How to nail your product positioning | April Dunford (Obviously Awesome)

April Dunford is the author of the must-read best-selling book Obviously Awesome, a definitive guide to product positioning. She spent 25 years leading marketing, product, and sales teams and now runs her own consulting firm, helping companies of all shapes and sizes nail their positioning. April has worked hands-on with over 200 companies on positioning, including Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games. In this episode, April delves into the intricacies of positioning, including its distinction from messaging and branding, and shares real-world examples of products with strong and weak positioning. Additionally, April shares her insights on when to bring in a professional and the key differences between segmentation and personas. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from a true industry leader.
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Find the full transcript here: www.lennyspodcast.com/april-d...
Where to find April:
• Website: aprildunford.com
• Twitter: / aprildunford
• LinkedIn: / aprildunford
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: / lennysan
• LinkedIn: / lennyrachitsky
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) April's guest post on Lenny's Newsletter
(03:42) April's background
(07:36) Interesting companies April has worked with
(12:17) Defining positioning
(15:31) Company misalignment vs. positioning issues
(17:42) How to assess if your product’s positioning is weak or strong
(19:50) Examples of companies with great product positioning
(22:32) The essential five steps to figuring out your product’s positioning
(29:25) Help Scout's positioning process
(35:54) How important is having a differentiator?
(40:12) The difference between positioning vs. messaging vs. branding
(46:29) When to hire a professional
(48:32) How long does product positioning take?
(54:41) What’s the difference between segmentation and personas?
(01:02:50) Where to find April
References:
• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It: www.aprildunford.com/obviousl...
• April’s guest post on Lenny's Newsletter: www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/po...
• Epic Games: www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/...
• Bluelight Analytics: www.bluelightanalytics.com/
• Postman: www.postman.com/
• Startupfest: startupfestival.com/
• Help Scout: www.helpscout.com/
• Zendesk: www.zendesk.com/
Thank you to our sponsors:
• Amplitude: amplitude.com/
• Flatfile: flatfile.com/Lenny
• Productboard: Productboard.com/

[@ephemeral_epiphanies]

It's kind of surprising how simple things are when one attains clarity. With so much nonsense out there on frameworks , mental models and biases , yet I never found them to be useful or at least directly applicable. With most episodes I've noticed these top product leaders ,experts and entrepreneurs always sharing some smart tactics at the most but most of the times it's just putting your heads down , building and talking to customers. Common sense and good organisational context get the job done more often than not. Kudos to Lenny for always nudging podcast guests to articulate tactically what needs to be done. 👍

[@romanpowercouple]

"What value can I offer?" is a question that keeps me up at night for sure.

[@Ddogg2319]

Checked out her post on positioning and everything was clear and easy to understand. I immediately bought her book. Just starting this episode but looking forward to learning as much as I can.

[@designbysadique]

I was just going to continue reading the book RN and saw the post of lenny podcast with April Dunford

[@yoashishg]

I really like the way Obviously Awesome is kept in the background.

[@pavelhenrykhsen211]

Amazing episode! Thank you!

[@tthiago1982]

Fantastic content! Thank you so much

[@pminpjs]

This was soo good!!!

[@seobaby]

I was just listening to one of the podcasts and thinking that it would be really cool to hear more on positioning from that lady that Shreyas was recommending to read😂, and 30 mins later I’m seeing this fresh episode on my TV😳

[@LennysPodcast]

gotchu

[@soumen_das]

Her book is grt. Do read it.

[@willstewart9728]

No one better than Amy!

[@nickdunse]

"The true test if the positioning is working or not is if you're sitting across from a QUALIFIED PROSPECT and I tell the story do they get excited and want to buy something" - lol

[@mellomakes]

I need to find the d2c version of this woman. Any suggestions?

[@LennysPodcast]

Check out Arielle: ua-cam.com/video/mJEWns2hyDs/v-deo.html

[@caseyspaulding]

gold content.

[@malibongwemkela7539]

The music is nice, but it engages my mind and therefore distracting. Stopped a few minutes into the podcast

[@LennysPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback! You mean the music during the ads, or when?