The 5 Core Types of Positioning

“The best strategy is not to compete harder.
It’s to compete somewhere better.”
— JD Meier

Positioning is the ultimate advantage in business and in life.

Leaders that understand positioning win the game before it’s played.

At Microsoft, I learned how positioning is the key to advantage in everything from your career to your services to your products to your business to your personal brand.

In classic strategy/marketing thinking (Al Ries, Jack Trout, and later strategy frameworks), there are 5 core positioning strategies, and a 6th that is often added because it’s extremely powerful in modern markets.

Here’s the clean breakdown.

Key Takeaways

• Positioning determines advantage before execution begins.

• The strongest leaders choose where to compete, not just how to compete.

• There are six core positioning strategies, but one dominates modern markets.

• Category creation is the highest-leverage move because it reframes the problem.

• The strongest brands combine category + attribute to own a mental space.

• Positioning isn’t just marketing — it shapes strategy, careers, and leadership influence.

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1. Category Positioning

You position yourself within an existing category.

Example:

• Volvo → safest car

• FedEx → overnight delivery

The move:

Win a clear attribute inside a known category.

This is the most common strategy.

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2. Attribute / Benefit Positioning

You own a specific benefit or capability.

Examples:

• Crest → cavity protection

• BMW → ultimate driving machine

The move:

Attach the brand to one dominant idea.

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3. Competitor Positioning

You position directly against a rival.

Example:

• Avis → “We Try Harder” vs Hertz

The move:

Define yourself relative to someone else.

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4. User Positioning

You position around who it’s for.

Examples:

• Red Bull → extreme athletes

• Nike → serious athletes

The move:

Identity and tribe.

This is why “for CEOs” or “for founders” works.

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5. Use-Case Positioning

You position around when or where it’s used.

Examples:

• Gatorade → sports hydration

• Zoom → video meetings

The move:

Own a moment or situation.

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The 6th (More Powerful) Positioning

Category Creation

This is the most powerful strategy today.

Instead of competing in a category…

You define a new one.

Examples:

• Salesforce → CRM in the cloud

• HubSpot → inbound marketing

• Uber → ride-sharing

The move:

Redefine the problem so you become the default answer.

This is why category creators often dominate markets.

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The Strategic Insight

Most people try to compete inside a crowded category.

But the real leverage comes from where you compete.

Most companies fight at the bottom of the ladder.

The strongest companies move up.

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The Positioning Power Ladder

Not all positioning strategies create equal advantage.

Most companies compete on attributes.
The strongest companies create categories.

The leverage hierarchy looks like this:

Weak → Strong

1. Attribute positioning

2. Competitor positioning

3. User positioning

4. Use-case positioning

5. Category positioning

6. Category creation

The higher you compete in positioning, the stronger your strategic advantage.

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Example Applied to Coaching

You’re currently mixing two positioning types.

Category

Executive Coach / Leadership Coach

Attribute

AI-era leadership

User

Senior leaders

But a category creation move might look like:

• AI Leadership Coach

• AI Leadership Advantage

• AI-Augmented Leadership

Now you’re not competing with every coach.

You’re defining a new mental shelf.

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The Deep Strategic Insight

The strongest brands combine 2 types:

Category + Attribute

Example:

• Apple
  category → personal computers
  attribute → beautifully designed

• Tesla
  category → electric vehicles
  attribute → performance

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One More Insight (Rumelt Tie-In)

This connects perfectly to good strategy from Richard Rumelt.

Good strategy =

1. Diagnosis

2. Guiding policy

3. Coherent actions

Positioning is essentially:

Guiding policy for how you compete.

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Simple Way to Remember the Six

1. Category

2. Attribute

3. Competitor

4. User

5. Use case

6. Category creation

Final Thoughts

Positioning is one of the most misunderstood sources of advantage.

Most people focus on execution: working harder, building more features, improving performance.

But the real game is choosing where you compete and what idea you own.

The moment you change the frame of the problem, the competition changes with it.

That’s why great companies and great leaders obsess over positioning.

They know the truth:

If you win the position in the mind, the rest of the strategy becomes easier.

Where are you competing today?

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