Ep. 90 – Why Most SaaS Companies Get Positioning Wrong – with Anthony Pierri
Oct 5, 2023
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Anthony Pierri, Partner with Fletch PMM, discusses how most SaaS companies get positioning wrong. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on product marketing and differentiation, using specific benefits to stand out. Pierri outlines their process for effective messaging and aligning with target audience's struggles and pain points.
Startups should focus on speaking directly to a specific group of people, mapping out their struggles, and aligning their features and capabilities to address those pain points.
Use case positioning is a superior approach in B2B marketing, as it helps in reducing friction and improving understanding among potential customers.
Deep dives
Discovering a Niche Market for Positioning
Anthony Peery, partner at Fletch PMM, discusses how they identified the need for helping early-stage startups with their positioning and messaging, particularly focusing on the homepage message. They found a gap in the market for startups that needed to position themselves in the early days but lacked guidance. By narrowing their focus to a specific industry (B2B), market segment (SaaS), and business type (horizontal products), they honed in on the group that struggled the most. This niche positioning allowed them to create a specialized framework, helping startups make hard decisions and define their value propositions effectively.
The Significance of Positioning in Market Success
Positioning plays a crucial role in a company's success. By effectively positioning their product or service, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors and attract their target audience. Positioning should be based on understanding the pain points and needs of their potential customers. Startups should focus on speaking directly to a specific group of people, mapping out their struggles, and aligning their features and capabilities to address those pain points. By doing this, startups can reduce friction, make their value proposition clear, and provide a compelling reason for customers to choose their product or service.
The Power of Use Case Positioning
Use case positioning is a superior approach in B2B marketing, as it helps in reducing friction and improving understanding among potential customers. By situating the product or service in a specific moment or activity that the audience can relate to, startups can make it easier for potential customers to understand how their product can solve their specific challenges. Use case messaging allows startups to speak directly to the pain points and desired outcomes of their target audience, making their value proposition more compelling and increasing the chances of adoption.
Avoiding Mistakes in Positioning
One common mistake that companies make in positioning is trying to speak to multiple target groups simultaneously. This broad approach leads to diluted messaging that fails to resonate with any particular group. Startups should focus on specific groups or segments and tailor their positioning messages accordingly. By choosing a specific niche and deeply understanding the pain points and needs of that niche, startups can craft a more compelling and focused positioning strategy. Additionally, companies often prioritize brand marketing over product marketing in the early stages, which can lead to confusion and failure to clearly communicate the value of the product or service.
Effective messaging is paramount for SaaS companies to attract and convert the right types of customers. And according to this week’s guest Anthony Pierri, Partner with Fletch PMM, most are getting it wrong.
They try to speak to too many audiences at once.
They use vague and broad statements that don’t resonate with anyone.
They use wishy washy language.
Today’s marketers have been influenced by big companies that prioritize branding and awareness, which won’t be an effective strategy for the cash-conscious startups.
Instead, companies should focus on product marketing and differentiation to clearly communicate their unique value proposition front and center on the homepage throughout all content.
Don’t miss this episode where Pierri outlines their process for that.
Key Takeaways:
Why use case positioning is probably going to be the most effective for B2B SaaS.
How to align your messaging to your target audience’s struggles and pain points.
Why you should use specific benefits to differentiate.
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