Lessons from April Dunford

April Dunford is a globally recognized positioning consultant who has worked with more than 200 technology companies to help customers understand the value of complex products. She is the author of Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It and Sales Pitch, practical guides for marketers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.

Core Principles of Positioning

Positioning as Context-Setting: "Positioning is like context-setting for products. It's a bit like the opening scene of a movie." [1] This initial framing answers the big questions for the customer: What is it? Who is it for? And why should I care?. [1][2]
The Goal of Positioning: "Positioning defines how your product is the best in the world at delivering some value that a well-defined set of companies care a lot about." [3]
Positioning is a Business Strategy: "While most people think of positioning as a marketing concept, a shift in positioning feels more like a shift in business strategy." [4] It underpins your entire business approach and can be the difference between success and failure. [4]
Deliberate vs. Default Positioning: "We generally fail to consider other—potentially better—ways to position our products because we simply aren't positioning them deliberately." [5] Many companies fall into the trap of accepting a default positioning rather than making a conscious, strategic choice. [5]
Positioning and Messaging are Different: "Positioning is an input to messaging... The positioning template should not be a way of documenting your value proposition or approved messaging." [6][7] Positioning comes first, defining the market and value, while messaging is the consistent communication of that position. [6]
On A market point of view: Give buyers a clear view of where the market is heading and how to navigate toward it; uncertainty makes this part of the sales and positioning job, not optional thought leadership. — Positioning in the Age of AI

Understanding Your Customer and Competitors

Focus on Your Best-Fit Customers: "The first step in the positioning exercise is to make a short list of your best customers." [8] These are the customers who "get" your product, buy it quickly, and become advocates. [8][9]
The Litmus Test for Happy Customers: "Think about your best customers. Everything about doing business with them is different. They understood your product immediately and couldn't wait to get their hands on it." [10]
Understanding True Competitive Alternatives: "You need to understand who your real competitors are in the minds of customers." [11] To do this, ask the crucial question: "What would our best customers do if we didn't exist?". [9][11]
Competitors Aren't Just Direct Rivals: The alternative to your product isn't always another company; it can be "using a pen and paper," "hiring someone," or doing nothing at all. [11] In B2B, you often lose deals to the status quo, like spreadsheets or interns. [3]
The Customer's Perspective is Key: "It's important to really understand what customers compare your solution with, because that's the yardstick they use to define 'better.'" [5]
On Real versus future competitors: Position against the alternatives prospects actually put on their shortlist now, while using the roadmap to prepare for credible future threats. — Positioning in the Age of AI

The 5 Components of Effective Positioning

Dunford breaks down positioning into five interconnected components. [2][12]

Competitive Alternatives: What your customers would use if your product didn't exist. [2]
Unique Attributes: "Your unique attributes are your secret sauce, the things you can do that the alternatives can't." [11]
Value (and Proof): Customers don't buy features; they buy the value those features deliver. [7][11]
Target Customer Segmentation: Identifying the customers who care deeply about your unique value. [2]
Market Category: The frame of reference that makes your value obvious to your target customers. [2]

Crafting Your Positioning

Start with Competitive Alternatives: The first step is to understand what you have to beat to win a deal. [3]
From Features to Value: "Customers don't care about your unique features, they care what those features can do for them." [7]
Find Who Cares—A Lot: Once you understand your unique value, you must determine which segment of the market cares most about that value. [8]
Choosing Your Market Category Wisely: "If you choose your category wisely, all the assumptions are working for you." [5][13] It tells customers who your competitors are and what features to expect. [13]
Market Frame of Reference is Crucial: "The frame of reference that a potential customer chooses can make or break a business." [10]
On Distinguishing a point of view from product vision: A market point of view should explain what good solutions will look like and inform roadmap choices, while avoiding the trap of selling an unfinished future instead of today’s product. — In the Age of AI, You Need a Point of View

Common Positioning Pitfalls

The Flaw of Positioning Statements: The traditional "fill-in-the-blanks" positioning statement is dangerous because it assumes you already know the answers and doesn't help you discover the best positioning. [1][14]
Sticking to Your Original Idea: A common trap is being stuck on the initial idea of what the product is or who the market is, even after the product and market have evolved. [15]
Ignoring Market Shifts: "Sometimes a product that was well positioned in a market suddenly becomes poorly positioned, not because the product itself has changed, but because markets around the product have shifted." [11]
Positioning Against Competitors Customers Don't Know: "You will weaken your positioning by trying to position against competitors your customers never even consider." [2]
Confusing Boring with Baffling: "It's always better to be a little boring than completely baffling." [16] Clarity is paramount.
On Adapting positioning during technology shifts: When technology, buyer priorities, and competition all change at once, revisit positioning because differentiated claims may no longer hold. — Positioning in the Age of AI

Advanced Positioning Strategies

Head to Head: Positioning to win in an existing market. [8]
Big Fish, Small Pond: Positioning to win a subsegment of an existing market. [8]
Create a New Game: Positioning to win a market you create. This requires educating the market on the problem first. [8][13]
Layering on a Trend (Carefully): "A trend helps customers see your product as an urgent or strategic...purchase." [8] However, don't force-fit your product into a trend. [9]
Marketing Jiu-Jitsu: "The art of transforming competitor strengths into weaknesses." [17]
On Grounding a point of view in strengths: A credible future narrative should arise from the capabilities a company can genuinely deliver better than other vendors, rather than from generic market prediction. — In the Age of AI, You Need a Point of View
On Linking future promise to present value: During major technology transitions, discuss the future honestly, but connect it to what a customer can buy and benefit from today. — Positioning in the Age of AI

Quotes on Sales and Growth

The Impact of Weak Positioning on Sales: If you have long sales cycles or low conversion rates, you likely have a positioning problem. [4]
Win Analysis is Crucial: "Every deal you win you should treat that like the little miracle that it is. And find out why the miracle occurred." [18]
The "No Decision" Loss: Losing to "no decision" means you lost to the status quo. Your positioning must effectively argue against doing nothing. [3]
Economic Shifts and Value Propositions: In a good economy, "make money" pitches often outperform "save money" pitches. In a downturn, the reverse can be true as companies focus on survival. [18]
Positioning and Pricing Power: "Clear positioning helps prospects understand that you are a leader in your market segment and that you offer considerable value, making it easier for you to charge a premium." [13]
On Treating price objections as risk signals: When a buyer says the price is too high, diagnose whether the real barrier is commitment risk; reduce that risk with a phased engagement instead of reflexively discounting. — Conquête: April Dunford on the Positioning Mistakes That Kill B2B Deals

Actionable Learnings and Advice

Keep Positioning Loose Initially: "When a product is first released in a market, you should keep your positioning loose until you start to see patterns in who loves your stuff and why." [19]
Form a Positioning Team: Involve people from across the company to get a holistic view. [8]
Let Go of Your Baggage: The team needs to align on vocabulary and be open to abandoning old assumptions about the product's position. [4]
Capture and Share Your Positioning: Create a messaging document that translates your positioning into a narrative that can be used by sales and marketing. [7][9]
Positioning is Not a One-Time Event: "Great positioning rarely comes by default. If you want to succeed, you have to determine the best way to position your product. Deliberate, try, fail, test and try again." [16]
On Turning positioning into a sales conversation: Once the company has defined its competitive context, differentiated capabilities, value, and best-fit customer, turn that work into a first-call story that gives buyers a reason to progress. — Data Faces: The death of SaaS is a myth

Inspirational and Foundational Quotes

"You know your product is awesome—but does anybody else?" [12]
"If people don't get what you're selling, they won't buy." [14]
"Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different." [13]
"Great positioning makes our strengths obvious." [7]
"You cannot be everything to everyone. If you decide to go north, you cannot also go south." [11]
"A world-class musician playing on a street corner will be ignored and not make much money." [15] Context is everything.
"The future isn't a place we are going to go, it's a place we get to create." (quoting Nancy Duarte) [11]
"Your customers are already telling you exactly how to position your product —you just need to follow their lead." [6]
"The biggest mistake you can make is to think your offering could only be positioned in one market." [20]
"If you see a disconnect between how your happy customers think about your product and how prospects see it, you likely have a positioning problem." [13]

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