Positioning with April Dunford

37
Marketing #43

Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. I’m April Dunford, the expert high-growth tech companies go to when they have a positioning problem. With over two decades of experience as a startup executive and consultant, I have positioned and re-positioned hundreds of products and companies. Using my battle-tested methodology, I'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance. If you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader who wants to stand out, this podcast is for you.

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Recent Reviews
  • Atc plane
    Making the complex simple
    April does a masterful job breaking down what is inherently a very complex topic and making it understandable. Positioning is taken for granted across nearly all functions, when in fact it’s one of the few key strategic tools that can make a difference; it’s also one of the critical decisions to make explicit instead of assumptive. Her experience and subject matter expertise comes through in literally every episode. Her books are just as applicable as her podcast and they reinforce key concepts in a wonderful way. Thank you!
  • 300sunnydays
    For professuonals that really care about product marketing
    If you’re serious about being your best as a product marketer, this podcast is a must-listen.
  • Will P 1234567890
    April is the best on product-marketing!
    April is the best! I love their podcast and highly recommend you pick up their books. If you want to really learn product and marketing, start with April.
  • Eagles_fan_1
    Excellent for startups in SaaS businesses
    April hosts one of my favorite business podcasts. Her guidance is insightful, candid and practical. She has guests that I don’t hear elsewhere and are also insightful, candid and practical. I recommend her books and this podcast to all of the SaaS startup businesses I advise.
  • nbsfmc
    Distracting interruptions
    Podcast is repetitive. Host constantly interrupts and talks over the guests. Either let them talk or don’t have interviews. You can tell it’s throwing them off too.
  • Svanti
    April is the Best!
    I first become aware of April’s work when she appeared on a podcast by Tim Ferris. Since then I have read both of her books, and listened to nearly every podcast she has produced so far. I have also recommended her work to numerous friends and colleagues, and made it mandatory reading for some of my staff. She is the clearest thinker and the best explainer you will ever find on matters of positioning for B2B companies.
  • blablah review
    April is Awesome
    April shares her first hand experience and insights in every episode. She’s great at breaking down concepts about positioning and strategy into clear explanations with good examples. Keep it up you rock!
  • Stu Regina
    Yourrrr Baaaccck!
    It’s great to have your show back. It’s fitting that it’s in April! Suggestion: Makeover for the Startup brand. I could be the first. Bring on a struggling, startup SaaS bootstrapping sole entrepreneur and use them as a case study of what to fix! Pick me pick me. lol
  • Agrinb
    Helps me steer the ship
    April you’ve been a blessing. I’m in my first head of marketing role at a high growth Series B startup with hardly any product marketing experience. Your books have given me the clarity necessary to tackle large product marketing projects and lead my team including a very talented PMM. Your podcast helps hash out many insights from the books. Lastly, I really appreciate that you turned down the project that we offered you. You were right, we were too early in the product lifecycle. I’d love for you to share any information on how you would approach expanding into an adjacent category. I.e. From “CRM for Investment Banks” to “CRM and Marketing Automation for Investment Banks”
  • CJ Ornelas
    Clarity wins
    I can’t figure out how she does it, but April’s way of explaining things is easy to listen to, clear, and memorable. I typically don't stick with podcasts that are just one person talking for the majority, but April makes it feel like you’re in conversation with her! Her stories and retold experiences make her content stick. I’m loving the show and am grateful for the clarity she brings to product positioning in B2B business. P.S. I found April Dunford via the Product Marketing Alliance’s Product Marketing Management Certification course.
  • TractorsShouldBeGreen
    Love this and have been re-listening to them
    Could we get transcripts on the website please? Auto generated would be perfect - just havea hard time re-finding the points you make, that I want to share/use, once I’m back from walking the dog.
  • Youcantteachwingspan
    The best person on earth at making it clear why people should buy your thing
    Obviously Awesome is the best marketing book maybe ever. And April is a master at helping tech companies (who are notoriously bad at helping buyers make sense of what they sell) place their products in the right context so people GET IT. Most sales and marketing people are not good at this. April is. Plus she’s a lovely human being. Listen to her. You won’t be sorry.
  • Majority Media LLC
    A much needed voice in a sea of confusion
    April Dunford is doing a great job of filling in the blanks and explaining a part of the business journey that people know they need they but struggle to articulate it. Paving the way for businesses of all sizes to ask better questions and get better results. A huge fan of her podcast. Every time I think I have a favorite episode to re-watch she comes out with another.
  • Salt Lab
    Real world expertise!
    April is the. Best. The BEST! I’m just here to give love to the August 17 2023 episode. The F Plan!!!
  • gunnarpope
    An excellent podcast for startups
    April’s show on product positioning is a must-have for startups. I now understand how positioning is the root of all marketing, advertising, branding, and sales.
  • cmoore0125
    Exactly what we needed… thank you!
    Your book Obviously Awesome, and podcasts are exactly what my team needed at this precise moment! So appreciate the actionable 10 steps, and the clarity you bring to positioning and value.
  • So then what happened?
    Making up for lost time
    25 years in marketing . . . I really thought I understood the concept of positioning. And I am pretty sure the professors and accomplished professionals who taught it to me these many years really believed they understood what position was. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon April Dunford on the ‘Private Equity Funcast’ podcast that I truly began to understand the depth and value and complexity of positioning. Her insights have been enlightening, and I’ve been catching up on what I missed ever since.
  • Xomancohan
    Need & share - total gem
    We all stance April, love and reference her work. I’m so grateful she’s putting out her knowledge for free on the podcast. LISTEN and share, it’s so worth it.
  • Wengelengel
    A good start
    I’m a huge fan of April’s work. I have Obviously Awesome and really appreciate putting her insights and frameworks out there for free on her podcast. I’ve enjoyed every episode in the podcast until the sales pitch episode, which spends entirely too much time to me talking about her sometimes cringeworthy experience buying a toilet. I would have appreciated more focus on the tactics of turning positioning into a sales pitch. That, I can use. The toilet anecdote, not so much.
  • Mary had three lambs
    Actionable and Evergreen
    Wow wow wow. Already loved April from her book and social, but the podcast gives you a whole ‘nother level of positioning wisdom. Keep up the great work, April! Recommending your podcast to as many B2B sales and marketing leaders as possible 🤘
  • Swarasa1952
    The best show!!
    I’m thankful to have discovered April and her work. She is a powerhouse. Her wisdom and wit and her freaking humor is fantastic. You don’t have to be in tech to listen nor apply her teachings. It’s relevant to anyone seeking creative and dynamic and useful marketing and sales strategies. Listen now!
  • Goober1223
    It feels like Christmas morning
    I’m a long-time fan of April Dunford. I quote her all the time in positioning meetings, so when I happened upon this podcast… I couldn’t believe my ears. It felt like Christmas for five year old me. Pure magic. These episodes are not something you listen to in passing while you walk the dog or grind down the highway. You sit down, take notes, pause to think, reverse to listen again, and share with your colleagues with a Slack message, “See, this is what we need to think about.” She’s a bank of knowledge and is dishing out years of strategy for zero cents. Pay attention.
  • Tracy Lisowe
    Brilliant expertise with a storytelling approach.
    Listening to April means living her learnings by laughing along to stories that put positioning in a relatable context. Her humility and humor is as refreshing and smart as I knew it would be when she announced her podcast. Thanks April - looking forward to more!
  • Dv2cali
    Useful info for marketers and product people
    Happy to see a new pod from someone so experienced in positioning and marketing, this stuff is the diff between success and failure of products and April does a good job describing the problems and solutions.
  • Srinivsn
    Absolutely incredible
    Been a fan of April’s positioning work and this podcast is gold. Short episodes, packed with insight, funny and incredibly easy to listen and learn from. Can not wait for the next episode.
  • Mark Harnett
    Entertaining and Informative
    Great to hear how April’s real life trials and tribulations led her to develop her Positioning expertise.
  • Nordicchickie
    Fantastic podcast!
    I’ve been a fan of April’s ever since she came out with her book, “Obviously Awesome.” This podcast is so fun to listen to. There’s no doubt that April knows her stuff. She approaches the topic of positioning with a great sense of humour and and teaches through stories of mistakes made and lessons learned. The first episode went by so fast. By the time it was done, I was already dying to hear the next episode. Anyone interested in positoning their product/ service for success needs to add this podcast to their repertoire.
  • bccrz
    Looking forward to future episodes 👍
    I’ve read Obviously Awesome and listened to April on a few podcasts. I’m very happy April has started her own podcast. I appreciate how she breaks down the methodology of positioning and I’m looking forward to future episodes! Examples of mistakes/pitfalls when attempting positioning and specific examples would be helpful!
  • Bradford Swanson
    What a great resource!
    I just finished the first episode and really enjoyed the natural storytelling and relevant case studies that help to illustrate the importance of Dunford’s positioning frameworks. Positioning is so critical, and I’m really looking forward to future episodes of this podcast. This is definitely going to be added to my weekly listening list.
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