When Quizno’s first became a true mass-market brand, they anchored their advertising message on the “MMMM…Toasty” slogan (the slogan has changed over the years). They had positioned themselves in the crowded US sub-sandwich market as the one place to get a toasted sandwich. Yes — believe it or not — they broke through the clutter with promises of warmed bread.

So how did competitors respond? Subway, the largest player in the market, quickly followed suit by buying commercial toasters for all of their stores and launching a competitive me-too advertising campaign. By the time they were able to execute, it was too late and Quizno’s had already positioned themselves in the mind of the consumer with a differentiated product.

Positioning is a powerful concept from consumer behavior theory. It’s literally how we think about products, services, and companies relative to others in a given market.  Quizno’s chose to differentiate themselves on a product feature, but there is more to positioning than features.  As you think about positioning, ask yourself: Are we going to win with the best product? Are we going to serve broad needs or are we going to do one scenario really well?  Are we going to have the best customer service? Lowest prices? Most value per dollar? Are we going to focus narrowly on small businesses or win with a specific industry like financial services?

At blist, we’re positioning ourselves in the crowded Web 2.0 market as the best place to “Share your web lists.”   We’re deeply committed to delivering the best consumer experience, from a great product that makes sharing easy, to excellent customer service and support.  We’re all about the total package (or value proposition for you marketers out there).

We’d love to hear your stories in the comments. How do you position yourself against the competition? Do you make product and strategic decisions based on that positioning?

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By way of full disclosure, I’m a software engineer by training and background, so I’m not taking a random pot shot at programmers and all folks of a technical persuasion.

There’s a funny sentiment that has more truth than humor. It goes “Why is it that when a marketing gal starts a company, she instinctively knows that she needs a software engineer to write the code, but when a software engineer starts a company he thinks he can do marketing himself?”

When you think about starting a company, assume the product is going to be awesome as a baseline premise. If you’re going to make software, assume it’s going to be the best in its category. How are you going to sell it? Regardless of whether you plan to sell shrink-wrapped software, ad-based web software or subscription-based software as a service, you have to find users. It’s not automatic. There has to be a plan. That plan is the marketing plan. How are you going to influence your market (read potential customers) to adopt your program? Sure you could think up some great marketing ideas. You could also cut your own hair. In my opinion, you shouldn’t try either. Hiring a marketing person doesn’t mean you have no influence in how your service is marketed. You should be involved in marketing (really, for a startup to succeed everyone from the CEO to the programmers needs to be constantly marketing). Back to my haircutting analogy, the best haircut is one where you and the stylist had a great conversation about the look you are after. You wouldn’t say “surprise me!” Once you agree on the style, let the professional practice his craft.

What if you’re a bootstrapped startup and can’t afford marketing help? Be creative. Carve out an advisory board slot just for a seasoned marketing expert. Then find the best one around and use some stock options to pay him. Hire a consultant on a project-by-project basis. By the way, if you’re in Seattle (and even if you aren’t) I highly recommend Todd Sawicki. Hire one less programmer if you have to. Marketing is that important.

One last thing. If you plan to raise money from VCs and you’re a technical founder, especially if this is your first startup, you really need a senior marketing person on board before trying to raise capital. VCs look for signs of intelligence in the founder. Recognizing and compensating for your weaknesseses is a sign of intelligence. Be smart. Get professional help with your marketing.

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