In today’s episode, you’ll learn why understanding your competition is critical for positioning and how many people get it wrong. I share a story about the deceptive nature of data and why you need to carefully evaluate bad-fit customers. I talk about how to discover your true competitors and recount a story of a failed sales pitch that taught me the importance of clearly understanding your value from the customer’s point of view. I also dive into the story of Segway, why they failed initially, and why avoiding market categorization is a huge mistake.

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In This Episode, I Cover:

(00:00) Defining positioning

(00:53) A story about how data can lie to us

(05:25) Lessons on “bad fit customers”

(06:52) How to think about competition

(09:26) How to discover who your real competitors are

(11:50) The question all customers ask

(13:24) The benefits of great positioning

(13:49) A failed sales pitch, and what it taught me about the importance of understanding your product’s value

(20:45) Why avoiding categorization is a massive mistake

(21:49) A story about Segway and why you need to position your product in a market category

75: Sharmila Tagore remembers Satyajit Ray on his 100th birth anniversary