Positioning is at the core of how customers perceive your product and whether they choose it over alternatives. In Obviously Awesome, April Dunford breaks down the art of positioning, providing a roadmap for helping customers understand what makes your product unique and why they need it.
Dunford argues that effective positioning goes beyond branding and messaging—it involves identifying the best possible context for your product, ensuring it stands out in a crowded market. Here’s a deep dive into Dunford’s insights and how you can apply them to make your product obviously awesome to your customers.
Key Concepts in Obviously Awesome
Dunford’s approach to positioning is refreshingly actionable. Below are the main concepts and steps she provides to help your product gain traction and win customer loyalty.
(1) Understand the Importance of Positioning
Positioning is all about defining the context that highlights your product’s unique value. It shapes how customers think about your product compared to competitors. Without a clear position, customers may overlook or misunderstand what makes your product valuable.
(2) Find Your Competitive Alternatives
Dunford emphasizes the importance of understanding what customers see as their alternatives. This doesn’t just mean direct competitors—it includes any product or process they might use instead of yours. Identifying these alternatives helps you uncover what truly makes your product different.
(3) Identify Your Unique Attributes
After understanding your competitive landscape, you can pinpoint the unique features of your product that distinguish it from the rest. Dunford suggests making a list of attributes that only your product offers and asking, “Why does this matter to my customer?” This helps clarify which aspects of your product to emphasize.
(4) Define the Value Your Unique Attributes Deliver
Knowing your unique features is essential, but understanding the value they bring to customers is the key to effective positioning. Dunford encourages focusing on the outcomes or improvements these attributes provide, such as saving time, cutting costs, or enhancing productivity.
(5) Determine the Best-Fit Customer Segments
Positioning should be tailored to customers who are most likely to benefit from your product. By narrowing down your target customer segment, you can sharpen your messaging and highlight the aspects that resonate most. Dunford suggests aiming your positioning at the best-fit customers rather than trying to please everyone.
(6) Craft a Market Category for Your Product
Choosing the right category allows your product to be understood instantly. It’s all about placing your product in a category that highlights its value without inviting irrelevant competition. Dunford explains that selecting an appropriate category name can be a game-changer for positioning.
(7) Build a Positioning Statement
A clear and concise positioning statement brings everything together. This statement should communicate what your product is, who it’s for, and why it’s better than alternatives. This statement can be the basis for your marketing, sales conversations, and even internal discussions about product direction.
Steps to Apply Dunford’s Positioning Framework to Your Product
Dunford’s positioning framework offers a roadmap that you can apply to your product. Here’s how to implement her approach:
(1) Identify Competitive Alternatives
Begin by considering all the ways a customer might solve the problem your product addresses. This includes direct competitors and any other processes or solutions customers might choose. Understanding this landscape lets you accurately define what makes your product unique.
(2) List Your Product’s Unique Attributes
Write down all the attributes that differentiate your product. These may include specific features, technical capabilities, or even design elements. Reflect on how each attribute addresses customer needs in ways competitors cannot.
(3) Determine the Value of Each Attribute
For each unique attribute, define the tangible benefits it offers customers. Focus on how these benefits align with your customers’ goals. For instance, if your product offers faster processing, emphasize how this saves time and increases efficiency for users.
(4) Define Your Ideal Customer Profile
Identify the customer segments that will find the most value in your product’s unique attributes. Dunford’s approach involves being highly specific about who will resonate with your product. A well-defined audience allows you to tailor your positioning directly to those who will see the most value in it.
(5) Choose the Right Market Category
Select a category that conveys what your product is while positioning it as a unique offering within that category. Dunford recommends thinking about categories strategically, as they frame how customers perceive your product in relation to other solutions.
(6) Develop a Positioning Statement
Use a clear, compelling positioning statement to anchor your messaging. This statement should capture the essence of what your product is, its key benefits, and why it’s the best choice for your target audience. Dunford emphasizes that this is not a tagline but a foundational statement that informs all marketing and sales efforts.
Why Obviously Awesome is Essential for Product Managers
Product managers are tasked with not only defining a product’s features but also shaping how it is perceived. Dunford’s book provides a structured way to ensure that your product’s positioning resonates with the right customers, setting it apart from competitors.
Positioning can make the difference between a misunderstood product and one that connects deeply with its audience. Dunford’s insights help product managers refine their messaging and ensure their product is presented in the best possible light, increasing its chances of success.
Conclusion
Positioning is the foundation of effective marketing, sales, and customer engagement. Obviously Awesome by April Dunford offers a practical guide to nailing product positioning by focusing on understanding competitive alternatives, identifying unique attributes, and defining a targeted market category.
By following Dunford’s framework, you can create a positioning strategy that resonates with your ideal customers and ensures they understand why your product is the best choice. This clarity is essential for building a strong customer base and achieving long-term success.
As you refine your positioning, consider using tools like Wudpecker to gather and analyze customer feedback, helping you continuously test and improve your messaging to align with market needs.
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