A New Chapter on Differentiated Value

A New Chapter on Differentiated Value

From Positioning with April Dunford by April Dunford

March 5, 2026 · 23 min · Season 2 · Episode 20

About this episode

April Dunford discusses the importance of differentiated value in positioning and how it impacts customer perception.

In today’s episode, I explore why differentiated value is the most important—and most misunderstood—part of positioning. I explain why customers don’t really care that much about features, how to use the “so what?” question to uncover what truly matters, and why this step takes more time than any other in a positioning exercise. I also share how my thinking on value has evolved since the first edition of my book, Obviously Awesome, and why I expanded this section so much in the second edition. You will learn: (03:14) How skipping competitive alternatives and capabilities leads to opinion-based positioning. (04:38) Why differentiated value is about outcomes, not feature checklists. (06:15) How to use repeated “so what?” questions to move from features to real value. (08:27) Why “make money” and “save money” alone are not enough to differentiate. (10:02) How to focus value messaging on the champion rather than every stakeholder. (13:31) Why teams should align on value concepts before worrying about copywriting. (17:23) How to separate true value from objection handling in your positioning. — Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing…

People in this episode

Host: April Dunford

Topics covered

  • differentiated value
  • positioning
  • customer outcomes
  • value messaging
  • marketing strategy

Keywords

  • differentiated value
  • positioning
  • features vs value
  • marketing
  • customer outcomes

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Obviously Awesome

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