Firing An Idea Into The Mind

A while back I dismissed the concept of the positioning statement as an awkward and inept tool for companies to convert their Positioning into tactics.

What I didn’t do was provide an alternative solution. Here it is. The Positioning Arrow framework.

Context: The objective of Positioning is to position an idea in the mind that you stamp your brand on and own. An idea that stimulates buying behaviour.

For example, back in the 2000s, Salesforce fired the ‘Cloud CRM’ idea into the mind.

This was a mental flanking manoeuvre that enabled Salesforce to radically differentiate itself from hard-install CRM providers like Siebel and SAP.

A Positioning idea, like this, is the centrepiece of a strong GTM strategy.

Therefore, the focus of a company’s tactics should be to incisively pierce the mind of the prospect with the idea.

Positioning Arrow

Why do I call it the Positioning Arrow?

It’s structured so you can convert your Positioning idea into strategies and tactics that pierce the mind of the prospect with your idea.

Here’s a visualisation of the components:

Using it should clearly layout what idea your company wants to own in the mind and the perceptional mechanisms of achieving it.

Briefly, here’s what each of the components are:

• Idea: The problem and your solution, represented as an abstract idea.

• Ideal Mind: Like Ideal Customer, but focussed on the mind.

• Mind Map: The mental structure of your Ideal Mind. Strong emphasis on perceptions and biases that drive behaviour and choices.

• Category: The mental category you choose to compete in.

• Differentiation: What makes you differentiated.

• Associations: Attributes associated with your idea.

• Value: What prospects get by adopting your idea (value prop).

• Mind Entry: The mental reference to connect your idea to.

Calibration

Next, let’s walk through each of the components as if we are using the Positioning Arrow tactically.

For this example, let’s hypothetically look at Salesforce ‘back in the day’ (like 20 years ago). I’ll keep it straightforward for illustrative purposes.

Salesforce’s Positioning Arrow could’ve looked something like this:

What this all means:

• Idea —> Cloud CRM

  • Salesforce’s objective is to position the ‘Cloud CRM’ idea in the mind of the prospect. This is the core focus.

• Ideal Mind —> CROs

  • The targetted mind (prospect) to penetrate with the Cloud CRM idea is the CROs of large sales organisations.

• Mind Map —> CRMs, Excel

  • Hard-install CRM brands like Siebel and SAP are competitive alternatives. So is software like Excel (for companies that can’t afford Siebel and SAP’s solutions). They are perceived to be expensive and complex.

• Category —> Cloud CRM

  • Salesforce has chosen not to position itself in the established CRM mental category, it has decided to create a new mental category: Cloud CRM. This distances it from the negative perceptions of the hard-install CRM mental category.

• Differentiation —> 100% Online

  • A Cloud CRM is 100% online. This makes it radically different to competing options, which are all hard-installed.

• Associations —> Accessible, Efficient

  • A Cloud CRM is accessible financially, operatively, and technically. It’s efficient and enables sales teams to perform at a higher level.

• Value —> Acheive more

  • A Cloud CRM delivers higher ROI. It’s less expensive, less complex, less maintenance and enables more efficient sales processes and customer data management.

• Mind Entry —> Siebel

  • Siebel, the leader in the hard-install CRM category, is the mental reference point and springboard for Salesforce to establish the Cloud CRM idea in the mind. In other words, make Siebel the enemy!

The Positioning Arrow is not the place to define functionality — like features and capabilities. These are tactical and come from using the Positioning Arrow.

All we care about at this level is perception. Building a perception in the mind.

Why? A couple of key reasons:

1. Prospects pay a premium for perceptions. Prospects pay a pittance for products. 

2. A perception can be malleable and enduring. A tangible attribute can be rigid and ephemeral. If the tangible attribute falls out of favour, so does your business. Build a perception.

Tactic

OK… so we’ve got our Salesforce Positioning Arrow calibrated. Here it is again:

What does this look like when converted into a tactic? How can it be converted?

Starting at the tip of the arrow — Mind Entry — and working backwards to design a tactic can be the most efficient process. It helps narrow down viable options.

Let’s say I want to design a Salesforce PR campaign, for example. I could start off with Siebel as the Mind Entry device and then ask “How can I utilise PR to highlight and position Siebel as the enemy?"

I could then research Siebel’s recent and upcoming public activity. Based on this, I could design a PR campaign to take an opposing position to something Siebel is doing and make a lot of noise about it.

For example, if Siebel was hosting a User Conference, I could hire actors to show up outside their event and protest against the entire CRM category Siebel represents under an “End of Software” theme — introducing the idea that hard-install software is bad for the industry and planet.

Now I have this PR plan, I could work my way down the Positioning Arrow framework to verify and tweak alignment at all steps.

• Idea. What is the idea? Cloud CRM.

• Ideal Mind. Will CROs be at the User Conference? Yes.

• Mind Map. Can we use CRO perceptions to our advantage in this context? Yes — surface pains and negative perceptions they will agree with.

• Category. Do we attack Siebel or the CRM category? Both, position Siebel as the poster child of the CRM category.

• Differentiation. How do we stand out as different? Focus on defining the pain and problem so hard, that prospects naturally look for the opposite solution (Cloud CRM).

• Associations. What is the opposite of the problems we are highlighting? Accessible, efficient, no-hard install CRM software — Cloud CRM.

• Value. What does this perception enable prospects to do? Achieve more. Close more. Be better.

• Mind Entry. How do we legitimise Cloud CRM in the mind? Conduct a protest at a Siebel User Conference, framing them and the CRM category as the problem and enemy that Cloud CRM fixes.

Now I have this all set, I could hypothetically set it up and pull the trigger!

If this PR campaign sounds a little wild, it is. And, it actually happened.

Marc Benioff, CEO and Co-founder of Salesforce, hired a bunch of actors to accompany him outside a Siebel conference and campaign for the “End of Software”.

Everything was staged at the event. Not a single person was really there to protest. The “protesters” and the “Channel 22” news media crew were all actors!

In the early days, Salesforce focused on establishing Siebel as the enemy. This naturally built up a perception of what Cloud CRM is — the anti-Siebel — without having to overtly spell it out.

This exact approach worked for them, but it wouldn’t work for everyone. It depends on the unique circumstances of the company, brand, or product.

Differentiation, in particular, often needs to be a lot more clearly defined in the mind of the prospect.

One Shot Wonder? Don’t Count On It

The Battle of Hastings was allegedly won by the Normans when King Harold II was shot in the head by a single perfectly targeted arrow.

Positioning Arrows rarely work the same way. In all likelihood, you will need to calibrate and fire many of them to position your idea in even a single mind. Consistency and repetition are critical.

There’s also a lot of trial and error. Converting Positioning into tactics is rarely perfect. Some Positioning Arrows go off-target. Some end up as body shots. A few go straight into the head.

On the ground, doing this feels more like the opening scenes of Gladiator than the opening scenes of the Battle of Hastings. Fire! Fire! Fire!

Over time, you’ll build up a working knowledge of how to do this more effectively and consistently. Then, the position you want to own in the mind is there for you to conquer.

That’s it for today! I’ll be back in your inbox again soon.

Martin 👋

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