Podcast Summary: "Competition in a Positioning Exercise"

Podcast: Positioning with April Dunford
Host: April Dunford
Date: February 19, 2026
Episode Theme:
This episode dives into how to correctly address "competitive alternatives" during a product positioning exercise—a concept that April Dunford has refined since the original 2019 release of her book, Obviously Awesome. April shares lessons from hundreds of positioning workshops, focusing on common misconceptions about competition and practical advice for founders, marketers, sales teams, and product managers aiming to position their product to stand out right now, not in a hypothetical future.

Episode Overview

April Dunford explores the first and most foundational step in her positioning process: identifying true competitive alternatives. She explains why understanding what customers actually consider as alternatives (not just direct competitors) is essential to create effective positioning. April also describes the differing perspectives of sales, marketing, product teams, and founders on competition, and the pitfalls of relying on assumptions, outdated views, or AI-generated lists.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Evolution of Competitive Alternatives (00:00 – 10:30)

• Positioning for the Present, Not the Future
  • April opens by emphasizing that positioning should focus on current market conditions and products, not future plans.
    • Quote:

      "We are not positioning for five years out, 10 years out. We're positioning to get the best possible story that maximizes what we can do in marketing and sales with the product we have right now, in the market conditions we have right now." (00:00)

• Why April Changed Her Mind
  • Experience with hundreds more workshops after the first edition of her book led April to recognize new nuances in how teams, especially marketing and product, approach competition.
  • In 2019, the focus was on broadening the definition of competition to include the status quo (e.g., spreadsheets, manual processes).
  • April’s thinking evolved: it’s not enough to just list "what looks like you"; you must surface all realistic alternatives actually considered by customers.

Why "Problem" Isn't the Place to Start (10:30 – 18:30)

• The Temptation to Start with The Problem
  • Marketers commonly suggest starting with the problem the product solves.
  • April refutes this, noting customers are often poor at articulating their "problems," and companies solve many kinds of problems.
    • Quote:

      "It's kind of arrogant of us to stand up in front of a customer and say, here's your problem, buddy. When, you know, customers understand their problem more than anybody else." (12:45)

  • Starting with the problem leads to fuzzy or overly broad answers and misses insight into what real purchase decisions entail.

Considering the "Job to Be Done" (18:30 – 24:00)

• Moving Beyond the Problem to Jobs Theory
  • Some propose starting with the "job" customers hire the product to do (Jobs Theory).
  • April references the classic "milkshake story" from Clayton Christensen to explain how understanding the job clarifies what real alternatives are. In this case, milkshakes competed not with Coke, but with donuts and egg sandwiches for commuters.
    • Quote:

      "What you really learned in that research was what the person's frame of reference was for making comparisons." (22:00)

  • The key insight: Consumers compare options based on context and desired outcomes, not just category.

Why "Competitive Alternatives" is the Right Place to Start (24:00 – 31:30)

• Sales Teams Know the True Alternatives
  • In B2B with sales involvement, salespeople know what’s on the customer’s shortlist and what most often gets replaced.
  • “If I were to ask those salespeople, well, what's the typical status quo in the account that we're replacing? They would know the answer to that.” (25:35)
• The Importance of The Customer’s Perspective
  • Focus on what the customer considers as alternatives, not just internal assumptions.
  • Different teams view competition differently:
    • Sales: Thinks about alternatives on the current deal shortlist; status quo often isn't counted as a "loss."
    • Product: Concerned with future roadmap and potential competitors years ahead—April warns not to position against "ghosts" (28:00).
    • Marketing: Over-focused on high-visibility competitors, not necessarily those on real shortlists.
    • Founders: May cling to outdated views from earlier stages of the company.

Common Pitfalls in Identifying Alternatives (31:30 – 42:00)

• Don’t Position Against "Ghosts"
  • “We don't have to position against a ghost that does not live in the minds of customers and doesn't actually cause us any pain. Right now, we have to worry about who lands on a short list against us Right now.” (00:29, repeated at 30:00)
  • Ignore edge-case competitors or hypothetical future threats; only focus on what causes real pain in deals today.
• AI Can't Tell You Your Competitors
  • AI-generated lists are often out of touch with real market realities. Sales and customers are better sources.
    • Quote:

      "AI is really bad at figuring out who your competitors are... What you will get is a list of companies that should compete with you because it's based on what it reads on the Internet." (38:00)

  • “ChatGPT doesn't know who you compete with, really the people who really understand who a customer compares you to is the sales team and customers." (39:00)

Best Practices: Clustering Alternatives by Approach (42:00 – 44:30)

• Group Alternatives by Approach, Not Just Company

  • Once you have the list, bucket similar solutions together. For example, legacy vendors vs. new SaaS solutions, or solutions using a certain technology stack.

  • Helps clarify key differentiators in your next positioning steps.

    • Quote:

      "Thinking about these competitors in terms of categories of approaches to the problem is going to make your life a lot easier when you get to thinking about the value you can deliver that other folks can't." (43:00)

• Differentiate on Value by Category

  • Most differentiators map to buckets ("everyone in this legacy category can't do X, but we can").
  • Sets up for compelling positioning in subsequent steps.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Positioning for the Present:
  • "We are not positioning for five years out, 10 years out. We're positioning to get the best possible story that maximizes what we can do in marketing and sales with the product we have right now..." (00:00)
• On Customer-Defined Competition:
  • "It's not your perspective as a vendor of who the competitive alternatives are, it's who does a customer consider to be the competitive alternative. It's very important." (25:55)
• On the Futility of Positioning Against a Ghost:
  • "We don't have to position against a ghost that does not live in the minds of customers and doesn't actually cause us any pain right now." (29:00, 30:00)
• On AI Competitor Research:
  • "ChatGPT doesn't know who you compete with, really the people who really understand who a customer compares you to is the sales team and customers." (39:00)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 02:00: Positioning is about current reality, not the distant future
• 10:30 – 14:00: Why “problem” isn’t a reliable starting point ("here's your problem, buddy...")
• 18:30 – 23:00: The “milkshake story” and how jobs theory informs alternative identification
• 25:35 – 31:30: Why sales teams know the real alternatives, and why status quo matters
• 31:30 – 37:00: Team differences in defining competitors (product, sales, marketing, founder)
• 38:00 – 40:00: The pitfalls of using AI (ChatGPT) for competitor research
• 42:00 – 44:30: Best practice: clustering competitors by approach to clarify differentiation

Actionable Takeaways

• Don’t start with the problem or the job—start with what the customer is really considering as alternatives.
• Focus positioning on the alternatives customers place on their actual shortlists today.
• Ignore hypothetical future competitors or rare fringe deals.
• Get cross-functional input, but ground your list courtesy of sales and customers’ lived experience.
• AI tools are no substitute for direct experience or customer insight when building competitive sets.
• Cluster competitors by common approach to simplify differentiation in messaging.

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a focused, practical guide to getting the "competition" step right in a positioning exercise. April Dunford’s battle-tested wisdom helps listeners cut through assumptions, cross-functional disagreements, and hype to identify where and how they should be positioning their product, in language and logic that attracts today’s real buyers.

The next episode will cover differentiated capabilities and, particularly, differentiated value—the step April now sees as the most crucial (and often misunderstood) in great positioning.

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