Positioning with April Dunford

Understanding the Distinction Between Competitors and Competing Alternatives (And Why It Matters)


Listen Later

In today’s episode, you’ll learn why understanding your competition is critical for positioning and how many people get it wrong. I share a story about the deceptive nature of data and why you need to carefully evaluate bad-fit customers. I talk about how to discover your true competitors and recount a story of a failed sales pitch that taught me the importance of clearly understanding your value from the customer’s point of view. I also dive into the story of Segway, why they failed initially, and why avoiding market categorization is a huge mistake.


In This Episode, I Cover:

(00:00) Defining positioning

(00:53) A story about how data can lie to us

(05:25) Lessons on “bad fit customers”

(06:52) How to think about competition

(09:26) How to discover who your real competitors are

(11:50) The question all customers ask

(13:24) The benefits of great positioning

(13:49) A failed sales pitch, and what it taught me about the importance of understanding your product’s value

(20:45) Why avoiding categorization is a massive mistake

(21:49) A story about Segway and why you need to position your product in a market category

(25:37) Thanks for listening


Where To Find Me:

Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/

Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/


Production and marketing by https://penname.co/

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Positioning with April DunfordBy April Dunford

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

84 ratings


More shows like Positioning with April Dunford

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,291 Listeners

Startups For the Rest of Us by Rob Walling

Startups For the Rest of Us

696 Listeners

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish by Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

2,648 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,231 Listeners

The Game with Alex Hormozi by Alex Hormozi

The Game with Alex Hormozi

4,370 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,624 Listeners

Product Marketing Life by Product Marketing Alliance

Product Marketing Life

22 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

9,207 Listeners

A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

A Bit of Optimism

2,190 Listeners

Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

Dwarkesh Podcast

426 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,462 Listeners

Call Me Back - with Dan Senor by Ark Media

Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

3,155 Listeners

Marketing Against The Grain by Hubspot Media

Marketing Against The Grain

352 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,619 Listeners

The Forget The Funnel Podcast by Forget the Funnel

The Forget The Funnel Podcast

4 Listeners