Becoming
This is reposted from my blog at Positioning Pharmaceuticals, where version 2 of my book is being written chapter by chapter... Do sign up there if you'd like to receive weekly updates.
This one is simple. It builds on a few basic principles:
There is so much?debate about positioning templates, statement templates and processes, but most of them have a singular flaw: they describe the ‘as is’ rather than the ‘to be’.
Templates themselves are problematic. Statements should be crafted?after?the idea of your drug is decided, whereas they tend to be treated like a recipe card. My drug?is, so?it does this… In so many meetings, it doesn't matter how many times you say that you’re positioning for the future,?you’ll keep hearing ‘we don’t have those data’ or ‘we can’t say that’.
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Of all the ways that positioning is done badly (especially by management consultancies), starting with the statement narrows the conversation to passive ‘as is’ outcomes.
Instead, do this: at the top of any template you choose, write ‘Product X will become…’
Once you write ‘Product X will become’ at the top of your statement, most of what follows can be focused on real positioning -?positioning for the future you want?for your product, not the data you have from your clinical studies. And for as long as you avoid ‘non-statements’ like ‘best in class’ or ‘perfect balance’, it can provide a clear direction not just for those communicating, but those developing the data.
Positioning is a choice of what you want your product to become, so it’s simpler to include that starting point.
If you’re positioning for launch, this rule still applies. You may need launch messaging, but limiting your choices to data that you have already collected will lead to two things: limited potency in your messages, and no clear direction forward. Customers will want to know what problem your drug is aiming to solve, not just what hurdles you cleared in Development.