Symptoms of poor positioning: No leads

In this series on the symptoms of poor positioning, I’m addressing signs that there might be a positioning problem. I’ve already written about Blank Stares and wrong assumptions.

Before I start in on why a lack of leads could be a positioning problem, I’d like to preface by saying that a lack of leads is not always a positioning problem. On the other hand, people making incorrect assumptions about your product / OSS project or giving you a blank stare pretty much always are a positioning issue.

However, let’s assume:

• You are doing some marketing of some kind

• There is a relatively frictionless way to get in touch with you / your team

• You’re pretty sure people actually have the problem you solve

If all of those are true and you’re still getting no leads, it could be a positioning problem. Here’s why:

If you’re swimming in a pond that’s too big it is hard for news about your product to spread, so you don’t get much word-of-mouth.

Buyers want something that speaks clearly, directly to ‘someone like them.’ If you haven’t narrowed down your target market, it will be impossible to do this.

If you haven’t clearly articulated what your product does and the market category you’re in people will be confused. Confused people tend not to become leads — they don’t understand how your product will make their lives better so they move on. It’s also harder to differentiate your product, which especially for startups is a problem — why would anyone choose you if you’re product isn’t clearly differentiated?

If the marketing efforts that you’re making aren’t translating into the leads you’d expect, it’s worth considering if your positioning might be the problem — or at least part of the problem.