We software management trainees here at Fog Creek recently read Positioning by Jack Trout and Al Ries.  Since I'm the marketing director right now, the discussion group found me especially eager to think about how we're marketing FogBugz and Fog Creek Copilot.

Positioning argues that the heart of marketing and product design is discovering or creating the relevant market, and positioning oneself to shine and stand out in it. But what is the market? It's the need we fulfill -- not a technical feature we provide. Companies in varied industries, as well as schools and nonprofits, use FogBugz for many purposes. Some just use it to track bugs. Some put all tasks in it, or manage client email with it.

And so Positioning, like Getting to Yes and the best design books, reminds us that we have to figure out what the customer actually needs, or thinks she needs. For example, with FogBugz, this won't be "bug tracking software" necessarily, but possibly "getting organized" or "one place to put all our work on a project."

Once we see the customer's underlying needs, we understand why a customer is comparing FogBugz to things that aren't like FogBugz at all -- a corkboard where people post their active tasks, or a development methodology. Likewise,  Fog Creek Copilot faces different kinds of competitors (and opportunities!) depending on whether customers use it for personal tech support, enterprise tech support, sales demonstrations, or just keeping in touch and surfing with a friend.

We have to close the gap between us and prospective users, which means we have to find and communicate with them on their terms. That's why we have a FAQ and a technical info page for Fog Creek Copilot.  I'm creating and editing web pages to advertise FogBugz to the different kinds of decisionmakers among our prospective customers.  Hands-on tech types might like our free trial; busy bosses, FogBugz In Two Minutes; thoughtful managers, the FogBugz book; groups in conference rooms, live demonstrations using Copilot.

To help me make those webpages look nice, my colleague Babak recommended that I read Robin Williams's wonderful The Non-Designer's Design Book. I did, and noticed that I could apply Williams's principles of alignment, repetition, proximity, and contrast when editing our suite of marketing materials.

• Alignment: Do all our salespeople, webpages, and ads stress the benefits to the customer?
• Repetition: Do we use consistent language and visuals when talking about those benefits?
• Proximity: Do we make it easy, on every page, for the prospect to find related information or buy immediately?
• Contrast: Do we clearly separate ourselves from the competition -- basically, how's our positioning?

The trainee discussion group is one of those long-term investments here at Fog Creek.  It takes a few hours a month, but it gives us fresh perspectives on what we're doing - we learn from the authors and from each other.  Positioning certainly provoked some interesting discussion and strategizing - as it possibly has with you.

Photos: trainee Jason Rosoff, senior developer Babak Ghahremanpour, and trainee Dan Ostlund on the couch; trainee Sumana Harihareswara facing left.  Not pictured: trainee Eric Nehrlich.