The April Dunford Method, Applied

April Dunford's positioning framework (from 'Obviously Awesome' and 'Sales Pitch') is the most-cited B2B positioning model and rightly so. The framework: identify your competitive alternatives (what buyers do today instead of you), your unique attributes, the value those attributes enable, the customers who care most about that value, and the market category that gives you the best context.

Most teams skim the framework and produce a thin positioning statement. The depth comes from doing the work seriously. The exercise that works: a 2-day offsite with the CMO, founder, head of product, and head of sales. Day 1: alternatives and attributes (what do buyers actually do today, what do we uniquely do). Day 2: value, customers, and category. The output is a 1-page positioning statement and a refresh of the homepage hero, sales deck, and primary messaging.

The hardest part is naming competitive alternatives honestly. Most companies list direct competitors and stop. The deeper alternatives include: do nothing (the most common alternative), build it in-house, hire a consultant, or use a different category of tool entirely. These non-obvious alternatives often win deals more than direct competitors do.

Apply the framework once a year. The market shifts. The competitive set shifts. The buyer evolves. Annual refreshes keep the positioning sharp. Quarterly tweaks (without redoing the full framework) keep the messaging current. The companies that ignore positioning drift into bland 'we are a platform that helps companies grow' messaging. The ones who do the work compound brand clarity.