How to Turn a Competitor's Strength into a Weakness
From Positioning with April Dunford by April Dunford
February 13, 2025 · 29 min · Season 2 · Episode 15
About this episode
April Dunford discusses how to turn competitor strengths into weaknesses through strategic positioning.
In today’s episode, I dive into the art of transforming competitor strengths into weaknesses, a practice which I sometimes call “marketing jiu-jitsu.” You will learn: * How competitor strengths can double as weaknesses in different markets. * Opportunities for challenger brands to carve out niche markets. * The differences between platform and tool positioning and their respective advantages. * Competing with legacy brands. * Competing against free or low-cost products. * Appealing to end users versus decision-makers. * Using manager-level value propositions to win deals against free tools. * Focusing on high-value market segments to avoid a race to the bottom. * Examples of successful positioning from companies like Salesforce, IBM, and Snowflake. — If you want to skip ahead: (00:37) Marketing Jiu-Jitsu (01:51) Empowering End Users vs. IT (05:01) Market Leadership vs. Challenger Strategies (09:54) Niche Market Strategies and CRM Examples (13:26) Platform vs. Tool (21:05) Competing Against Free and Low-Cost Products (26:43) Focusing on High-Value Segments — Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and…
People in this episode
Host: April Dunford
Topics covered
- competitor analysis
- market positioning
- niche markets
- legacy brands
- value propositions
- high-value segments
Keywords
- marketing jiu-jitsu
- competitor strengths
- challenger brands
- platform positioning
- tool positioning
- free products
- end users
- decision-makers
- high-value segments
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Salesforce, IBM, Snowflake
More episodes of Positioning with April Dunford
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- New Thinking on Market Categories · March 19, 2026 · 24 min
- A New Chapter on Differentiated Value · March 5, 2026 · 23 min
- Competition in a Positioning Exercise · February 19, 2026 · 29 min
- Preparing for a Positioning Exercise · February 5, 2026 · 27 min
- Decisions to Make Before a Positioning Exercise · January 22, 2026 · 27 min
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