Why Your Shopify App Gets Lost in the Crowd (And How to Fix It) - Positioning Exercise
Published 3 months ago • 4 min read
Scaling Apps on Shopify
July 22nd
Why Your Shopify App Gets Lost in the Crowd (And How to Fix It) - Positioning Exercise
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Hey there, Oyku here!
This issue is dedicated to positioning (as I promised in the last issue of Creating a Marketing Mix). (like 9 months ago, but here I am)
The idea came from the need I saw from an X poll, which showed that positioning was one of the top priorities for most Shopify app builders.
This doesn’t surprise me at all.
There are now more than 18,000 Shopify apps live. The number almost doubled in a year. As the Shopify marketplace is getting more competitive each day, strong positioning is something that helps you stand out in the crowd.
It took me a while to jot down this issue as I've been quietly building something exciting in the background - my GTM Studio for SaaS and Shopify Apps. It's finally ready to share with you!
If you're wrestling with product marketing challenges, let's chat. Book a free 30-minute call - with no pitch, promised!
BOLD Studio
.... Anyway, I’m happy to bring this issue to you as it will be packed with examples that you can apply to your app.
As April Dunford, the positioning expert, puts it, “Positioning is the act of deliberately defining how you are the best at something that a defined market cares a lot about.”
You might be thinking that your market is clear: Shopify merchants!
But it’s not that simple, and it’s a bit vague when you think about the approximately 3 million active stores.
One of the hesitations of founders is that when they differentiate or niche down, they’ll not be tapping the rest of the market. I get it.
But ironically, when the message is vague or it’s the exact version of another app in the marketplace, how do you think the results will be?
Building Strong Positioning with Anchors
While working with SaaS and Shopify apps, I’ve discovered that most positioning problems stem from one core issue: prospects don't know how to categorize your solution in their minds.
This is where Fletch’s Positioning Anchors Framework becomes incredibly powerful for Shopify apps. I'll walk you through the framework and how you can apply it to your Shopify app.
The Foundation: Primary Anchors
Before you can talk about benefits or differentiation, merchants need to mentally classify what your app is. Without this, your positioning fails before it starts.
Three types of Primary Anchors give merchants sufficient context:
⚓ Product Category Anchor: “We are a loyalty app.”
⚓ Use Case Anchor: “We help you retain customers after their first purchase.”
⚓ Competitive Alternative Anchor: “We’re a Klaviyo alternative.”
The Problem with Shopify App Positioning
Most Shopify apps I see make this critical mistake: they rely on Secondary Anchors alone, and usually the desired outcome.
⚓ Company Type: “We’re for ecommerce businesses.”
⚓ Department: “We’re for marketing teams.”
⚓ Desired Outcome: “We increase revenue.”
Here’s the thing: when a merchant asks “What is your app?” and you respond with “We help marketing teams in small Shopify stores increase revenue,” their reaction is still: “But what do you do?”
Before/After Example:
Here is an example, close to my heart, as I worked in the trenches to bring positioning clarity:
Strong Primary Anchor: “Fabrikatör is an inventory management app that helps DTC brands prevent stockouts during peak seasons.”
Weak Secondary-Only Positioning: “Fabrikatör helps e-commerce businesses optimize their operations.”
See the difference? The first one immediately tells merchants what category to file this app under. The second leaves them confused.
You don’t have to use the exact positioning sentence in your copies, by the way. However, once you gain more and more clarity, your messaging will get clearer.
And this is how the application to the homepage has evolved:
Before - Anchoring on the status quo (Excel), vague messaging
After - Layering the product category, use case, and the desired outcome
The Strategic Choice: Which Anchor to Lead With?
Each primary anchor targets a different market segment:
⚓ Product Category Anchor (“We are a CRM”):
Appeals to merchants actively searching for that category
Works when the category is well-understood
Risk: Gets lumped in with every other app in that category
⚓ Use Case Anchor (“We help you recover abandoned carts”):
Appeals to merchants with a specific problem to solve
Works when the use case is more specific than the category
Risk: Merchants might not recognize they have this problem
⚓ Competitive Alternative Anchor (“We’re a Klaviyo alternative”):
Appeals to merchants already familiar with the competitor
Works when you’re targeting switchers or price-sensitive customers
Risk: Limits you to only prospects who know that competitor
Exercise: Audit Your Current Positioning
Take your current app store listing and identify:
What primary anchor are you using? (If any)
Are you relying too heavily on secondary anchors?
Is your primary anchor specific enough?
Specificity matters: “Software” is too vague. “Email marketing automation” is better. “Abandoned cart recovery emails” is best.
Building Your Unique Value Proposition
Once you have your primary anchor, you can layer on your unique value:
Formula: Merchant’s Problem + Your Differentiated Solution
Example: “Most email marketing apps send the same generic campaigns to everyone. Smartr is an email marketing app that uses AI to personalize newsletters by using past purchase data.”
Here we’re linking the problem to the product category anchor, then showing our differentiated approach.
Layering Anchors for Precision
You can strategically combine anchors to create a more specific ideal customer profile:
“We’re an inventory management app for fashion brands selling direct-to-consumer that need to plan for seasonal demand.”
This creates concentric circles of targeting:
Product Category: inventory management
Company Type: fashion brands
Sales Channel: direct-to-consumer
Use Case: seasonal demand planning
Action Steps for Your Shopify App
Choose your primary anchor - what will give merchants immediate clarity about what you are?
Identify the key problem connected to that anchor
Define your differentiated solution to that problem
Layer secondary anchors to narrow your ICP
Test this messaging in your app store listing, website, and sales conversations
Remember, positioning isn’t about appealing to everyone; it’s about being irresistible to the right merchants. When you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to anyone.
In a crowded marketplace, clarity and differentiation aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re survival skills now.
I’d love to see how you apply this framework. Share your before and after positioning on X and tag me!
Looking for More Stories to Share:
I’d like to interview Shopify app founders "casually" to share their stories. If you think you have a story to tell with others, like an epic failure, exit, scaling an app in a short period, going beyond Shopify, etc., write to me.
