April Dunford on product positioning, segmentation, and optimizing your sales process
Jun 9, 2022
auto_awesome
April Dunford, author of "Obviously Awesome," shares her rich expertise in product positioning, backed by 25 years in marketing and consulting for giants like Google and IBM. She defines effective positioning and reveals how weak positioning can undermine strong products. Learn the five essential steps to refine your product's identity, the difference between segmentation and personas, and the necessity of clear differentiation in B2B sales. April's insights aim to empower teams to communicate value and optimize their sales processes effectively.
Positioning is crucial for the success of a product, ensuring differentiation and resonating with the target audience.
Effective positioning involves understanding competitive alternatives, identifying unique product value, mapping to customer needs, and defining the market category.
Messaging is the downstream output of positioning, and seeking professional help can resolve internal misalignment and uncertainties in achieving successful positioning.
Deep dives
Importance of positioning in product success
Positioning plays a crucial role in the success of a product. It is not always the product itself that determines its performance but rather the positioning. Good positioning ensures that the product is differentiated and offers unique value that resonates with a specific target audience. Weak positioning can lead to confusion among customers, lack of response to marketing efforts, and dissatisfaction with the product. The key is to define competitive alternatives, understand the differentiated value of the product, identify the target audience that cares about that value, and establish the market category where the product can excel.
The process and challenges of effective positioning
The process of effective positioning involves understanding the competitive alternatives in the market and what the product has to beat to win over customers. Differentiated value is then determined by identifying the unique capabilities and features the product offers. Mapping these capabilities to customer value helps define the value themes that set the product apart. Furthermore, analyzing the characteristics of the target audience helps to define the best-fit customer for the product. Lastly, defining the market category in which the product dominates ensures that the positioning is clear and compelling. However, misalignment within the company and disagreements among stakeholders can hinder the process of achieving effective positioning.
The role of messaging and when to seek professional help
Messaging is a downstream output of positioning, and it encompasses the communication of the product's value and differentiation. While companies can undertake positioning exercises on their own, seeking professional help may be beneficial in certain cases. Bringing in an expert facilitator can help resolve internal misalignment and disagreements, ensure that a lot is at stake, such as significant investments in marketing or expansion, or when companies want a high level of certainty in nailing their positioning. However, for early-stage companies, a loose positioning thesis that allows the market to pull them in the right direction may be more appropriate before committing to a specific positioning strategy.
Clarifying Positioning and Market Category
Positioning your product involves considering the context in which you position it, focusing on the best market category for your product where its value is evident to the target customers. For example, Help Scout, a startup in the customer success software market, competes against Zendesk and other companies. Help Scout differentiates itself by offering features like a shared inbox and a unique customer service approach. Their value lies in delivering exceptional customer service, which resonates with direct-to-consumer and e-commerce brands that see customer service as a means of building customer loyalty and driving growth.
Segmentation and Personas in B2B Marketing
In B2B marketing, segmentation involves dividing the market based on various criteria. This can include factors like company size, revenue, and geographic location. However, personas are more important in understanding the decision-making process of B2B buyers. While multiple personas may be involved in the buying process, the most crucial persona is the champion, who influences others and ensures consensus. Understanding and appealing to this champion persona is vital for successful positioning and sales, while other personas become relevant in later stages of the deal.
April Dunford is the author of the 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 today’s episode, you’ll learn:
1. How does April define positioning?
2. How do you assess if your product’s positioning is weak? And strong?
3. What are some examples of great products with weak positioning?
4. What are the essential five steps to figuring out your product’s positioning?
5. What is the difference between positioning vs. messaging vs. branding?
6. What’s the difference between segmentation and persona?
7. When should you bring in a professional?
8. Is it essential for a company to always figure out a differentiator and be different?
9. How does this concept help you nail sales for enterprise software?
