How BI tools for Planning vendors can improve the effectiveness of their positioning

Written by guest Author: Lawson Abinanti

Writeback is clearly an important capability that BI tools for planning must have.

But there is a benefit to writeback, and three vendors included in this first annual positioning effectiveness assessment must assume buyers know what that benefit is.

Solved, Power On and accoPLANNING would have far more effective positions by telling website visitors what the writeback benefit is.

Here’s why:

An effective position makes it clear what a vendor does and why website visitors should care enough to explore more. They won’t explore more when the position only makes it clear what the vendor does.

Website visitors will explore more when a vendor’s position also expresses a benefit that solves a pressing target audience problem. It will get this reaction:

“That’s interesting. Tell me more. How do you do it?”

Solved, Power On and accoPLANNING eventually present the benefits of writeback but visitors to their websites have to explore more which they may not do.

Five vendors have a big problem – lack of differentiation

However, these three vendors have an even bigger positioning problem. Their “writeback” positions aren’t unique. They fail to differentiate.

Acterys (Plan to Succeed) and deFacto Global (Take command of your business success) have the same problem:

Failure to differentiate creates buyer confusion, which inevitably leads to longer sales cycles, price wars and the dreaded no decision.

In contrast, according to Neuromarketing, a unique position highlights the difference, gap, or disruption the decision-making portion of brain is seeking to justify a quick decision.

You can see for yourself which vendors’ positions in this assessment are unique but not necessarily effective:

My assessment of the remaining four vendors’ positions

Here’s what I think of remaining four vendors’ positions included in this assessment. Overall, only Fiplana has effective position and Lumel has no position. Here’s why:

“Build Connected Reporting & Planning Apps” is what Lumel does. But it doesn’t explain why buyers should care enough to learn more. It doesn’t pass my “So what?” test.

Ask “So what” and the answer may be a benefit. If not, keep asking “So what” and eventually you’ll get an answer that is a benefit and should have been Lumel’s position.

Some pundits say “optimize” is a buzzword. I don’t agree because “optimize” mean “make the best or most effective use of.” Therefore, I think Fiplana’s “Optimize your financial planning” is by far the best position in this assessment.

Aimplan’s “transform” position is not a believable claim nor does Aimplan explain how it transforms planning and forecasting. That’s because Aimplan can’t.

Executing planning and forecasting better and more effectively isn’t a transformation. It’s simply a better way of doing planning and forecasting.

Phocas’ position explains what Phocas does – “BI and FP&A together” – and “smarter decisions” is a benefit. However, any kind of “decisions” claim proliferates throughout the B2B software and technology markets.

Plus “smarter decisions” doesn’t pass my “So what?” test. When you ask, “So what” and continue to do so, eventually you end up with a benefit that Phocas should have claimed.

How to create the ideal positioning statement

So how do you come up with an effective positioning statement?

A positioning statement is a short, declarative sentence that makes it clear what you do and expresses a benefit that solves one of your target audience’s pressing problem.

First create a list of target audience problems ranked by importance.

Then brainstorm positioning statements that express a benefit that solves the most pressing problem. If that doesn’t result in a unique position keep creating viable positioning statements until you converge on one that differentiates and is important to the target audience.

Of course, all along the way reference a competitive map like the one in this assessment to determine if a proposed positioning statement differentiates.

You have found the ideal positioning statement when it meets four criteria:

Unique. Only you are making the claim.

Important to the target audience because it solves a pressing problem.

Believable. It seems inherently true.

Useable. It easily adapts to all marketing communications.

Useability is critical because your positioning statement is the foundation for everything you do in marketing. Since you have created the ideal positioning statement you are on your way to creating marketing communications that will significantly increase awareness and demand.

If you want to discuss your marketing positioning statement feel free to contact Lawson Abinanti as he is a great resource for these things.