Positioning is a decision, not a description
April Dunford's central argument is that positioning is not a tagline exercise. It is a sequence of deliberate choices, and it starts in a place most teams skip: the competitive alternatives. Not your competitors — what your customer would genuinely do if you did not exist, including nothing at all.
The order matters, because each step constrains the next:
- Competitive alternatives — what they would do otherwise.
- Unique attributes — what you have that those alternatives do not. Capabilities, not adjectives.
- Value — what those attributes make possible for the customer.
- Who cares most — the segment for whom that value is urgent rather than nice.
- Market category — the frame that makes the value obvious to that segment.
Adjectives are not attributes
"Powerful", "seamless" and "easy to use" are claims every alternative also makes, which means they carry no information. An attribute is something a customer could verify: a capability you have, a dataset you own, a method you run. This tool flags adjectives when it finds them.
Category is a choice
The category you place yourself in determines what buyers compare you against and what they assume about price and function. Choosing "growth accelerator" rather than "marketing agency" changes the reference set, the expected engagement shape, and the price anchor. Choose the frame that makes your unique attributes matter most.
One value theme
Teams routinely list four things they are good at and wonder why none of them register. Pick the one your best customers actually cite when asked why they stayed. The rest are supporting evidence, not headline.
Questions
Why start from alternatives instead of competitors?
Because the real alternative is usually not a competitor. For most early-stage products it is a spreadsheet, a junior hire, or doing nothing — and if you position against a competitor the buyer has not considered, you are answering a question nobody asked.
Is the statement meant to go on my homepage?
No. It is an internal alignment document. It should inform your homepage copy, but the statement itself reads like a formula because it is one.
How do I choose a market category?
Pick the one where your unique attributes are most obviously valuable and where buyers already have budget. Inventing a new category is expensive and only worth it when no existing frame does your value justice.
How often should positioning change?
Rarely, and never casually — every change costs you accumulated recognition. Revisit when your best customers stop looking like the ones you designed it for, or when a new alternative genuinely changes the comparison.