Meal-Kit Delivery Service
For busy professionals who work 50+ hours per week
who want healthy home-cooked meals but lack time for grocery shopping and meal planning
the HomeChef Kit is a weekly meal-kit subscription service
that delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and simple recipes, saving you 5+ hours per week on meal preparation
. Unlike grocery delivery or traditional takeout
, our service curates every recipe to your dietary preferences and nutritional goals, giving you control over what you eat
Example 2: SaaS Integration Platform
For technical operations leaders at mid-market companies
who need to connect 15+ business applications but have limited engineering resources
the ConnectFlow is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS)
that enables non-technical users to build and manage integrations in hours instead of months
. Unlike enterprise integration platforms or custom engineering
, our platform requires zero code and offers 50+ pre-built connectors, letting your ops team move at the speed of business
Example 3: Analytics Tool
For early-stage SaaS founders
who need to understand customer behavior but can’t afford expensive enterprise analytics tools
the InsightLens is a customer analytics platform
that gives you real-time dashboards of user journeys and cohort behavior without weeks of implementation
. Unlike Google Analytics, custom SQL queries, or expensive enterprise tools
, InsightLens is built specifically for SaaS metrics (MRR, churn, CAC) and has pre-built segments ready to use
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Starting with Features Instead of Customer Need
Wrong: “For product teams, Jira is a tool that tracks sprints and manages tickets with workflow automation.”
Right: “For engineering teams who want to ship faster and reduce bottlenecks, Jira is a project management tool that gives visibility into work and automatically routes tasks to the right person.”
The fix: Always lead with the problem or outcome, not the technical capability.
Mistake 2: Vague or Overly Broad Target Customer
Wrong: “For businesses that want to be more efficient”
Right: “For manufacturing operations managers who oversee 50+ production lines and struggle to reduce downtime”
The fix: Use specific descriptors (role, company size, industry, context) that make your customer feel seen.
Mistake 3: Weak or Uncredible Differentiation
Wrong: “Unlike competitors, our product is better and faster”
Right: “Unlike competitors, our platform is 10x faster because we use edge computing instead of centralized servers”
The fix: Differentiation must be specific, provable, and grounded in something real (technology, cost structure, team expertise, etc.).
Mistake 4: Multiple Benefits Instead of One Clear One
Wrong: “That saves time, reduces costs, improves security, and enables better collaboration”
Right: “That reduces data integration time from weeks to hours, freeing your engineering team to build customer-facing features”
The fix: Pick the strongest, most differentiated benefit. Other benefits can be secondary, but the primary benefit should be singular and powerful.
Mistake 5: Not Testing Against Customer Reality
Wrong: Positioning created in a conference room without customer input
Right: Positioning tested with 10-15 customers to ensure it resonates and differentiates in their eyes
The fix: Before finalizing, validate your positioning statement with actual customers. Does it reflect their perspective? Does it excite them? Does it differentiate?
How to Use Your Positioning Statement
Internally (Strategic Use)
-
Alignment tool: Share it in team meetings, onboarding, and strategy reviews to ensure everyone understands the “why” behind product decisions
-
Decision filter: When evaluating new features, partnerships, or marketing initiatives, ask: “Does this reinforce our positioning or dilute it?”
-
Sales enablement: Translate the positioning into sales talk tracks and battle cards
-
Product decisions: Does the roadmap reinforce the key benefit and differentiation?
-
Marketing foundation: All messaging—website copy, ads, content—should flow from and reinforce the positioning
Externally (Communication Use)
Your positioning statement is internal and strategic. However, you’ll translate it into:
-
Value proposition: A shorter, simpler version highlighting the key benefit
-
Tagline: A memorable, catchy version for ads and branding (e.g., Slack’s “Where work happens”)
-
Sales messaging: Talk tracks and elevator pitches
-
Website copy: Headlines and hero section messaging
Example: From Positioning to External Communication
Internal positioning statement:
“For software engineering teams that need to move faster, CodeFlow is a development platform that reduces deployment time from hours to minutes by automating testing and deployment. Unlike traditional CI/CD tools, our platform is built specifically for microservices architectures, requiring zero custom configuration.”
External tagline:
“Deploy in minutes, not hours”
Value proposition:
“CodeFlow automates the entire deployment pipeline for microservices, eliminating weeks of setup time and reducing deployment errors by 90%.”
Sales talk track:
“Most teams we talk to are waiting 4-6 hours between code push and live deployment. With CodeFlow, that’s down to 15 minutes because we built the platform specifically for how modern teams deploy.”
Testing Your Positioning Statement
Before you lock in your positioning, validate it:
The “So What?” Test
When someone reads your positioning statement, would they naturally ask, “So what?” or would they immediately understand why your product matters?
-
Fails: “For teams, our product improves collaboration efficiency”
-
Passes: “For distributed engineering teams losing 3 hours/day to context-switching, our async communication tool ensures teams move as fast as if they were in the same office”
The Customer Recognition Test
Show your positioning to 5-10 customers. Do they say:
-
“Yes, that’s exactly our problem” (validating the need)
-
“Yes, I understand why that would solve it” (validating the solution)
-
“Yes, that’s different from what we’re currently doing” (validating differentiation)
If any of these aren’t resonating, iterate.
The Competitive Test
Ask sales and customers: Is this differentiation actually meaningful to our target? Is it something competitors can’t easily copy?
-
Weak: “We have great customer support” (easy for competitors to copy)
-
Strong: “We’re the only platform with integrated AI-powered anomaly detection, trained on 10 years of your industry data” (harder to copy)
The Team Alignment Test
In a team meeting, ask everyone to write down their understanding of the product’s positioning without looking at your document. Did they all write essentially the same thing?
-
If yes: You have strong alignment
-
If no: Your positioning isn’t clear enough yet; iterate
When and How to Evolve Your Positioning
Your positioning statement isn’t permanent. Revisit and evolve it when:
Market changes:
-
New competitors emerge
-
Customer needs shift
-
Your target market evolves
Product evolution:
-
You add significant new features
-
You pivot to a new use case
-
Your product capabilities change materially
Business strategy changes:
-
You enter a new market segment
-
You change your pricing model
-
You reposition for growth
The process:
-
Do new customer research (validate that customer needs have shifted)
-
Analyze how competitors have evolved
-
Assess whether your current differentiation still holds
-
If needed, draft a new positioning statement following the same process
-
Test and validate before rolling out to the team
Key principle: Evolution is normal. The best companies revisit positioning annually to ensure it remains resonant and defensible.
Final Checklist: Is Your Positioning Statement Complete?
Use this checklist to validate your positioning statement before sharing with the team:
-
Target customer is specific (role, company size, industry, or context distinguishes them)
-
Customer need is real and urgent (based on research, not assumption)
-
Product category is clear and familiar (customers immediately understand what it is)
-
Key benefit is outcome-focused (not feature-focused) and singular
-
Competitive alternative is credible (the alternative customers are actually considering)
-
Differentiation is specific and defensible (not vague marketing language)
-
Entire statement flows naturally (reads smoothly, no awkward phrasing)
-
Validated with customers (tested with 5-10 customers for resonance)
-
Team understands and can articulate it (not just marketing—product and sales grasp it)
-
Decision filter for the business (team can use it to evaluate features, partnerships, marketing)
Once you check all boxes, you have a positioning statement that will guide your organization toward strategic clarity and market differentiation.
Summary
The Geoffrey Moore “For, Who, The, That, Unlike, Our” positioning statement template is one of the most powerful tools in product marketing. It forces clarity on:
-
Who you serve (target customer)
-
Why it matters (customer need)
-
What you are (product category)
-
Why you’re valuable (key benefit)
-
Who you’re competing against (competitive alternative)
-
Why you win (differentiation)
Master this framework, validate your positioning with customers, and use it as your north star for every strategic and tactical decision. The clarity and alignment it creates will compound over time, turning your positioning into a sustainable competitive advantage.
