Positioning outcomes: Internal alignment

How much does internal alignment even matter? Does the lack of it get in the way of growth?

You bet.

Imagine this scenario: Your marketing team thinks your positioning is X. They create a campaign around that positioning, highlighting what they think are key values someone gets from your product. People out in the world see the campaign and are interested. They become leads… and at some point, are passed off to your sales team.

Your sales team, however, thinks your positioning is Y. They use different terms to describe the product and they highlight different value points. The prospects are confused — this isn’t what they were expecting after the marketing material they saw. So they drop out of the funnel.

That’s even assuming that the entire marketing team agrees on what the product’s positioning is. In the absence of a clear articulation (usually in a written document) about what the product’s positioning is and what value to highlight in marketing, it’s entirely possible that each person on the marketing team will have a different “positioning” in his or her head. Which means marketing campaigns will be scattershot and less effective. (Don’t believe this happens? I have definitely seen it in the wild).

Internal alignment can also solve less tangible episodes of frustration. Ever felt like your team just doesn’t get it? If it’s one person, it’s there fault. If a whole team doesn’t get it, it’s the leader’s fault. And if the problem is that they don’t understand the fundamentals of what the product does and why it’s valuable, that’s something positioning can solve.

When you have clearly articulated positioning, your team members are on the same page about not just where you are now but also where you are going. Everyone who interacts with the company — prospects, customers, press, investors — all gets the same story about what value you provide and what your product even is.