Easy Product Positioning, Launch Day, Routines
Read time: 3½ minutes
Hi 👋 It’s Dmitri, and welcome to Point-Blank, my weekly practical advice and perspective on startup operations. Subscribe with other founders and operators.
Now, let's get to the point.
B2B SaaS Positioning is Easy
How does an early-stage B2B SaaS tool stand out among feature-rich competitors? The answer is easy but not simple: product positioning and the messaging used to communicate it.
A grave mistake founders can make is to dismiss or ignore it as corporate fluff. I'd go to say that it is of strategic importance and can, and should, inform things like GTM motion or setting your North Star goals. I'll eagerly debate this point (let me know if you are up for it), but if you agree, here's a straightforward, practical guide on how to get started with positioning put together by Aatir Abdul Rauf and Anthony Pierri. To summarize, here are the four questions that you and your team have to answer in detail about your product:
What is it
Who is it for
What does it replace
Why is it better
I ask all the customers I work with to go through a similar exercise with their teams. Every single time, the team is surprised at how revealing these simple questions are and how they highlight the many gaps in their understanding of what they are building. Highly recommend doing this! ✊
Launch Day
Your launch day is not that special. Plan your launch day as a typical day. Sure, throw a party if you want, but set expectations for yourself and your team that the thing is not going to go viral, Wall Street Journal won't feature you, and the infrastructure your team has built will easily withstand the slightly increased traffic. Enjoy the moment, and call your mom. This is the first step of the rest of the journey ahead.
F*ck Morning Routines
The real "morning routine" is the evening routine: what you eat and drink in the evening when you call it a day and what you do for a couple of hours before sleep. That's it. Do whatever you want in the morning - the routine does not change a thing in how your day goes. I've tested it, and the mornings do not matter. I personally do the most productive work right after I wake up. Get up, coffee, work. That's my morning routine. The bottom line is to do what works for you, both in the mornings and the evenings.
It's already November. So, it's time to get your dashboards ready for the EOY results and planning!
If you're a founder of an early-stage startup and could use some hands-on help, find me at PreScaled.com or reply to this Point-Blank. I might be able to make your launch a regular day, adjust the evening routine, or fix the dashboards.
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Until next week, stay on point!
- Dmitri
LinkedIn | X@Hey_Dmitri | PreScaled.com
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