Positioning canvas template
A positioning canvas is a one page worksheet that captures five positioning choices in order. The boxes are competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value, best fit customers and market category, plus a one line summary. You fill it from real deal notes and customer words, then write your messaging from it.
On this page
Key takeaways
- The canvas has six boxes. Fill them in order, because each box depends on the one before it.
- The five core boxes follow April Dunford's method from Obviously Awesome. The summary line follows the classic positioning statement format often traced to Geoffrey Moore.
- Fill the canvas from evidence such as won and lost deals, sales call recordings and customer quotes.
- Date the canvas and review it when your product or best customers change.
- The canvas is internal. Use it to write messaging. Keep it off your homepage.
- Each box on this page is an interactive exercise. Your answers form your finished canvas.
Your workbook
How to use this canvas
Work through the boxes from top to bottom. Each box has a prompt and a worked example. The example uses Acme Billing, a fictional invoicing tool for small accounting firms. It is for illustration only.
Before you start, gather three things. Notes from your last 10 to 20 won and lost deals. One or two recorded sales calls. The words your happiest customers use to describe you. Plan for a focused working session with no more than three people. Too many voices slow the work down.
| Box | Question | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Competitive alternatives | What would buyers use if you did not exist? | Won and lost deal notes |
| 2 Unique attributes | What do you have that those alternatives lack? | Product, sales demos, customer interviews |
| 3 Value | What does each attribute let customers do? | Customer quotes |
| 4 Best fit customers | Who cares most about that value, and why? | Fastest closes, longest retained customers |
| 5 Market category | What frame makes the value obvious? | Your answers to boxes 1 to 4 |
| 6 Positioning statement | Can you say it in one line? | All five boxes |
Box 1 Competitive alternatives
Competitive alternatives are what buyers would use if your product did not exist. Start here because value only makes sense compared with something. Include the status quo. Spreadsheets and doing nothing often show up more than direct competitors.
Competitive alternatives
Every other box is measured against this one. Leaving out the status quo hides most of your real competition.
What would buyers use if you did not exist? List each alternative and how often it came up in recent deals.
Acme Billing example
Spreadsheet plus email templates (most common). Built in invoicing inside a general accounting suite. A part time bookkeeper. Doing nothing and invoicing late.
The free competitive alternatives mapper can help you fill this box.
Box 2 Unique attributes
Unique attributes are the things you have that the alternatives in box 1 lack. Features count. So do a business model, a data source, a delivery method or a team. Cross out anything an alternative can also do.
Unique attributes
Buyers decide based on differences. Shared features do not help them choose.
What do you have that those alternatives lack? List each attribute and which alternative lacks it.
Acme Billing example
Reads client emails and drafts invoices (spreadsheets and the suite lack this). Sends payment reminders on a schedule (spreadsheets lack this). Set up in one afternoon for firms under 20 staff (the suite takes weeks).
Box 3 Value
Value is what each unique attribute lets a customer do. Customers buy the result, so write it in their words. Add "so you can" after each attribute and finish the sentence until you reach a result someone would pay for.
Value
This box turns product facts into reasons to buy. Messaging is written mostly from here.
What does each attribute let customers do? Write one value line per attribute, then one line for the combined value.
Acme Billing example
Drafts invoices from emails so firms bill the same day the work is done. Sends reminders so owners stop chasing late payments by hand. Combined: firms get paid sooner without adding staff.
Box 4 Best fit customers
Best fit customers are the buyers who care most about the value in box 3. Go past company size and industry. Find the trait that makes the value urgent, such as a task the buyer does every week or a cost they feel every month.
Best fit customers
A specific target makes every message easier to write and tells sales who to call first.
Who cares most about that value, and why? Write the traits your best customers share and the one trait that makes it urgent.
Acme Billing example
Accounting firms with 3 to 15 staff that bill hourly and send more than 50 invoices a month. Urgent trait: the owner does billing personally, often at night.
The free ICP sketcher turns these notes into a short profile.
Box 5 Market category
Market category is the frame that tells buyers what to compare you with. Pick it last. Write a few candidate categories, note what buyers would assume under each and choose the one where those assumptions help you.
Market category
The category sets expectations before a buyer reads your copy. The right one makes your value obvious.
What frame makes the value obvious? List candidate categories, what buyers would assume under each and your pick.
Acme Billing example
"Accounting software": compared to full suites, looks thin. "Invoicing tool": compared to cheap templates. "Automated billing for small accounting firms": compared to doing it by hand. Pick: automated billing for small accounting firms.
Try the free category picker if you are stuck.
Box 6 Positioning statement
The positioning statement is a one line summary of the five boxes. The common template reads: For [customer] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [value]. Unlike [alternative], we [attribute]. Use it to check that the boxes fit together.
April Dunford argues that a positioning statement on its own is a weak way to do positioning, because it assumes there is only one right answer. That is why this canvas puts the statement last. Write it after the five boxes. Treat it as an internal summary and keep it off your homepage.
Positioning statement
If the sentence reads awkwardly, one of the boxes above probably does not fit with the others.
Fill in the template using boxes 1 to 5.
Acme Billing example
For small accounting firms whose owners do billing themselves, Acme Billing is automated billing software that turns client emails into sent invoices the same day. Unlike spreadsheets and email templates, Acme Billing drafts invoices and chases late payments for you.
The free positioning statement generator builds this line from your inputs.
Copy the blank template
Paste this plain text version into a doc or your team workspace.
POSITIONING CANVAS
Company: ______ Date: ______ Reviewed by: ______
1 Competitive alternatives
What would buyers use if you did not exist?
______
2 Unique attributes
What do you have that those alternatives lack?
______
3 Value
What does each attribute let customers do?
______
4 Best fit customers
Who cares most about that value, and why?
______
5 Market category
What frame makes the value obvious?
______
6 Positioning statement
For [customer] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [value]. Unlike [alternative], we [attribute].
______How to check your finished canvas
A finished canvas should read as one connected argument. Read it from box 1 to box 6 and check each link. If a link breaks, fix the box before it.
| Check | Pass looks like |
|---|---|
| Every attribute beats at least one alternative | No shared features left in box 2 |
| Every value line traces to an attribute | No value without a cause |
| Best fit customers care about the value | You can name real customers who match |
| The category makes the value obvious | A best fit buyer would compare you to the alternatives you chose |
| The statement reads naturally | A teammate can say it aloud without stumbling |
Then test it outside the room. Use the new framing on your next few sales calls and ask prospects how they would describe you to a colleague.
What to do with the canvas next
Use the canvas to write your messaging. The category and combined value become your homepage headline and one line description. The attributes become feature sections. The alternatives become comparison pages and objection answers. The full product positioning guide covers this step and how to test the result.
Get the canvas done with help
If your team disagrees on the boxes or you want finished copy built from the canvas, Boundset runs a two week sprint for seed stage startups and beyond. The Stake sprint costs $7,500. It includes a positioning workshop, a positioning strategy grid and a messaging matrix. You also get homepage copy with variants and one activation asset you pick. Stronghold costs $12,000 and adds three more pages, three activation assets and a year of async coaching in Slack.
FAQs
What is a positioning canvas?
A positioning canvas is a one page worksheet that records your positioning choices in order. It covers competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value, best fit customers and market category, with a one line positioning statement at the end. Teams fill it from real deal notes and use it as the source for messaging.
Where does this canvas come from?
The five core boxes follow April Dunford's positioning method from her book Obviously Awesome. The summary line uses the classic positioning statement format often traced to Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm. Boundset combined them into one page and added prompts and a worked example for each box.
How long does it take to fill in a positioning canvas?
A first draft can take a few hours if you have deal notes and sales call recordings ready. Getting a team to agree on every box often takes longer. Plan a focused session with a small group, then test the result on real sales calls before you treat it as final.
Can I put my positioning statement on my homepage?
Use it as an internal check. The statement packs every positioning choice into one sentence, which reads awkwardly to buyers. Homepage copy should be shorter and written in buyer language. Use the category and combined value boxes to write a headline instead.
How often should I update my positioning canvas?
Update it when your alternatives, best fit customers or product change in a meaningful way. Examples include a new product line or a competitor that changes how buyers compare options. Date the canvas each time you review it so the team knows how current it is.
What is the difference between a positioning canvas and a value proposition canvas?
A positioning canvas captures company level strategy, including alternatives and market category. A value proposition canvas maps what messages matter to which audience. You usually fill the positioning canvas first, then use it to write value propositions for each persona.