Quotes

“While we understand that context is important, we generally fail to deliberately choose a context because we believe that the context for our product is obvious.“

“Customers don’t buy the best product; they buy the product they can understand the fastest.“

Expert Reviews

“A brilliant step-by-step book that actually shows us how to do positioning, rather than just talking about it – with great examples and a few chuckles along the way.”

~ Rich Mironov, CEO and Product Management Guru.

“April Dunford’s two decades of marketing leadership in large companies and small give her a unique perspective on positioning. This how-to guide is a must-read. Before you spend a dollar on sales and marketing, read April’s book on positioning”​

~ Renny Monaghan, VP Solutions at RingCentral

April Dunford is the thought leader across the country and beyond when it comes to marketing and positioning for startups. She has an uncanny ability to see well ahead on how tech companies will be perceived by their users and customers, and has incredible insights for founders as they launch and scale their startups.

~ Sunil Sharma, MD of Techstars Toronto and co-host of Collision Conference.

Great positioning is an unbeatable advantage. But you’re probably doing it wrong. This book fixes that, offering a clear roadmap that businesses of any size can use to find and communicate their unique advantages on their own terms.”

~ Alistair Croll, founder of Solve for Interesting and author of Lean Analytics.

Book Review

“April Dunford’s Obviously Awesome is the ultimate playbook for mastering product positioning. An essential guide to capturing market attention.”

April Dunford’s Obviously Awesome offers a practical and insightful guide on product positioning, especially for tech startups and B2B companies. Dunford, a veteran in marketing and positioning, transforms complex marketing concepts into an easy-to-understand framework that empowers businesses to clearly articulate their product’s unique value.

The book is structured around a 10-step positioning process, starting from understanding the customers who love your product to capturing and communicating your positioning effectively. Each step is detailed with actionable advice, making the book a hands-on manual rather than a theoretical discourse. Dunford emphasizes the importance of context in positioning, arguing that without proper context, even the most innovative products can fail to capture the market’s attention.

One of the book’s strengths lies in its use of real-world examples and case studies. Dunford’s anecdotes from her extensive career vividly illustrate common positioning pitfalls and successful strategies. For instance, she recounts how repositioning a database product as a data warehouse drastically improved its market reception, highlighting the power of choosing the right market frame of reference.

Moreover, Dunford’s writing is engaging and often humorous, which makes the content accessible and enjoyable. Her candid approach, combined with her deep expertise, builds credibility and trust with the reader. The book is not just for marketers; it’s a valuable resource for founders, CEOs, and salespeople who need to align their efforts around a coherent market strategy.

The practical tools and templates provided in the book enable readers to immediately apply the concepts to their own products. From identifying true competitive alternatives to isolating unique attributes and mapping them to customer value themes, Dunford equips readers with the skills needed to make their products “obviously awesome.”