The Secret to Solving Your Positioning Problem: Creating a "Versus" Scenario

If your startup is struggling to explain the value you bring to prospective clients, you don't have a product problem; you likely have a positioning problem.

When people don't "get" what you do, it's usually because they don't see why they should change. One of the most effective ways to bridge that gap is to stop talking about yourself and start talking about the enemy.

To win over your audience, you need to create a brand antagonist.

## The "Versus" Scenario: You + The Customer vs. The World

Positioning isn't just about listing features, it's about creating a "versus" scenario. You want to position your brand as the ally in a battle. It's you and your customer standing together against a common foe.

But this "villain" isn't usually a person or a specific competitor. Typically, the ultimate evil is the status quo. It's the way things are currently done, the "normal" that everyone accepts but secretly hates. By identifying what's wrong with the world today, you give your customers a reason to rally behind you.

## Lessons from the Giants: Dove and Apple

How does this look in practice? Let's look at two iconic examples:

- **Dove:** Instead of fighting other soap brands, Dove fought unrealistic beauty standards. By making "unrealistic" the antagonist, they could still sell beauty products while positioning themselves as the brand that championed "real" beauty. This single pivot fueled their marketing for over a decade.

- **Apple:** In their early days, Apple didn't just sell computers; they fought the boring corporate status quo. They positioned Windows-based PCs as dull, grey boxes for accountants. If you were creative, inspirational, or a "misfit," Apple was your weapon against the mundane.

## Stop Selling Features, Start Picking Fights

If you're having trouble selling your value proposition to people who are hearing about you for the first time, try shifting your focus. Instead of explaining every detail of your software or service:

1. **Identify the Enemy:** Is it inefficiency? Is it outdated thinking? Is it a "grey" corporate standard?

2. **Make it Negative:** Paint the current way of doing things as the villain of the story.

3. **Be the Hero's Weapon:** Position your product as the tool the customer needs to defeat that villain.

Just like a great movie needs a supervillain to make the hero's journey meaningful, your brand needs an antagonist to make your value clear. When you define what you're against, it becomes much easier for your customers to see what you're for.

Fractal can help you identify your brand antagonist and craft a positioning strategy that truly resonates with your market.