3.2
Positioning Canvas
A five-step procedure that derives a market category from competitive alternatives, unique attributes, the value they produce, and the segment that cares.
April Dunford, Obviously Awesome (2019)
What it does
Five steps: competitive alternatives → unique attributes → the value those attributes produce → who deeply cares about that value → what market category makes the value obvious. Ries–Trout made operable.
When it breaks
Powerful only where you can choose the category. In regulated or mature markets step five is locked, and the canvas quietly becomes a four-step exercise.
Case
Dunford's signature story is Janna Systems, repositioned from generic enterprise CRM to “CRM for investment banks.” Siebel acquired it in an all-stock deal announced 11 September 2000 at US$975m — not the $1.7bn that circulates in retellings.
CNN Money — Siebel to buy Janna Systems ↗Diagram — not yet drawn
The five steps as a dependency chain where each box narrows the next, with the category box drawn last and largest — because it is the output, not the input.
In the wild
Unvetted · not part of the tier assessment
What has been written about this tool in the last twelve months. Machine-retrieved and unchecked — everything above this line was checked.
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