Positioning in Immature Markets (AI and Beyond)

In this article:

The third-order benefit trap
A framework for positioning in immature markets
Three awareness patterns — and what to do about each
The one-sentence positioning test
The complete cheat sheet

How to position when buyers don’t have a mental model for your product category

Imagine you’ve built an AI tool that proactively does sales work on behalf of the rep. Not a CRM. Not sales coaching. Not analytics. It actually does the work — researches accounts, builds business cases, drafts proposals.

Now try explaining that in one sentence.

The instinct is to go high.

“We help you win more deals.”
“AI-powered revenue acceleration.”

The problem: so does Salesforce. So does Gong. So does Outreach. So does hiring a better rep with a ChatGPT subscription.

This isn’t just an AI problem. It’s an immature market problem. AI just happens to be creating a lot of immature markets right now — products that enable workflows that didn’t exist before, solve problems people didn’t know they had, or connect things in ways nobody’s thought to connect.

Positioning on outcomes is almost never the strongest move — “we help you win more deals” could describe every sales tool ever built.

But in a mature market, you have alternatives. You can say “we’re a better CRM for mid-market banking.” You can anchor to a product type buyers already know. When your category doesn’t exist, you lose those alternatives. You’re stuck with the weakest option as your only option.

I see this constantly with the B2B SaaS/tech companies I work with. And it’s almost always the founders with the deepest understanding of the problem who fall into the trap hardest.

The third-order benefit trap

Founders who deeply understand the problem they’re solving default to the highest-altitude benefit when describing their product.

“We help companies win more deals.”
“We drive AI adoption across the organization.”
“We improve leadership quality.”
“We enable better planning decisions.”

These can all be true. But they’re all equally useless for going to the market successfully.

Here’s why.

Every product benefit sits on a chain from concrete to abstract:

	First order What it actually does	Second order Direct consequence	Third order Ultimate outcomes
AI sales agent	Builds business cases for enterprise deals	Champions can sell internally	Win more deals
AI literacy training	Delivers always-current training content	Employees use AI confidently and safely	Drive AI adoption
Civic engagement	Collects georeferenced input from residents	Planners see spatial patterns in the data	Better planning decisions
Digital facilitation	Runs collaborative workshops with analytics	Leaders see what their teams actually think	Improve leadership quality

Founders often default to the last column. That’s where EVERY competitive alternative lives — including alternatives and indirect competitors the buyer has never heard of, because at the third-order level, everything sounds the same.

But positioning typically lives in the left column. That’s where the buyer can picture what the product actually does.

Imagine a prospect is literally considering hiring two full-time people just to build business cases for their sales team. That’s a budget your AI tool could directly address. But they’ll never connect that need to “AI-powered revenue acceleration.”

A framework for positioning in immature markets

Before choosing how to position, you need to understand two things: what your product covers and how aware your buyer is.

Step 1: Map what you actually cover

Every B2B product operates across three layers:

Layer	What it means	Example (civic engagement)
Job to be done (M1/M2) or Use case (M3)	The outcome the customer is trying to achieve — they may not yet know a product-shaped solution exists. (In mature markets, a recognized activity they already know requires a tool.)	Run professional community engagement as part of planning projects. (In mature markets, a clear use case like “run enterprise learning programs.”)
Workflow (the process)	The sequence of steps through which the job gets done	Communicate project to residents → Collect input → Analyze input → Present findings to the city → Communicate findings
Solution (the method of getting it done)	What they use today for each step	Paper surveys, SurveyMonkey, Excel, public meetings with Post-it notes, door-to-door

This isn’t just an academic exercise.

The layer where your buyer makes their decision is the layer where you need to differentiate.

And here’s what most people miss: the layers support each other in messaging. The layer above provides context (why this matters). The layer below provides proof (how it actually works, what it replaces).

For example, if you position at the workflow level (“collect community input via map-based surveys”), the job above provides context (“as part of planning projects — because regulatory requirements demand resident input”), and the solution level below provides proof (“replaces paper surveys and SurveyMonkey with something that captures location data”).

Step 2: Diagnose your market maturity and user awareness stage — they’re not always the same

Not all immature markets are the same. Where your buyers are determines how you should talk to them.

Signal	M1 — Immature	M2 — Emerging	M3 — Mature
What buyers are doing	Want the outcome OR feel the pain but haven’t acted on it	Want the outcome and are doing it with workarounds (Excel, manual processes, stitched-together tools) or worse, indirect solutions	Want a specific use case solved and are buying dedicated tools and comparing options (e.g., “run corporate learning programs”)
What they search for	The pain symptoms or the desired outcome	The problem or the workaround they’re using	The product category by name
Your positioning job	Make the outcome feel achievable	Show how your way is better than their workaround, indirect competition or existing imperfect solutions	Differentiate from direct competitors
Anchor to	The painful current attempt (or lack thereof)	The workflow step they already search for, then expand	The category they already know and understand intuitively
Positioning	Workflow alternative: “Instead of [current way]…”	Use case: “[Familiar step] + new capability”	Product/market category: “Like [known product], but better at [X]”

(Important nuance: most markets aren’t uniformly one stage. You can be M3 in one geography and M1 in another, or M3 for enterprise and M2 for mid-market. That’s exactly when you need multiple anchors for different segments.)

Three awareness patterns — and what to do about each

Pattern 1: You created an entirely new workflow

The job your product does didn’t exist before. Nobody was doing this — not with tools, not with Excel, not manually.

This is the hardest positioning situation. You can’t reference what you replace because nothing existed. The buyer doesn’t search for your solution because they don’t know it’s possible, or have silently accepted the status quo (at least until something makes it too painful to bear, or they become aware of alternatives).

The move: anchor to the painful current attempt — the thing people are trying and failing at before your product makes it possible.

This is also the market position that requires the most education. You’re not just positioning — you’re showing buyers what’s possible when they haven’t imagined it yet. How hard that is depends on what you’re selling:

Simple, one-step workflow (e.g., “AI builds your business cases”) — trailblazers get it right away. The concept fits in one sentence, the demo sells itself. You can move fast.
Complex, multi-stakeholder workflow that requires an enterprise buying committee — this is a multi-year market education project. You’re not just explaining the product, you’re teaching the organization that this job should exist at all. Use this positioning sparingly and be prepared to invest heavily in education before you see pipeline.

A note on who you’re actually reaching: in an immature market, your first customers are almost always innovators and early adopters — people who can imagine a new workflow without being shown. Your early inbound is working because these people found you and filled in the gaps themselves.

Whether that’s enough depends on your market size and buying complexity. If the market is large enough — think ChatGPT, where B2C adoption bleeds directly into B2B because people start using it at work — you can build real momentum from early adopters alone. But if you’re selling an enterprise product with a complex buying committee, innovators alone can’t push you through procurement. You’ll need positioning that works for the early majority — people who need the concept grounded in something they already understand — before you see real pipeline.

That’s what the rest of this framework is for.

I worked with MinnaLearn (the company behind Elements of AI) on exactly this. Their new B2B product, Get AI Ready, is an always-current AI literacy program for organizations rolling out AI tools.

“AI literacy platform” is not a category anyone searches for. But here’s what IS happening:

Companies roll out Copilot and GenAI tools
Internal teams scramble to build training content that’s outdated before it ships
They hire consultants for one-off workshops
Someone creates a SCORM course that nobody completes
HR is frustrated. IT is frustrated. Nobody feels confident

That’s the anchor. Not the new category — the failing old way.

The positioning we built:

“Unlike theoretical e-learning, tool-specific vendor training, or fast-aging one-off courses, MinnaLearn guarantees core AI capabilities for everyone — a continuously updated program that builds confidence and safe, practical use of AI in daily work.”

The buyer doesn’t need to learn a new concept. They just need to recognize their own pain.

Don’t say	Why it fails	Say instead
”AI literacy platform”	Nobody searches for this. The category doesn’t exist in buyers’ minds.	”Unlike fast-aging internal courses and one-off workshops, always-current training that keeps up with AI"
"Drive AI adoption across the organization”	Third-order benefit. Too removed from what you can actually do for them. Every vendor claims this.	”Employees use AI confidently and safely — without adding to your team’s workload”

Pattern 2: The workflow exists, but buyers don’t know it could be better

People are already doing the job. But they’re doing it with tools so limited, they don’t even realize how much better it could be. Your product doesn’t create a new workflow — it transforms an existing one.

The move: enter through the workflow step buyers already search for. Then expand to the capability they didn’t know they needed.

Maptionnaire helps urban planners run community engagement. The workflow — communicate with residents, collect input, analyze results, present findings — already exists. Planners know they need to do this.

But many urban planners skip spatial data collection (and therefore also spatial analysis) entirely.

Not because they want to, but because existing solutions don’t allow it. They collect survey data and dump it into Excel. They might even be painfully aware that knowing where exactly people responded — not just what they said — could fundamentally change planning decisions, but existing solutions (like hiring a dedicated GIS expert and still cobbling together something from multiple sources) feel too out of reach for them.

If Maptionnaire positioned as a “spatial community engagement analytics platform,” very few would find them.

Instead, if they enter through “collect community input” — the step planners already search for — and then expand: “…and analyze it spatially, something you can’t do in Excel or SurveyMonkey.”

The entry point is a familiar mental model. The expansion is the unlock that differentiates them.

Don’t say	Why it fails	Say instead
”Spatial community engagement analytics platform”	Too abstract, too new. Very few people search for this.	”Collect community input — and analyze where it came from, not just what they said"
"Better planning decisions”	Third-order benefit. Every planning tool claims this.	”See spatial patterns in community feedback that Excel and SurveyMonkey can’t show you”

Pattern 3: You’re reframing familiar activities under a new lens

The activities your product covers already exist. Surveys. Feedback. Performance reviews. Workshops. But your product connects them in a way nobody has before.

This is the most tempting place for category creation. And the most dangerous.

I’ve watched this play out multiple times. A company with a genuinely good product decides it’s not just a tool for what buyers already do — it’s something bigger. A new category. An original framing.

“We’re not an LMS. We’re a collaborative impact platform.”

The sad truth: nobody is looking for a “collaborative impact platform,” even if they knew they needed the exact capabilities. The category simply doesn’t exist in their heads.

The move: anchor to the existing activities first. Build toward the unified vision over time.

Don’t say	Why it fails	Say instead
”Collaborative impact platform”	Buyers have no mental model. Category doesn’t exist yet in buyers’ minds. You’re making them learn a new concept before they can evaluate.	”Your digital facilitation tool — but with real-time analytics built in"
"Drive better organizational outcomes”	Third-order benefit. Every collaboration and facilitation tool claims this. Could mean anything.	”Run collaborative workshops and see in real-time what your teams actually think — not just who talked the most”

The unified category might come eventually — after customers start using your language, after buyers connect the dots themselves. But leading with it on day one is a GTM death sentence for most companies under €10M ARR.

The one-sentence positioning test for immature markets

Before you ship any positioning, run this:

Say your one-liner to someone who matches your ICP. Not a friend, not an investor. Someone who would actually buy.

Can they picture themselves in the first sentence?

❌ “We help you win more deals” — So does a BDR and about 1,000 other competitive alternatives
❌ “We are a collaborative impact platform” — “I have no idea what that means, so likely not relevant to me.”
❌ “AI-powered revenue acceleration” — Filed next to the other 47 AI tools.
✅ “Instead of hiring someone to build business cases for every enterprise deal, our AI does it in 90 seconds” — “Wait — that’s exactly what I need.”
✅ “Unlike fast-aging internal courses, this always-current AI training your employees actually complete” — “Ugh, we literally just failed at this.”
✅ “Collect resident input — and analyze where it came from, not just what they said” — “The city always asks us to analyze by location but it’s so hard to do in Excel…”

The first sentence must trigger recognition. Not explanation.

The complete cheat sheet

Save this for later:

Your situation	How to diagnose it	Anchor to	Framing template
Entirely new workflow (M1 — Immature)	Buyers want the outcome or feel the pain, but don’t necessarily know they have a realistic option to get there. No established category. No habitual buying.	The closest thing to what you do — whether that’s a manual workaround, a person doing it, or the pain of not doing it at all	”Unlike [failing status quo], we enable [specific capability relevant to their goals], without the pain of [current way]“
Existing workflow, hidden capability (M2 — Emerging)	Buyers doing it with workarounds. They search for the problem and solving the symptoms, not the product category.	The workflow step buyers already search for, then expand to and differentiate with the new capability relevant to their success or pain relief	”[Familiar workflow/step] — and then [capability they didn’t know existed], without the pain of [current way of getting it done]“
New framing of existing activities (M1/M2 boundary)	Activities exist but nobody has connected them this way before. Buyers don’t search for your unified framing.	The existing activities, then build toward the unified vision over time	”Your [existing data/processes] already tell you [something]. We make it [visible/actionable]“
Mature market (M3 — for reference)	Buyers know the category. They’re comparing options. They search by product type.	The product/market category they already know	”Like [known product or category], but [differentiates with XYZ] for [your segment]“

The bottom line

If you’re building something genuinely new — and right now, a lot of AI products are — resist the urge to name your category on day one. Category creation is a multi-year, multi-million investment. Most companies under €10M ARR simply don’t have the runway for it.

Instead:

Describe the workflow you replace or enable — not the abstract category you want to own
Use the buyer’s language for the problem — not your internal terminology
Position against the current way of doing things — not against competitors who don’t exist in the buyer’s mind
Lead with first-order benefits (what it does) — not third-order outcomes (what it achieves)
Save the category name for when the market starts using it themselves

The best positioning I’ve seen for products in immature markets doesn’t try to be clever. It makes the buyer nod and say: “That’s exactly what I’m struggling with.”

Everything else follows from that.

Positioning is one of the foundational GTM decisions. For how it fits into the broader go-to-market system, see what a fractional GTM lead does.