Disciplined Entrepreneurship, 2nd Edition

STEP 11Chart Your Competitive Position

In This Step, You Will:

• Show visually how well your product meets the Persona's top two priorities, as compared to existing products, and is therefore better positioned for success with your target customer.
• Analyze whether the market opportunity you have chosen fits well with both your Core and your Persona's priorities.

The Competitive Position is where you take your Core and make sure it translates into real and unique value for the customer.

Why This Step, and Why Now?

Customers don't really care about your Core. What they care about are the unique benefits you will provide to them in the areas they are most concerned about. Now that you have identified your Core in Step 10, you need to make sure that the benefit you provide to the customer is compelling. This keeps you focused on what is important, and also gives you and others a clear sense of how you compare to the customer's alternatives.

Let's Get Started

A common question you will get is “How does your product compare to your competitors’?” The wrong answer is a technical description of your product and the features it possesses. The right answer is how it helps your customer make more money, or save more lives, or reduce their carbon footprint, or sleep better at night, ...