CHAPTER 6

Positioning

Nothing is good or ill but by comparison.

—Islamic proverb

Everything is compared with something, even if that something is (doing) nothing. Understanding this simple and fundamental idea is the Eureka insight that tells us why positioning is strategically important to product marketing generally, but never more so than when you are trying to disrupt a market.

We perceive and understand the relationships between things, especially similarities, differences, and rankings. Beyond a few absolute reference points, everything we know is relative. Moreover, everyone perceives things a little bit differently, based on our experiences, preferences, prior knowledge, and current circumstance.

Ironically, from our own perspective, ...

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