Podcasts about product positioning

Colin Zima is the cofounder and CEO of Omni, a data platform that combines the consistency of a shared data model with the speed and freedom of SQL. They recently raised their $69M Series B led by ICONIQ Growth. He was previously the Chief Analytics Officer at Looker.Colin's favorite book: Blink (Author: Malcolm Gladwell)(00:01) Introduction(01:10) What Is a Data Model and Why It Matters(03:27) Gaps in the Modern Data Stack(05:38) The Staying Power of SQL(07:29) Origin Story: Why Omni Was Created(10:13) Lessons from Building the MVP(12:48) Go-to-Market Insights: Zero to Ten Customers(16:02) Founder-Led Sales and Marketing Tactics(18:58) Company Building: Recruiting and Product Challenges(21:34) Product Positioning in a Crowded Market(23:26) Design Philosophy in Enterprise Software(28:21) Omni's Tech Stack and Development Strategy(28:57) Real-World Use of AI Inside the Company(31:01) Future of Data Tooling and Role of AI(33:49) Rapid Fire Round--------Where to find Colin Zima: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinzima/--------Where to find Prateek Joshi: Newsletter: https://prateekjoshi.substack.com Website: https://prateekj.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-infiniteX: https://x.com/prateekvjoshi 

How do you stand out in a crowded industry and “murder the competition”? Today, we break down the wild success of Liquid Death, the canned water brand that turned a boring product into a billion-dollar business with edgy marketing and cult-like branding. We explore how bold branding, niche positioning, and creative marketing can apply to any business—even in industries like finance, accounting, and mortgage broking. If you're looking for ways to make your business unforgettable, this one's for you!On this episode, we discuss:(00:00) Intro(00:51) Liquid Death: A Bold Branding Move(01:51) Personal Experiences with Edgy Branding(04:49) Applying Bold Moves to Your Business(10:58) Challenges in Service-Based Industries(13:11) Unique Branding Videos mentioned in the episode:https://youtu.be/11bIc363B5U - Liquid Death Storyhttps://dai.ly/x9du4nu - Superbowl Ad https://youtu.be/tubgk9IYFHs?si=BK0uU5xbbxdn2jtr – Sparkling Water Hot Tubhttps://youtu.be/11bIc363B5U - Golf UROClub Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.auThe Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.Hosts:Nick ReillyJason RobinsonMartin VidakovicThis podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

It's a full house today, and we're joined by Shane Rostad to talk CRO. Shane's recently launched his own brand as co-founder of Cheeky, a new creator-led brand that smashed its launch with 10k orders in its first month. In today's ep we're talking about brand positioning and messaging, how to drive LTV and boost AOV with strategic post-purchase upsells and CRO tactics to unlock sustainable growth. If you're scaling a DTC or ecom brand an are looking for strategies to position your brand more effectively, convert more customers and keep them coming back for more, this one's for you. If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6 00:00 Introduction 02:16 Transitioning to Brand Side: Shane's New Journey 04:46 Launching Cheeky: The New Brand Experience 07:40 Growth Strategies: Leveraging Creator Partnerships 11:01 Understanding Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) 12:58 Product Offerings: Subscription vs. One-Time Purchases 18:07 UI/UX Design: Crafting the Customer Experience 22:18 Product Positioning: Standing Out in a Crowded Market 29:44 CRO Insights: High-Level Strategies for Growth 35:18 Expanding Demographics: Reaching Younger Audiences 36:44 Navigating Customer Journeys and Personalization 48:14 CRO Strategies for DTC Brands 01:06:38 Post-Purchase Optimization and Revenue Strategies Operators Exclusive Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/9operators/shared_invite/zt-2tdfu426r-TepSHJP~evAyDfR29U2qUw Powered by: Motion. ⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠ Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠ https://www.prescientai.com/operators Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠ https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc Subscribe to the 9 Operators Podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/@Operators9 Sign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here: https://9operators.com/ Zach Stuck episode: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/35i3FjPEar8dRdVPUGBfah?si=c992d2f87287454b YouTube: https://youtu.be/M4xn2aISEbg

Anthony Pierri is the co-founder of Fletch PMM, a consultancy that helps early-stage B2B startups sharpen their positioning and better articulate their value propositions. In this conversation, we explored: Why niche marketing is critical for early-stage success How small teams can scale effectively Practical steps for defining a product's positioning using seven key elements Anthony also dives into the importance of clear messaging, tangible go-to-market assets, and the psychology behind buyer decisions. A must-listen for B2B startups looking to stand out. EPISODE LINKS: Fletch PMM: https://www.fletchpmm.com Anthony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-pierri TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Intro and Background 00:01:20 Fletch PMM 00:01:58 Positioning and Messaging Strategies 00:05:55 Custom Services vs. Productized Services 00:07:50 Vagueness in Product Marketing 00:10:12 Stages of Product Market Fit 00:11:48 Investor Expectations and Market Focus 00:13:06 Executive Alignment and Brand Messaging 00:14:48 Mental Availability and Positioning 00:19:00 Belief Change and Niching Down 00:24:35 Organic Content and Personal Branding 00:29:00 Content Strategy and Funnel Building 00:33:22 Common Homepage Mistakes 00:35:39 The Importance of Focus in Marketing 00:36:39 Voice of the Customer 00:39:53 The Buying Decision Process 00:42:51 Homepages in Customer Acquisition 00:45:03 Positioning Transformation 00:49:24 Steps to Effective Positioning 00:50:53 Choosing the Right Market Segment 01:03:42 Closing CONNECT: Website: https://hoo.be/elijahmurray YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elijahmurray Twitter: https://twitter.com/elijahmurray Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elijahmurray LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elijahmurray/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-game-w-elijah-murray/ Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elijahmurray RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/3e31c0c/podcast/rss

My guest today is the globally renowned marketing expert April Dunford.April has probably advised more B2B tech companies on positioning than anyone in the world.April's book Obviously Awesome is one of the biggest best-selling marketing books out there - and I'm so happy we had time to dig into everything you need to know to nail Product Positioning so that customers get it, buy it, and love it.Every founder, marketing, sales, and product person should listen to this episode!We discussed:* Why companies fail with positioning* Why positioning is a team sport* April's step-by-step process to nail product positioning* How to find your ICP (ideal customer profile)* Common pitfalls when defining positioning* Messaging vs branding vs positioning* How to align Product, Marketing, Sales, and Executive leadership on positioning and why it's important* How to translate your positioning to a killing Sales pitch—Afonso's profileApril's profile and websiteApril's books:* Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It* Sales Pitch: How to craft a story to stand out and win This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Do you sell products in the B2B market? Looking for a model to clearly differentiate your product's value? To discover a 5-step process for developing powerful B2B product positioning, I interview April Dunford.Guest: April Dunford | Show Notes: socialmediaexaminer.com/635Review our show on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Jon Itkin, Principal at In The Kitchen, joins Louise Liu to discuss the often-overlooked relationship between brand marketing and product marketing, particularly in B2B tech companies. He also shares his thoughts on how product marketers can effectively lead and bridge the gap between product marketing and brand marketing efforts.For more information, please check out Jon's article: Bridging Brand and Product Positioning.All rights reserved. © Product Marketing Hive.

In this episode, Michelle Frechette and Corey Maass reflect on their experiences at WordCamp US, discussing marketing strategies, product development, and the significance of open graph images for online representation. They share anecdotes from the conference, including interactions with attendees and the challenges of presenting. The conversation delves into personal branding, promotional swag, and the importance of effective image generation for social media. They also explore using AI for content creation and strategize for upcoming Black Friday sales. The episode emphasizes the importance of persistence, effective communication, and balancing professional and personal commitments.  Top Takeaways:Black Friday Planning: Michelle and Corey are focusing on creating a strategy for a Black Friday sale. This includes discussing potential discounts, such as testing lower pricing or offering a limited lifetime deal to attract more customers. The goal is to use Black Friday as an opportunity to experiment with pricing and boost sales.Product Positioning and Pain Point Clarity: There's a recognition that OMGIMG addresses a pain point many users don't realize they have. The challenge is to effectively communicate the value of the tool—how it can save time and effort—even though it's not seen as a core necessity like security or SEO plugins.Steady Progress and Commitment: Michelle and Corey both emphasize a long-term commitment to the project, even if the progress has felt gradual. You acknowledge that building momentum takes time, and it's important to avoid self-criticism while continuing to push forward.Marketing Efforts and Automation: There's a desire to step up the marketing efforts, including improving the website, running more ads, automating marketing, and exploring new strategies, such as using creative content like songs or humorous posts on social media to draw attention.Balanced Expectations and Persistence: Corey reflected on not being overly attached to the immediate success of projects, aiming instead to adopt a more measured approach by consistently pushing the product forward without seeing it as all-or-nothing. The goal is to build the flywheel, recognizing that it will take time for sales and growth to self-perpetuate.Mentioned In The Show:WP Accessibility DayEqualize DigitalWordPressWordCampUSAutomatticChatGPTDall-EStellar WPGreen GeeksYoast ClaudeEmail OctopusCanvaPhotoshopSetappTypingMindBartender CleanshotXThe RepositoryAppsumoSocial Link PagesWP BuildsMark WestergaardWS Forms

In today's social media market, brand knockoffs are a constant threat. So what can you do if it happens to you? And what's the best way to differentiate your brand in an oversaturated market? SVP of Marketing at Recharge, Jen Gray, hops on the pod to chat with me about how to create a unique brand story that sets you apart from your competitors and resonates with your target audience. Jen reveals why understanding the rhythm and uniqueness of each company is the most crucial aspect of product positioning. Why create a category if you can own it? Jen breaks down the importance of owning the market and creating a product with a value prop unlike anything else in the market. Plus, who should be your first marketing hire? Not that she's biased or anything, but… Jen *definitely* has a few thoughts.    00:00:02 - Discovering the Rhythm of Marketing 00:03:27 - Sustaining Brands in the Routine Economy 00:08:03 - Diversifying Products for Growth 00:11:28 - Creating a Category for Success 00:15:59 - Product Positioning Over Category Creation 00:28:50 - Leveraging Existing Arsenal for Subscriptions 00:30:46 - Crafting a Unique Brand Story 00:38:08 - Elevate Buyer to Drive Revenue 00:41:13 - Hire a Product Marketer First   Follow Jen: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jen-l-gray/   Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: www.workweek.com  

April Dunford is the author of “Obviously Awesome”, and in this episode, she talks about positioning—what it is and why it's important. She dives into some of the analogies she used in her book to explain how positioning works. She also brings up Clay Christensen's milkshake story to break down the 5 components of positioning. She then answers some of the viewers' questions, offering practical advice for startups. Show Notes [03:22] Some misconceptions about positioning, why positioning is important in business, and how it differs from traditional branding [09:22] Why positioning is like the opening scene of a movie [16:25] Some signs of weak positioning: total confusion, wrong comparisons, prospective clients don't think your value is valuable or they think your vision is just a fantasy [20:25] Define what makes your product special and then figure out what is the best context to frame those qualities in [25:35] The 5 components of positioning: competitive alternatives, unique capabilities, differentiated value, target market segments, and market category [27:58] On Clayton Christensen's “Jobs to Be Done” theory [36:05] How to convince buy-in companies that positioning is important [43:18] How to define positioning if you do not have best customer fit yet [45:08] How positioning influences product development [50:05] How to position your product or company if you want to cater to different countries About April Dunford April Dunford studied engineering in university and then spent the first 25 years of her career as a marketing executive for startups. She has worked as a consultant for more than 100 companies, helping them fine-tune their sales and marketing teams. Aside from being an expert on product positioning, April is also a mentor, an adviser, and a keynote speaker. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her kids and a small dog. Links Salesforce Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen Profile April Dunford's website April Dunford's Twitter

Our conversation with growth strategist Sabir Semerkant is filled with actionable insights on thriving in the e-commerce landscape.Sabir's approach to e-commerce growth is holistic. He emphasizes constant improvement and a strong understanding of one's business foundations. His advice invites brands to explore a growth path that's not reliant on temporary fixes but solidifies lasting customer relationships and strong business workflows. Don't miss this opportunity to get an expert's take on fueling your strategy and growth.Episode brought to you by More StaffingJoin 15k founders and marketers & get our pod highlights delivered directly to your inbox with the DTC Pod Newsletter!On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. Sabir Semerkant's 8D Method2. The Importance of Mobile Optimization3. Key Dimensions for E-Commerce Success4. Storytelling in Marketing5. Customer Experience and Branding6. The Importance of Customer Centricity7. Value Creation and Strategic Pricing8. E-Commerce Platform Optimization9. Growth and Operational Strategies10. Logistics and FulfillmentTimestamps10:48 Setting goals, improving KPIs every day by 1%12:10 The Rapid 2X and Mastermind programs and the 8D Method13:46 Consistent improvement vs. quick transient optimization dilemma18:21 The importance of measuring all aspects of business for success20:17 The risks of relying solely on paid advertising, the importance of building a brand24:43 The dangers of discounting and how it could hurt a business28:12 Storytelling in marketing, building an emotional connection with customers32:32 Optimizing tech stack for attention span, earning audience engagement37:44 Free tool for measuring site speed to improve performance and conversion39:10 Mobile optimization and why it is important42:25 Product positioning and brand building, paying attention to what customers care about45:33 The importance of authenticity in branding48:43 Putting customers at the center of a business, creating buyer personas 53:15 Strategic pricing, cultivating brand loyalty through content01:00:11 Factors to consider when choosing the right tech stack01:08:42 Choosing the right third-party logistics and operations partners01:13:58 Finding and hiring the right people to help a business growShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok  Sabir Semerkant - Founder of GROWTH by SABIRBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

You learn the most when you leave your normal environment. In case you haven't been able to do that recently, Jonathan has brought you some stories from his recent trip to Oaxaca, Mexico to help inspire your marketing, sales, and life. Three product positioning takeaways from the struggling Monte Albán Figurine vendor How a 7 year old sold more of their bad art than the young artists with good art Three coaching lessons from the Oaxacan Crossfit gym -- FREE GIFT - Get a free copy of the Wealthy Fit Pro's Guide to Getting Clients and Referrals (digital and audio. Sells for $22.99 on Amazon.) HOW - Rate / review this podcast, take a screenshot, and send it to obviouschoicepod@gmail.com -- Hosts: @itscoachgoodman @fitnessjonestraining @amberreynolds.me -- Join 72,000+ trailblazers, leaders, and coaches who fuel up with our low-stress, high-impact 5 REPS FRIDAY newsletter at www.5repsfriday.com. The Obvious Choice podcast is presented by QuickCoach - free, professional software for fitness and nutrition coaches that elevates the value of what you do. Join 35,000+ coaches and get your account today at www.quickcoach.fit.

Questions covered in this episode: 0:42 Opening Question: Can you take us back to a moment in your career or your life where you had to step outside of your comfort zone? 6:42 How does it look like being the CEO and founder of a consulting business?16:05 Can you please tell us more about your article ‘primer on positioning' and your book ‘Obviously Awesome'?25:44 Can you talk a little bit about how that influenced your second book on the sales pitch, which is more about, you know, bringing this to life in the sales pitch?34:18: What role should AI play in product marketing?38:05 what do you wish you knew maybe at the beginning of your career that you wish you knew now?Looking to connect? You can find April here on LinkedIn.

Scott Needham, accompanied by e-commerce expert Sabir Semerkant, dives deep into the ever-evolving world of online commerce.With over 25 years of experience, Sabir shares invaluable insights, including his unique “8-D Method" for business growth, honed through ventures such as revitalizing Vitamin Shoppe's website from bankruptcy to success.The discussion covers crucial aspects such as optimizing website performance, strategic pricing, and the importance of cohesive team dynamics, emphasizing the significance of adapting to AI advancements and focusing on revenue per session rather than traditional conversion rates.Episode notes:00:15 - Sabir Semerkant Introduction 02:05 - Sabir's Background 03:55 - Good and Bad Information 04:40 - Vitamin Shoppe 05:15 - Test, Learn, and Optimize 07:05 - Ecommerce is a Mix of Different Practices 08:00 - Co-founding VaynerCommerce 10:20 - How Sabir Met Gary V. 13:50 - 8-D Method 14:55 - Performance Optimzation 18:40 - Consumer Attention Span 23:20 - Premium Pricing 25:25 - Product Positioning and Brand Building 29:40 - Story Telling 32:50 - Customer UX 35:20 - Retargetting and Remarketing 40:20 - Logistics LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/sabirsemerkantWebsites:growthbysabir.com/workshop/growthbysabir.com (GROWTH by Sabir) growthbysabir.com/liveshow (#ThisWeekWithSabir Live) medium.com/worklifebalancebysabir (#WorkLifeBalanceBySab)Related Post: Pricing Strategies for Wholesale Sellers on Amazon

Welcome to the AMZ Product Launcher blog, your go-to resource for all things related to launching and growing your Amazon business. In this article, we'll delve into the critical aspect of strategic product positioning and how leveraging AMZ Product Launcher can significantly elevate your Amazon listings. Whether you're a novice seller or an experienced entrepreneur looking to optimize your product placement, you're in the right place.

 April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods. Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer. “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford This week on Innovation Talks: ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches  Connect with April Dunford: ●     April Dunford's Website●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford●     April Dunford on LinkedIn●     April Dunford on Twitter This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you. For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Do you want to homeschool yet feel like God is calling you to lead from the power of your testimony? Could you start learning what building an online business using digital products is like? Imagine doing this while you homeschool and be about our Father's business! ✨THE PRODUCT POSITIONING ROADMAP workshops! www.wellvalley.org/workshops

Have you ever wondered how marketing strategies evolve in the face of rapidly changing buyer landscapes? In this episode, Priya Doty, a seasoned product marketing leader, shares the challenges and triumphs of shaping a team to meet the evolving needs of the market. Learn how she transformed a business unit by aligning it with the cloud, the challenges faced, and the strategies that shaped success. From the intricacies of product launches to the art of effective messaging, get ready for a deep dive into the complexities and triumphs of go-to-market strategies.

Join us in this dynamic and insightful conversation with April Dunford, renowned expert in product positioning in the SaaS industry. April delves deep into the nuances of effective positioning, the difference between positioning and messaging, and shares her unique approach to analyzing competition. Discover key strategies for startups and established businesses to optimize their go-to-market approach, understand customer needs, and outshine competitors. Whether you're a startup founder, a marketing professional, or simply interested in business strategy, this episode offers valuable lessons and actionable insights.Key Topics Discussed:- The essence of product positioning- Differentiating positioning from messaging- Analyzing and leveraging competition- Effective strategies for both PLG and sales-led motions- Adapting to changing market dynamics- Real-world examples of successful positioning- Practical tips for businesses of all sizes

Imagine unlocking the secrets of Amazon's new cool data tools with the help of an insider. That's precisely what we did in our latest episode as an Amazon Product Opportunity Explorer team member joined us to spill the beans on how sellers can mine Amazon's data for hidden gems. We showed the Black Box tool by Helium 10, marveling at how it works in harmony with Amazon's own treasure trove of information to pinpoint profitable product niches. Our guest Yi Zhen also shared her inspiring climb from intern to account manager at Amazon Singapore. Amazon sellers, get ready to have your minds blown by the power of Amazon's Marketplace Product Guidance and Category Insights tools. We took a stroll through Seller Central's Category Insights and discussed the 'golden data' at your fingertips, data that can guide you to high-demand product categories ripe for the picking. The episode peeled back the curtain on critical sales and search data metrics, providing listeners with a toolkit for making savvy decisions that could propel their Amazon ventures to new heights. Wrapping up with a masterclass in product validation, we outlined how to sift through the noise and hone in on opportunities that not only look good on paper but can actually translate into profits. Our conversation illuminated the strategic use of the Product Opportunity Explorer to validate product choices and identify niches with less competition and higher potential earnings. And for those feeling the pinch of low search conversion rates, we shed light on how these metrics can sharpen your advertising strategies, giving you the edge in a fiercely competitive market. But wait, this episode is so good we had to cut it into two parts! So stay tuned for part 2! In episode 525 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Yi discuss: 00:00 - Leveraging Amazon Data for Product Opportunity 08:51 - Unmet Customer Demands and Category Insights 09:49 - Understanding Category Insights in Seller Central 13:48 - Product Analysis and Seller Considerations 15:32 - Product Positioning and Discovering New Types 17:31 - Exploring Product Opportunities and Niche Selection 25:21 - Using Product Opportunity Explorer for Validation 28:25 - Product Opportunity Exploration and Validation 34:50 - Low Search Conversions and Brand Analytics 35:15 - High Conversion Search Term ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On Youtube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Transcript   Bradley Sutton: Today we've got somebody from Amazon who works on the Product Opportunity Explorer team to do a deep dive in how sellers can use this Amazon data to find new product opportunity, and there was so much good stuff in this episode that we actually had to split it into two episodes. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Black Box by Helium 10 houses the largest database of Amazon products and keywords in the world. Outside of Amazon itself, we have over 2 billion products and many millions more keywords from different Amazon marketplaces, from USA to Australia to Germany and more. Use our powerful filters to search through this database for pockets of opportunity that you might want to get into with your first or next product to sell on Amazon. For more information, go to h10.me/blackbox. Don't forget you can save 10% off for life on Helium 10 by using our special code SSP10.   Bradley Sutton: Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That's a completely BS free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world, and we've got somebody who's helping serious sellers from the other side of the world. I've met her a couple times now when I've spoken at Amazon Singapore events, and I really liked her presentation on some unique things. I'm like hey, I want you to come on to the podcast, be the first person from Amazon Singapore on our podcast. So, Yi Zhen, welcome to the show.   Yi: Thanks Bradley for having me here. When Bradley was at the Seller's Meet this year, he literally just asked me like hey, do you want to come on a podcast with me? So I was like really caught off guard because my presentation was before his right. So I was like maybe, and now I'm here.   Bradley Sutton: I don't take, I don't take, maybe I don't take, maybe I only take yes as the answer. Yeah, when I'm in Japan and Korea for my trip.     Yi: Bradley's like when are we going to have our podcast?   Bradley Sutton: So it's always bothering her on her vacation. Always on my mind. Yep, yep, you know it. You know we're going to talk about that a little bit, but I want to go back. I don't know too much about like your backstory. Were you born and raised in Singapore?   Yi: Yes, born and raised in Singapore like a true blood Singaporean.   Bradley Sutton: Did you go to university also in Singapore?   Yi: Yes, in Singapore, actually, I went to Nan Yang Technological University.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, then and what did you study there? Business so now I'm helping sellers to run their business. Yeah, and was Amazon your first job out of university or do you work doing other things?   Yi: Actually it is, and in fact I was intern here, so I actually got converted to a full-time account manager, living the dream.   Bradley Sutton: University to intern, to full-time employee, one of the top ones in the product opportunity explorer department. Oh, my goodness, what was your favorite part of your trip? I love travel myself, and you went to the same, exact same countries that I just did recently. What did you like the most?   Yi: Wow, I actually love Mount Fuji the most. It's like so magnificent. Every time you just see it in like the pictures and everything, you're like, oh it's just another mountain. But it just hits different when you're there yourself. And I think I was lucky because I could see the full Mount Fuji. A couple of like our colleagues, you know, like even two so she mentioned that she haven't had a chance to see like the full Mount Fuji before, even though she has been there a few times. So I consider myself quite lucky. And of course, the food there is great, thanks to Bradley's suggestions.   Bradley Sutton: Alright, awesome, awesome. You got to go to some of those places. I love it. Yeah, now are you a Korean drama fan?   Yi: Of course Okay, so that's why on the Korean.   Bradley Sutton: When you went to Korea I saw you and your husband were wearing like the school uniforms when you went to the photo shoots and stuff.   Yi: Yeah, so we actually went to have our wedding photo shoot at one of the abandoned team parks where most of the Korean dramas are filmed there.   Bradley Sutton: Nice Real life Korean drama Alright. Well, we're not here. I mean, I could have a whole episode about Korean drama and travel for sure, I could have two episodes about that, probably but we're here to talk about some cool stuff that you know, like, I think, a lot of our listeners. Of course, they use Helium 10, and what but people don't realize is number one. You can use Helium 10 with a lot of the amazing data that Amazon has given and have even more advantage. Or maybe you're not ready for Helium 10 yet. There's stuff that everybody, including people who don't even have brand registry which, by the way, everybody should have brand registry but even if you don't, for whatever reason, there's some cool information that Amazon has available and this is stuff that you know. Like six years ago, seven years ago, when I was first getting into Amazon, I would have never, ever, ever, ever imagined that Amazon would make this kind of data public and and it's kind of, it's kind of crazy, you know. So I want to make sure that people Kind of like know about this stuff, but before we get into it, I Want you to, I want you to quiz me, okay, all of the and people I'm trying to like see if I have my second camera, but my second camera is not, is not showing here. I want to prove to people I'm not going to cheat. I have nothing actually. Actually, I'm gonna show people my screen right now. Hold on, so this is you know. For those watching this on YouTube, this is my screen.   Bradley Sutton: I'm just looking at you know I'm getting ready for what we're gonna talk about product opportunity Explorer. But I'm not cheating at all. My hands are up here. You test me on the acronyms on a bunch of stuff that we're gonna talk about today. You know the. We'll start with like OX. I know what that is. That's easy opportunity Explore. So we're gonna do that. Let's see, like I'm gonna pause before I answer because I want the people listening see if they know what these these Abbreviations stand for. All right, so OX equals opportunity Explorer.   Yi: Give me another one something that Bradley was just clarifying with me earlier on. So what is MPG?   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, you see, okay, hold on. I'm glad you mentioned that. You see you're in Singapore. Your cars go by kilometers, right? Yeah, yeah so here in America, mpg we go by miles. That means miles per gallon. Okay, well, like well, how much your gas mileage on the car? So that's why I asked you that today. So this one is kind of cheating, because I already asked about that earlier, because I was like what the heck is MPG? Yeah now you're ready for God? No, no, I got it. Mark marketplace product guidance.   Yi: Yes, exactly You're right, You're right.   Bradley Sutton: All right, got it All right. How many of you guys got it right? All right, give me. Give me another one, hit me. I think they're all easier than that one. That was the hardest one. What's another one?   Yi: Have you heard of this thing called the CLA?   Bradley Sutton: Is it not a Mercedes? No, like a kind of Mercedes.   Yi: Nope, I can give you a CLA. It's actually something new under Amazon brand analytics which is an acronym in itself.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah that's a B, a right.   Yi: Yeah, so something new yeah.   Bradley Sutton: Consumer doesn't start with consumer.   Yi: Customer.   Bradley Sutton: Nope, I give up. What is it?   Yi: It's customer loyalty analytics. Yes, that's the new dashboard.   Bradley Sutton: Yes, customer loyalty analytics. All right, what's another one? So now we've done three. We've done OX, we've got a, b, a, we've got CLA. We don't know we've done, for we got MPG.   Yi: What else is out there? Do you know what is SQP?   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, that's an easy one. I had that team from Amazon USA on. Anybody else know who's listening. All right, search query performance. I think that's the one that everybody got. Everybody got right.   Yi: Yeah, I watched the episode.   Bradley Sutton: Oh, you watch that episode. Do you know those people I had on the show?   Yi: To be honest, I haven't really heard of them. Amazon is pretty big, but I know they are the growth consultants right Based in a yes, yes, yeah. Yeah, yeah.   Bradley Sutton: All right, I think that's most, that's most of them, but we'll see if we go over some, some other ones today. So, um, you know I wanted to. I wanted to get into some of these things because, again, you know, even even for me, like I have not done too much the customer, the customer loyalty dashboard, but what I wanted to start talking to you about today was the something else about? I'm not sure if this is the same dashboard, but before we get into it, you know, the first thing we mentioned was OX. You know, which is opportunity Explorer. So what is just the, the, the kind of like elevator pitch. Like us, you have like 30 seconds to a minute to explain to somebody in the elevator what is opportunity Explorer? What would you? How would you describe it?   Yi: Basically, you are able to find out what are the unmet demands of US customers that are buying or searching on Amazon.com and, basically, based on the data that you have, you find new products to introduce and sell on Amazon.com.   Bradley Sutton: All right. Now you say Amazon.com it. I know it's in Amazon.com, that that's the one that I sell and that's where you I use it. How many other marketplaces is it available in outside of Amazon.com?   Yi: They are actually six more. So it's in the five European store, namely United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan, and they are trying to roll out to other European stores in your future as well. So just keep a lookout, yeah.   Bradley Sutton: And pretty much any seller with a professional account can access it without Brad, even without brand registry right.   Yi: Yes, exactly, you just need to have a professional selling plan and you can access, like this, golden data From Amazon.   Bradley Sutton: All right, let's talk about the, the one I didn't know too much, which was the category insights. First of all, where in seller central? Which menu is that? Even in?   Yi: I'm trying to find myself actually under growth, then you can hit over.   Bradley Sutton: I'm gonna share my screen for those watching here on YouTube. So I go to growth.   Yi: Then marketplace product guidance.   Bradley Sutton: Marketplace. There's that mpg. All right, there we go. That's the mpg.   Yi: So, in fact, under mpg itself, there are a couple of tools which I think we can talk about it later on, but category insights is just one of it. So I see right here it's at the very top there's a there's a button looks like I have got 30 of them. Okay.   Bradley Sutton: So this is based on Whatever account I'm in, the kind of things that the categories that I'm in, or the order, or I have access to all you have access to all category on a browse note level.   Yi: So in fact you can see already over there you can choose the marketplace available. So in fact it's available. This insights is available for the US, UK, Germany, Japan store, so you can toggle to the other marketplace to view category based insights as well.   Bradley Sutton: What, what it like? What's the benefit of this? What should I be looking at here?   Yi: Yeah, I mean the benefits over here is, let's say you don't really know what kind of category you want to start selling in. You roughly want to shortlist and See what is the demand for the specific browse note as well. You can use that to do your preliminary research. So I would say product research right. So there are a couple of ways you can get started into it. So firstly, let's say if you roughly know, you know what kind of keyword, what kind of product you roughly want to sell. There's a search bar at the top of the item type, keyword Module. You can actually put in your keyword over there. Alternatively, let's say you are a blank piece of paper. You completely do not know where to start, but you just want to see what is like the hottest category in that particular marketplace. We do have a bar that you can see right over there, so that bar length actually signifies the demand in that particular marketplace. So that's how maybe also.   Bradley Sutton: That means in home and kitchen. Curtain is a very popular product type right now.   Yi: Exactly.   Bradley Sutton: Yes.   Yi: So you can narrow down to curtain and it seems like window curtain panels. It's one of, like, the hottest product under this product type. Yes, that's how you can roughly get an idea of when to start with. Then, of course, you can scroll down all the way to the bottom to see many other selection matrix that help you to determine whether this is something that you want to get into before you do additional research, using opportunity explorer.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah and so this is like you know, this. This kind of popularity index is this. Is this based on what people are searching for, or what people are buying, or just in, you know, a combination of both? Or how should I view this? The this list like scale here.   Yi: Yeah, this is like, I guess it's like a combination. So in fact, actually when you scroll down, it will exactly tell you Roughly what it's like the unit. So what is the net sales for this particular item type, keyword that you have narrowed down Across, like the different window periods that you want to see? So there, can be like seven days, thirty days, ninety days, twelve months, yeah oh, wow, man, window yeah, window yeah.   Bradley Sutton: window curtain panels are flying off the shelves at Amazon, exactly who would have thought that that's.   Yi: Lands views.   Bradley Sutton: Let's see what does it say? It says some of glance views received across these. What it what's a what's a glance view?   Yi: that means who are basically viewing a sins? How many Ascends within this item type keyword are being viewed in the United States? Which ever month that you have filtered by? Yeah?   Bradley Sutton: Interesting. So what I mean, like all I mean, I'm still scrolling here and you know I know peace. A lot of people are just listening. They can't see what I'm seeing on my screen, but we've got here. Search to purchase ratio Return ratio. The reasons for returns yes. Number of new ASINs number 26 million ASINs in this. Oh, that must mean.   Yi: That's why the bar length is extremely long for this particular item.   Bradley Sutton: Wow, yeah, so doesn't mean that it's a longer, it's longer.   Yi: It's something that you want to go into, so, but it's just another consideration for you, yeah.   Bradley Sutton: Okay, yeah, and the FAQ down here it says what is demand. We identified demand Considering 300 demand factors. Obviously we're not going to go into the 300. There's a lot of stuff that is going in here. Um, is there anything else that? Or is there anything here that you think really Kind of like sticks out, like hey, if I'm a seller, this and I'm looking for a new product, this is something that I should be looking at.   Yi: Actually, for me it'll just be like three key things that usually I like to highlight to my sellers. So number one is actually the search to purchase ratio. So they want to see roughly what is the demand like, how many people will convert. Let's say, if I run advertising, what would be the ROI like? So that will give them a gauge right when they do their own calculations. Number two is the return ratio. We know how well the return that exchanges policy Amazon is.   Yi: So this is something that you probably want to factor in when you do your profit and loss analysis at the very start. Maybe it's something that you want to bake in as part of your expenditure, right, because not all returns will Will allow you to get, like a food reimbursement. So usually our advice, seller, to consider that as an expense from the very get. Go for this particular product. Then the other one that I typically like to highlight, actually the features, right.   Yi: If you scroll all the way to the bottom, it shows you a couple of matrixes like price Pattern, color, room type, etc. So it essentially already tells you what are the products typically purchased at like, which price range, and maybe in this case people like to buy solid curtains. There are blue in color and they like to place it in their bedroom. So maybe, when you want to sell window curtain panels, maybe you want to sell specifically Baked room curtain panels and, in fact, within your listing, this is something that you might want to highlight specifically is for bedroom use. So, yeah, this are some of the ways that you can, in a sense, give you a overall or initial understanding of how you should position your products. Yeah, we didn't this category.   Bradley Sutton: Interesting. I'm looking here. There's patterns. I don't even know what it means. Oh, ombré, like what? The heck is a ombré? Do you know what?   Yi: that means Different color, then it's like a bit fader, then okay, you do know what I mean. I don't okay.   Bradley Sutton: There's interesting. I discovered a product type I didn't even realize existed. All right, so this is I think this one is one of the newer kids on the block that not a lot of sellers have been using. So, guys, this is good. If you're selling right now, you want to look into some numbers for your category or you just want to explore some new ideas. Now let's hop into the one that's been around a little bit longer, but it has been seems like it's been constantly updated over the last year or so. A lot of new features, and that's the opportunity explore. So Let me I'm sharing my screen again. It says here I can search by keyword or ASIN. So let's go over a use case. So what use case are you going to give? What pretend situation are you going to give me right now and we can walk people through it?   Yi: Yeah, yeah, In fact right, maybe I can just introduce to you how you can roughly use Opportunity Explorer even without searching for keywords or ASINs. So recently, if you see, the dashboard has been updated where there are many more recommendations within it, such as recently review niche similar niche from the category that you're selling in. So let's say, if you're already an existing seller, they'll recommend you potential products that you can sell. What are the increasing searches? Decreasing searches and many more recommendations. So sometimes, if you completely do not know what to sell, you just want a second opinion. Do check out the dashboard over there.   Bradley Sutton: There's a product that looks pretty cool. I'm seeing right now a book nook reading valet. Never in my life have I seen this product, but it seems to be getting popular. Okay, so, without even clicking anything or typing anything in, you can get some product ideas here. All right, what else?   Yi: exactly. On top of that, I think we can just move on to quickly just showing an example of how we can shortlist or decide how to narrow down on what niche we should sell, because if you have been using Opportunity Explorer for a while now, you'll know that, let's say, when you type in a particular keyword within the search bar, sometimes it'll show you multiple customer needs. Maybe what I can share over here within this podcast is how can you shortlist the customer needs or like the niche shall be offered so that you'll be able to do further research based on that. So mainly is to see how we can narrow down your searches. Okay yeah, maybe for a start we could just key in shower curtain sets in the search bar.   Bradley Sutton: Shower curtain set got it yeah.   Yi: So I think, in general, I would just like to introduce like four different use cases where people can best filter or shortlist products when you arrive at this page over here, depending, of course, depending on your business objective and your goals, what you're trying to achieve out of here, and these four use cases are actually built together with sellers. So I'm sure it will be relevant to some of the people who are viewing this podcast here. Okay, so the first one would be how can you identify, you know, ASINs or, in fact, niche that are high in search volume and has fewer offers from other sellers? So, over here, I would just like to highlight that, if you want to review that filter by the search volume column as well as the top click products, oh, actually, you'll be able to see it within the niche page already. Okay, so you can just filter accordingly into the total the total search volume sorted by that. You can sort by that. Okay, got it, yeah. So, by the way, everybody listening.   Bradley Sutton: If you guys are a bit, if you guys are on your computer, I want everybody to do this, like literally every seller can be doing this together with us. If you're driving your car, riding your bicycle, please don't try and do anything and get in the accident. But if you're in front of your computer, what we did was I went to the seller central menu bar, I hit growth and I hit product opportunity explorer. And now I'm right here in the product opportunity explorer. I entered in shower curtain set where it says search by keyword. And now I'm on the very page and everybody probably, you know, depending on you know, when you're looking at this. It might, you know, look a little different if you're listening to this, like two months later, but it's basically gonna be the same thing as what I'm looking at. And I just hit the under the search volume column. I sorted it by the total search volume over the last three 60 days and now it's in descending order. And now what should I do?   Yi: Yeah. So another thing that we should focus on is also how many top click products are there, right? So you'll be able to know how many selections are available. Is it too crowded or is there still opportunity, right? So usually let's say if you do like keyword search, sometimes they will offer you many results. In this case I think there are about 39. So sometimes you need to click into the second page to view more results. So in this case, sometimes I'll recommend sellers to click the download button at the top right corner so that they will be able to transfer the results into Excel sheet to further shortlist. But in this case maybe we can just take a look at the screen that Bradley have shown, so at one glance you'll be able to see, for instance, we do have like shower curtains, that's like, where the search volume for the past 360 days is like 53 million and the number of top click products available is 61, which is, it seems, decent compared to many other customer needs which are above 100 or 285.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, I see one that's 300 almost, and now again. This means, if I'm not mistaken, the last time I was studying this, I mean actually it did change before this number of top click products meant how many products it takes to get 80% of all the clicks in this niche, but now isn't it like 90% or something like that?   Yi: 90% now. So 90% of the search and purchase products, yeah, Got it Correct.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, and so yeah, that that is a big difference, like a 61 and then two. Down here there's Christmas bathroom decor 3 million search volume only, but 300 top click products that means it's like a wide open, too many going into it. Yeah, yeah.   Yi: Yeah, yeah, okay, and I mean seasonality also plays a fact right, the one that you saw is actually Christmas bathroom decor. It might be because everybody just want to jump on the bandwagon and just sell Christmasy stuff. So, even though the growth is like 2000 plus percent, it may not be something that you want to go into right, especially if you haven't really launched Okay. So that's just two matrix down to highlight. First, let's say, if you would just want to explore, you know, products that have high search volume and have like decent selections available that slice you opportunities to go into. So these two matrix you can look at that.   Yi: Then, another one that I wanted to highlight is actually the search volume growth, which I briefly talk about it earlier, so doesn't mean that you know the growth is 2934%, like you see, for the Christmas bathroom decor is definitely something that you go into. Consider, like the seasonality, is it appropriate for you to go into it right now? Right, of course. At the same time, you need to take a look at the search volume. There are instances whereby maybe the search volume is only 60,000, but then the growth is like 7,000. So even if it grows by 7,000, it doesn't mean much because the search volume is too small. So it's important for you to find like a healthy balance between like the search volume that you want to see, as well as the growth percentage you are looking at to find like 20 products.   Bradley Sutton: Now it says here growth past 180 days. So is that mean it's taking Like what Like just the day search volume compared to 180 days ago, or like this month's compared to six months ago, or what is this percentage representing?   Yi: So this is like past 180 days, like based on, like the day, because we refresh the opportunity dashboard, like on the weekly cadence right, so it's constantly being refreshed.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, and most of these I'm seeing are like kind of seasonal. You know I see Thanksgiving bathroom set and then I see Halloween and Grinch. You know it's kind of like a Christmasy thing. Aha, here's one that's not necessarily gothic. You know I'm in that niche because of my coffin shelf right. Gothic shower curtain that could be a possible. Well, here's something my daughter would love. Hello Kitty bathroom set is growing 27%. Dallas Cowboys I don't know who likes Dallas Cowboys anymore, but our orange shower curtain is getting up. Alright, this is interesting stuff.   Yi: Actually there are another two which I think it's also quite important that I would like to share also. So the third one will actually be looking at the average price of the product that you want to sell, because sometimes you know when you want to sell a particular product, you want to earn a certain amount of margin, right? If the cost of the product is really, let's say, example, $10, including all the different fees, ideally maybe you want to sell something that is maybe in the $30 range, so that you'll be able to earn a healthy margin, so that you'll be able to factor in the promotional discounts that you'll give and advertisement spend that you'll be able to make, right? So in this case, what I recommend you to do is to hit on the filter results button which is on the left-hand side, and you can actually filter the average price to. Maybe you can put $30. Minimum $30.   Bradley Sutton: Okay. Minimum $30, okay, and let's take a look at what's in the box and then submit yes.   Yi: Oh, there's only one.   Bradley Sutton: Only the Dallas Cowboys. People are paying lots of money for this. Yeah, yeah, stick in Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, yeah, yeah, alright, so that can be something that you can filter by.   Yi: If, let's say, you have a target margin that you want to work with, especially if you already got a quotation from, like, your manufacturer, this is something that you can work backwards on to see whether this is feasible for you to get started on. Okay, correct. Then the next one is pretty similar to this, but what it actually tells you would be the annualized niche. That means your annualized opportunity. Sometimes sellers will tell me, for instance, I want to earn $30,000 in a year. I know it's quite little, but for new sellers maybe it's a good stretch. Sometimes they'll tell me I want to sell $30,000 for this particular category, but after we searched on Opportunity Explorer, we found that there's insufficient demand within this category. They want to sell in in order to hit the $30,000. Right, if the average unit. So it's not enough. On average, you won't be able to hit your goal. So you may need to have another strategy. Either you launch multiple selections in order to hit your goal, or you pivot to sell in another category. So how are you able to find out your annualized opportunity? You can do it through filtering the results as well. Maybe you can click on filter results again. Okay, maybe let's set the average price to $15.   Bradley Sutton: Average price $15. All right.   Yi: Then let me calculate, assuming let's say I want to earn $20,000. Okay, just put 1,500 units.   Bradley Sutton: So average unit sold put $15,000, $1,500. Got it and then we've got shower, just regular shower curtain. Customer need of the niche yeah correct.   Yi: So maybe you need to explore selling something within this niche, that something that you'll be able to meet the customers. Later we'll talk about how we innovate products looking at the niche page, but basically this is like the opportunity you need to start with. Let's say, if you want to keep that certain, you need so as well as the price that you want to sell. So you need to work backwards based on your goal.   Bradley Sutton: Cool, all right. So you know like, let's say, I go through a whole bunch of these keywords and I come out with a few or something. You know like whether I'm doing this or I'm doing Helium 10, the next step is usually like a validation. You know like, all right, here's what looks cool. But then I can't just up, it's time to go to Alibaba and source it and like there's some more steps. So how can product opportunity explore help with validating my ideas?   Yi: Correct. So I think maybe you can click into a niche, maybe the shower curtains one, since you're at that page already. So within the niche page itself, you'll find that there are multiple tabs that give you further insights on a particular niche detail that you are at, like product insights, search term insights, trends, and there's something I'm seeing brand new things here.   Bradley Sutton: I've never seen before. Something that I want to purchase drivers and returns. Look at that, correct, correct.   Yi: So, yeah, these are like a few other things you can take note off in order to validate your product and also to see how you can innovate your product. So maybe I can go through like the different tabs quickly to see what are the key matrix that you should take note off. Okay, so the very first one would be like the product steps. So over here you'll be able to see what are like the top purchase product right. Whenever people key in the search term shower curtains, for instance, so over here you'll be able to view basically the similar ASINs. You'll be able to see what they are selling at, who is actually having the most key share and what's useful about this. You'll be able to click into the specific product title in order to find out more information about this popular product Right.   Bradley Sutton: Oh wow, Correct.   Yi: So over here if you scroll all the way down, because, like some of the product matrix available at the top, you'll be able to see it from revenue calculator. But what's useful is, if you look at the bottom, there's this section called the niche. Product appears in, so that means this product is popular, not just in shower curtains, but this few other niche as well. Right, so this is just something for you to take note of. Maybe when you want to sell something similar to this, you can also cross, do kind of like across analysis, across the other similar niche listed over here as well, or maybe take a look at the top search there as well.   Bradley Sutton: And this is kind of like I would imagine like for some people might view this as a good sign that it's in multiple niches. It's not just only getting sales in this shower curtain niche, but it's got one for non-toxic shower curtain liner Green. I mean green bathroom decor. That's a very broad keyword, so interesting Okay.   Yi: Cool yeah. So the other one is actually the customer review insights. That is specific for this ASIN. Previously I've always heard from my seller they're still doing it the manual way. They'll go to like a similar ASIN. They'll comb through manually, like all the customer reviews, but you actually don't have to do it. Everything is all summarized within opportunity explorer, so at one glance you'll be able to know what's good about this product and what's bad. And what's bad about this product is an opportunity for you to innovate your product, to make it even better, and maybe you might even open up like a unique, like market demand for this kind of product that you are offering in the future. For instance, over here I think one of the negative review actually mentioned that the color is not what they wanted. So maybe the photos that you take in the future maybe you have to cross track with real life images to make sure that they match to a certain extent as much as possible, so that customers won't will be more assured of the product they'll be getting. They won't leave negative reviews. Maybe another one would be, for instance, water resistant. They mentioned that this shower curtain is not water resistant at all, which is very strange. I mean shower curtains is supposed to be water resistant, so this is something maybe you need to work on with your manufacturer to ensure that it's indeed water resistant.   Bradley Sutton: This umbrella is not water resistant.   Yi: Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, is that like yeah, yeah, quite funny.   Bradley Sutton: No problem.   Yi: Yes, yes. So these are just some of the things you can take note from here. Then maybe we can go back to the other tabs quickly. Okay, so maybe I can just go through the search term tab, okay, okay, so over here you'll be able to. Again, it gives you different matrix, such as the search volume, growth count, the demand in terms of conversion and click share for all the different search terms. So over here you'll be able to sort, for instance, by the different matrix you want to see. It can be search conversion, because you want to see which search term is giving like much more conversion for like the product that you want to sell shower curtains, buff roof curtains. Sometimes the search term over here can even give you insights on how you can develop your product to make it even better. So, for instance, I see over here, when I filter by search conversion, one of the top search term is actually cloth shower curtain. So I mean it's not water resistant. Maybe because there are people who like cloth shower curtain. So maybe that's why this product is still selling well, even though it's not water resistant. Maybe this is something that you can think of and because, in fact, it's one of the search term that leads to highest search conversion.   Bradley Sutton: Correct me if I'm wrong, but this, like the search volume and conversion, is this basically the same as search query performance, but not the same as brand analytics? Currently right, like brand analytics, I believe, like for top three click might be something different or it has to be something different probably because this is not even a week. You know like this is showing 360 days, right?   Yi: Yeah, yeah, correct. Yeah, yeah, Okay. So the explorers should match with the search query performance.   Bradley Sutton: Search query performance Okay.   Yi: Yeah.   Bradley Sutton: Cool Interesting.   Yi: Yeah.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, these are some pretty low search conversions here, like some of these are 0.05.   Yi: Oh, my God Like nobody Not as great Like 0.05.   Bradley Sutton: That's like one out of every 1000. Yeah it's quite so, something crazy. Yeah, like less than less than yeah. One percent is one out of every 100. One tenth of percent is one. No, that's like one out of every 5000. Oh, my goodness gracious, it's quite bad, basically, the conversion is quite bad.   Yi: It means that it might be quite, you know, competitive, I would say, because there are like a range of selections available, which is why maybe, let's say, if you even want to run advertising, it might be more costly to win the bid, right? So this might be a consideration, maybe it's it might be a little too tough for you to get into, right? It's just a signal for you to know.   Bradley Sutton: All right, guys, we're going to have to cut the episode here because there's just too much good stuff, so make sure to come back. In the next episode we're going to go more into brand analytics, the new customer loyalty dashboard and a whole bunch of things more. We'll see you in the next episode.

We're back this week with one of our most popular episodes of 2023, featuring April Dunford. Product positioning will make or break your startup. Go toe-to-toe with multinational trillion-dollar behemoths and the likelihood of success is minute. Restructure your approach to target a different group and you can one-day “dab [your] tears with the money”. Researched ways on how to develop your product position and still feel stuck? Don't fret! Yaniv and Chris are back this week with a super special guest - April Dunford, author of “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it” and podcast host “Positioning with April Dunford”. Sit back and get ready to take some notes as April, Chris and Yaniv break down product positioning for startup. Along the way she shares the concept of positioning baggage, the three styles of product positioning from her book, why product market fit is not a useful thing for startups - just a vibe created by VC, discuss examples of Salesforce and Snowflake and share snippets from Jack Trout's Positioning the Battle for Your Mind and Peter Thiel's Zero to One. There is so much to learn from this episode we highly recommend listening to it twice! Episode Links Order April's book “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy It, Love it”: https://www.amazon.com.au/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/  Checkout April's website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ Listen to April's podcast “Positioning with April Dunford”: https://www.positioning.show/ Follow April on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/  Follow April on Twitter: @aprildunford The Pact  Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Follow us on YouTube Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following  Key links The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. Go to www.vanta.com/tsp  for 20% off their incredible offer. Follow us on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show  Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/  Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/  Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/  Credits Lovingly handcrafted for the global startup community by: Editor: Justin McArthur Associate Producer: Aidan Cousins Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang  

Do you feel your marketing efforts are not getting you the results you need? Are you frustrated by the lack of customer engagement and differentiation in the market? But what if there's a better way to achieve clear differentiation and increased customer engagement? This week on The Melting Pot, we invited the world's foremost authority on product positioning and author of the book Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch, April Dunford. In this episode, April delves into the significance of effective positioning in marketing and its impact on the success or failure of tactical execution. She shares her journey of learning about positioning and the frustration she faced when existing resources did not provide a clear process for implementation, leading her to develop her own methodology. April emphasises the critical role of positioning in marketing and the need for a clear and effective process to determine and implement positioning strategies. Her insights provide valuable guidance for companies struggling with positioning and developing impactful sales pitches, highlighting the importance of understanding markets, competition, and customer value. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: Mastering the art of positioning for marketing success.Crafting compelling sales pitches that win over clients.Tailoring product value to meet customer needs effectively.Uncovering untapped niche markets through experimentation.Streamlining the process for clear and impactful positioning. Follow April Dunford: WebsiteLinkedInApril's booksBook recommendations: The Challenger SalePositioning The Battle For Your Mind Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

How did Monster Beverage become a $60 BILLION company?They built a brand with POWER.You can ethically KNOCK OFF their strategy to grow your own consumer brand in ANY market for higher sales, higher profits, and more loyal customers.Enjoy today's episode, the 3rd part of a 3-part series from a special presentation I gave at our private mastermind for successful ecommerce entrepreneurs called the Tycoon Tribe (https://www.amazing.com/tycoon) on the 3 Levels of Product Positioning.

What's Costco's secret to becoming a $300 billion company?The late Charlie Munger gave us their “trick” years ago.It's the same trick Black Rifle Coffee used to become a $700M+ coffee company.You can use this strategy to stand out in ANY market, get way more sales, and make huge profits.Enjoy today's episode, the 2nd part of a 3-part series from a special presentation I gave at our private mastermind for successful ecommerce entrepreneurs called the Tycoon Tribe (https://www.amazing.com/tycoon) on the 3 Levels of Product Positioning.

How did we build a $40 million per year business in a HIGHLY commoditized and competitive marketing?PRODUCT POSITIONING.It's the same tool that's been used for hundreds of years to build the biggest, most profitable brands on the planet.Discover the FIRST LEVEL of product positioning in today's episode which is part 1 of a 3-part series from a special presentation I gave at our private mastermind for successful ecommerce entrepreneurs called the Tycoon Tribe (https://www.amazing.com/tycoon).Enjoy!-MattP.S. The book I mentioned in today's episode is “Positioning” by Al Ries and Jack Strout.

Join me as I speak with April Dunford, the world's foremost expert in positioning for technology companies and the author of Obviously Awesome. Together, we explore the fascinating world of positioning and answer key questions like: What's the relationship between positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies? How does it tie into product market fit? And why should you prioritize it before lead generation? We also discuss signals of weak positioning, successful repositioning stories, and tips for early-stage founders. Tune in to learn about the three styles of positioning and way more. Chapters:  (00:00) Intro (02:23) Defining positioning and its relationship with messaging and go-to-market strategies (03:29) The relationship between positioning and product market fit (06:36) April's unconventional path to becoming a positioning expert (10:49) Prioritizing positioning before lead generation (13:32) Signals to watch out for weak positioning (19:47) Repositioning success stories (24:49) Starting with your best customers for great positioning (28:07) Customer discovery and interview tips (35:42) Positioning for early-stage founders (39:46) Positioning for multiple segments of products (43:56) The three styles of positioning (50:54) What comes after positioning: crafting the sales pitch (53:43) Lightning round Guest Contact Info: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.aprildunford.com/⁠⁠ Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com⁠

Have you ever wondered why, despite having amazing products, customers still struggle to understand your company's value?April Dunford, an authority on product positioning, discusses the critical role of positioning in sales and marketing. Known for her first book "Obviously Awesome" and her expertise in positioning, April shares her insights on why companies often struggle with positioning their products. She emphasizes that most companies have positioning, but it's not deliberate, leading to misalignment and missed opportunities. April highlights the transformative power of effective positioning, using an illustrative story from her early career where repositioning a product from enterprise CRM to CRM for investment banks led to significant business growth and acquisition by a major player.The episode underscores the common disconnect between how companies perceive their products and how customers understand them. April points out the importance of involving sales teams in positioning discussions, as they have direct insights into customer perceptions and competitors. And describes in her second book, Sales Pitch, how to translate the marketing work done for positioning into sales speak. April advises CEOs to routinely reassess their company's positioning, even if it seems satisfactory, to ensure alignment with market realities. She stresses the need for a cross-functional team approach to redefine positioning involving sales, marketing, and product teams. The episode serves as a crucial reminder for CEOs and sales leaders of the importance of clear and strategic positioning in today's competitive market. April Dunford's insights offer valuable guidance on how to approach this process thoughtfully and effectively to drive business growth and customer satisfaction.This podcast is a must listen and her books are both must reads. Chapters05:26 Lack of methodology and squishiness surrounding positioning in marketing0:09:02 Naming of April Dunford's books: "Obviously Awesome" and "Sales Pitch"11:12 Importance of aligning positioning with customer perception14:01 Components of positioning: competition, differentiation, value, customer, market19:07 Example of a company positioned as Enterprise CRM but found success in investment banking22:36 Shifting positioning to target specific industries led to success25:51 Understanding the buyer's perspective and guiding them through the buying process31:20 Buyers are overwhelmed with information and struggle to make decisions33:56 Poor positioning and difficult buying process on websites.39:07 Cross functional team approach to positioning.42:45 Leveraging product knowledge to identify unique value propositions.44:59 Characteristics of a Best Fit customer and market categories46:13 Mapping positioning to a sales narrative for effective storytellingSocial Links You can learn more about and connect with April Dunford in the links below.Connect with April on LinkedIn:(99+) April Dunford | LinkedInCheck out April's website:April Dunford - Positioning for B2B Tech CompaniesCheck out April's Podcast:Positioning With April DunfordCheck out April's NewsletterPositioning with April Dunford | SubstackYou can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedIn:(99+) Alice Heiman | LinkedInCheck out Alice's website:Alice Heiman - Alice HeimanAbout GuestI spent the first 25 years of my career as a startup executive, running marketing, product, and sales teams. I led teams at seven successful B2B technology startups. Most of those startups were acquired (DataMirror to IBM, Janna Systems to Siebel Systems, then SAP, Watcom to Sybase via Powersoft, to name a few), and I ran big teams at IBM, Siebel, Sybase, and others. The total of those acquisitions is more than two billion dollars. Across that journey, I positioned, re-positioned, and launched 16 products, and created dozens of sales pitches.I have a deep curiosity about what makes the difference between a winning product and a loser. Developing a systematic way of positioning technology products and companies has become my life's work. As a consultant, I have had the privilege of working with more than 200 companies, allowing me to go even deeper and broaden my positioning expertise. The bulk of my work is with growth-stage startups and larger technology companies. Companies where the stakes are high - and weak positioning can mean the difference between success or failure.My first book, Obviously Awesome - How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it (aprildunford.com), captures my ideas about positioning and a methodology for doing it that any startup can follow. It's become a best-seller and popular among entrepreneurs, product, and marketing folk. My second book, Sales Pitch, was designed to teach a step-by-step way of building a sales pitch that reflects that positioning, and helps make a clear compelling case for why prospects should pick you over the competition.I studied Engineering at the University of Waterloo. If you had told me back then that someday I would be an author, I would have said you were nuts. It turns out my grade 6 English teacher was wrong about the importance of grammar. I'm at the stage of my career where I'm trying to give back as much as I can. I am a mentor and advisor to dozens of startups and folks that work in them. I am also an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. I live in Toronto, Canada. I have kids, a small dog, and a cabin in the woods.

This episode is for all of my Product Marketing friends

Join us today as we explore the intriguing universe of product marketing with expert Jacob Schulman. We'll unveil the strategic role of a product marketing manager, dispel myths, and unveil the skills that will help you enter this rapidly growing field. Your product marketing future awaits!Get the FREE Product Book and check out our curated list of Product Management resources here.

What is product positioning? Simply put, product positioning is deciding how you want the market to think and feel about your product and articulating that in your marketing and messaging.  Essentially, potential customers will think and feel about your product what you tell them to think and feel. Tune in to hear how this might affect your business and why you should re-evaluate your product positioning each season throughout the year.   _______   Full Episode Show Notes http://ecommercebadassery.com/247   _______   Let's Connect Website: http://ecommercebadassery.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecommercebadassery Membership: http://ecommercebadassery.com/membership   _______   Rate, Review, & Subscribe Like what you heard? I'd be forever grateful if you'd rate, review and subscribe to the show! Not only does it help your fellow eCommerce entrepreneurs find the eCommerce Badassery podcast; but it's also valuable feedback for me to continue bringing you the content you want to hear.    Review Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ecommerce-badassery/id1507457683     This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:  Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy  

If you're a soulful coach who has yet to sell your offer 2-3 times, you'll want to tune into this episode where I share how to position your offer so it sells with just a single email.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING TO TODAY'S EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:Why is just making sure your offer has a clear promise and way of achieving it isn't enough in a saturated market.The most critical ingredient to creating a compelling offer that sells with a single email, especially if you're in a saturated market.Why your offers aren't selling even though you have all the components of an irresistible offer.If this episode inspires you somehow, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and let us know your biggest takeaway– whether it's created those aha moments or given you food for thought on achieving greater success.And while you're here, follow us on Instagram @creativelyowned for more daily inspiration on effortlessly attracting the most aligned clients without spending hours marketing your business or chasing clients. Also, make sure to tag me in your stories @creativelyowned.Selling the Invisible: Exactly how to articulate the value of your cosmic genius even if your message transcends the typical “10k months” & “Make 6-figures” types of promises. Free on-demand training >>> https://www.creativelyowned.co/watchnowTo find out how to own your unique edge, amplify who you truly are (& get paid for it), take your business to cosmic proportions, and have fun doing it, grab it here!!https://www.creativelyowned.com/quiz

About Arjun Ranga: Globally, incense is the silent bridge that connects humans to the divine. And naturally, no Indian wants to compromise when it comes to their hopes and prayers. This episode of The One Percent Project is an intriguing exploration of the incense business and its essence in Indian culture with a remarkable guest, Arjun Ranga, the CEO of Cycle Pure Agarbathis, a part of the NR Group.  In this insightful conversation, Arjun delves into the fascinating journey of Cycle Agarbathis, the world's largest incense manufacturer, and its transformation into the world's first certified zero-carbon manufacturer of incense, prayer, and air care products. Arjun also shares his journey as the CEO, drawing inspiration from his grandfather and NR Group's founder, Shri N. Ranga Rao. He sheds light on the deep-rooted significance of prayer in Indian culture and the sentiments attached to it, his marketing strategies through the years, his vision for the company and much more.  Joining him in this conversation is Sarthak Ahuja, a seasoned Chartered Accountant with expertise in startup advisory and investment banking and a LinkedIn top voice who brings a wealth of intriguing insights to the discussion. Join us in this fascinating episode to explore the dynamic intersection of business, culture, and sustainability. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to it and sign up for The One Percent Project's "Think" newsletter at onepercent.live for curated content that adds value to your professional and personal development. Key Take Aways & Transcript: https://bit.ly/TOP_ArjunRanga Follow & Subscribe: WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/TOP_WA2 YouTube: https://bit.ly/TOP_Youtube LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/TOP_LinkedIn Twitter: https://bit.ly/TOP_Twitter1 Instagram: https://bit.ly/TOP_Insta In this conversation, he talks about: 00:00⁠⁠⁠ Intro 02:28 History of the incense industry 03:44 Journey of building Cycle Pure Agarbathi 09:54 How can you innovate and stay relevant in a highly commoditised industry? 12:20 Product Positioning 14:42 Key customer retention metrics in the incense industry 17:02 Customer segmentation for a diverse Indian market 20:32 Premium positioning of incense: Who is the target audience for premium incense products? 23:50 Why is vanilla the most used fragrance in premium stores and bakeries worldwide? 24:36 Why are the Gulf, Europe and Africa the largest markets for incense? 25:42 Value chain & Unit economics of making an Agarbathi. 27:09 Actual product differentiation Vs product marketing and branding 27:55 His journey of becoming the CEO. 31:43 The growth and impact of D2C. 34:50 Cyle's association with cricket 37:45 Cycle's next decade 39:42 The disruption AI would bring to the industry

Want to get more coaching clients? In this episode of The Shoney Show we talk about a simple strategy to reposition your product - without changing it - to sell 6-10x more coaching…   Want to work closely with us to grow your coaching business to 6-7+ figures? Discover The Private Coaching now:   https://www.neilshoney.com/privatecoaching

Today I dive into what to do with your positioning once you've nailed it. I cover: • How to capture positioning • How positioning makes its way into messaging • Why you should create a messaging document and what ends up happening if you don't • What the market needs in order to understand our differentiated value • How to go from positioning to branding • How to take boilerplate messaging and apply it globally — If you want to skip ahead: (00:00) How to put your new positioning to use (01:00) A quick recap of building and testing your positioning (02:48) The messaging document (05:00) Messaging drift (06:13) The contents of the messaging document (07:24) Who should own the messaging document (08:03) How changes should be approached (12:38) Helping customers understand your POV (15:08) LevelJump's calculator example (17:27) Postman example (19:50) How to go from positioning to branding (24:10) How to take boilerplate messaging and apply it globally (27:34) Proof of value and the importance of local proof (28:46) An example where core positioning varied regionally (30:11) Thanks for listening — Where To Find April Dunford: Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/ Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford — Referenced: • LevelJump: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/leveljump • Postman: https://www.postman.com/ — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/

When you think of marketing strategy, most people immediately refer to the Four P's of Marketing – Product, Price, Promotion and Place. And while that's a good starting place in theory, the reality of marketing - particularly in a small business or a start-up - is that you need a more action-oriented framework.On this episode of The Marketing Mix, I discuss a broader model known as PADE, which looks at the four pillars of marketing – Position, Awareness, Demand, and Enablement. By digging in to each of these areas, you can build a sound marketing plan, purposefully based around standard tactics.I talk about the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and buyer personas; why awareness is important (but tough to measure); the value of building a demand process, not just a set of tactics; and what you're missing out on if you don't pay attention to sales enablement.The PADE model is a solid framework for a Marketing Audit; it's easy to explain to non-marketers; and it's a useful communication tool as you roll out your plan across the broader organization.And since I didn't interview anyone on this episode (and so didn't ask for a favorite drink), below the resources, I've included  a nice summer cocktail recipe that I tried this weekend. Enjoy!ResourcesThe Four Pillars of Marketing (Steve's Linkedin article)Guide to Product Positioning by QualtricsBrand Awareness for B2B by Brew InteractiveHow to Create an ICP by Cognism5 Essential Steps in Demand Generation by GartnerGuide to Sales Enablement by Product Marketing AllianceThe Frenchie, from Shake: a new perspective on cocktails7.5oz of Rose Wine3 oz Cointreau1 cube of cane sugarFresh berriesMuddle the berries and sugar cube in a shaker. Add the wine, liquor and ice. Shake for 3 secondsStrain into a glass on the rocksTime Stamps:0:45 | Introduction to marketing models and their importance2:00 | Introduction to the PADE model2:45 | Explanation of the first pillar: Positioning4:40 | Importance of understanding ideal customer profile and buyer personas8:00 | Explanation of the second pillar: Awareness10:00 | Examples of awareness tactics and their impact11:30 | Explanation of the third pillar: Demand Generation13:00 | Importance of managing the lead process13:30 | Explanation of the fourth pillar: Sales Enablement15:20 | Overview of how the PADE model is used in practice

Product positioning will make or break your startup. Go toe-to-toe with multinational trillion-dollar behemoths and the likelihood of success is minute. Restructure your approach to target a different group and you could one-day be the industry-leader yourselves. Researched ways on how to develop your product position and still feel stuck? Don't fret! Yaniv and Chris are back this week with a super special guest - April Dunford, author of “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it” and podcast host “Positioning with April Dunford”. Sit back and get ready to take some notes as April, Chris and Yaniv break down product positioning for startup. Along the way she shares the concept of positioning baggage, the three styles of product positioning from her book, why product market fit is not a useful thing for startups - just a vibe created by VC, discuss examples of Salesforce and Snowflake and share snippets from Jack Trout's Positioning the Battle for Your Mind and Peter Thiel's Zero to One. There is so much to learn from this episode we highly recommend listening to it twice! Episode Links Order April's book “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy It, Love it”: https://www.amazon.com.au/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/  Checkout April's website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ Listen to April's podcast “Positioning with April Dunford”: https://www.positioning.show/ Follow April on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/  Follow April on Twitter: @aprildunford The Pact  Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Follow us on YouTube Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following  Key links The Startup Podcast is sponsored by UntilNow, a next-generation agency and venture studio https://www.untilnow.com.au/  Follow us on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show  Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/  Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/  Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

In this episode of The SaaS Sprints Podcast, April Dunford joins us to discuss positioning. She shares how a SaaS company can express their positioning through their content, sales pitches, and more. She also throws light on when and how frequently should an organization test and adjust their positioning. If you're a founder, marketer or a sales person in the world of SaaS, this episode is for you! 

Today's episode is absolutely loaded with information. I cover the challenge of positioning for a single-product company compared to a multi-product company and share two specific examples on the topic. I also discuss how to handle positioning for segments, what happens when you have multiple segments to target, and the importance of your positioning resonating with your target champion. — In This Episode, I Cover: (00:00) Positioning a single-product company vs a multi-product company (02:37) An example from IBM's positioning (08:00) An example of Salesforce's positioning (11:22) How to handle positioning for segments (15:59) What happens when you have multiple segments? (19:02) How to position for various personas (24:34) The most important thing to do when doing persona positioning (26:18) Thanks for listening — Where To Find Me: Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/ Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/

 April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods. Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer. “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford This week on Innovation Talks: ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches  Connect with April Dunford: ●     April Dunford's Website●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford●     April Dunford on LinkedIn●     April Dunford on Twitter This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you. For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here. 

On this episode, we cover a random flight of topics like how social pressure is used in persuasion, plus an old-school product tool and a 4-hour commercial that got 18 million views in 90 days. 

Join me as I speak with April Dunford, the world's foremost expert in positioning for technology companies and the author of Obviously Awesome. Together, we explore the fascinating world of positioning and answer key questions like: What's the relationship between positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies? How does it tie into product market fit? And why should you prioritize it before lead generation? We also discuss signals of weak positioning, successful repositioning stories, and tips for early-stage founders. Tune in to learn about the three styles of positioning and way more. Chapters:  (00:00) Intro (02:23) Defining positioning and its relationship with messaging and go-to-market strategies (03:29) The relationship between positioning and product market fit (06:36) April's unconventional path to becoming a positioning expert (10:49) Prioritizing positioning before lead generation (13:32) Signals to watch out for weak positioning (19:47) Repositioning success stories (24:49) Starting with your best customers for great positioning (28:07) Customer discovery and interview tips (35:42) Positioning for early-stage founders (39:46) Positioning for multiple segments of products (43:56) The three styles of positioning (50:54) What comes after positioning: crafting the sales pitch (53:43) Lightning round Guest Contact Info: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/⁠ ⁠https://www.aprildunford.com/⁠ Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com⁠

April Dunford is talking too loud about injecting more storytelling into B2B sales pitches so that new prospects better understand the context around and value of any given product. Links to learn more about April:April's LinkedInFollow us:twitter.com/wistiaSubscribe:wistia.com/series/talking-too-loudLove what you heard? Leave us a review!We want to hear from you!Write in and let us know what you think about the show, who you'd want us to interview on future episodes, and any feedback you have for our team.

Have you ever looked around your Insta-verse and thought to yourself:   UGH. There are SO many other amazing businesses like mine out there. How the heck do I stand out and shine?   More brands and businesses are emerging in every niche than ever before, but you DON'T have to stress about getting swallowed up in the noise.   If you're built on purpose, focused on YOUR people, and positioned brilliantly, there's no door that'll stay closed for you, CEO.   Today we're sitting down with Sam Denis, founder and CEO of the beauty brand Allyoos (pronounced “all you's.”) Sam is a former hairstylist turned product developer and clean beauty brand founder whose hair tips have been featured in InStyle, mindbodygreen, Bustle, and BuzzFeed. With a repeat customer rate of over 45%, she's helping women bring out the best in their natural hair, one fun concept at a time.   In this episode, you'll learn: How Sam leveraged her experience as a beauty biz insider to fill a massive gap in the hair market How she brilliantly positioned her product to get Allyoos stocked in Bloomingdale's and other major retailers How to scale up your brand without losing touch with your top customers and clients who built your business How she's handling the risk of copycat products How to differentiate and “make it” as a small brand with a powerful message   You need this episode if: You want to learn how to win as a small brand in a big market You want to position your products and services to turn heads in your niche You're struggling to understand how you can scale up without losing touch with your best customers, clients, students, and members  You'd love to bring a brand new product to market, but don't want to make costly mistakes You're feeling the pressure from the big players in your industry to grow, grow, grow - and you'd love to learn from a branding genius with only 2 products in her suite   Sam has an exclusive invitation for listeners of Aligned Success!   DM Sam the word “HAIRTALK” on Instagram @allyoos to unlock a code for 25% off at allyoos.com.   You'll also receive a FREE 30 min 1:1 consultation to audit your shower and learn which clean hair products you should swap out to solve your top 3 hair woes and leave you loving and embracing your natural hair in 6 weeks or less. Basically, the best hair consult ever!   DM Sam “HAIRTALK” @allyoos for the code and link to sign up for your 1:1 hair consult!   Connect with Sam and Allyoos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyoos/   Visit the Allyoos website: https://www.allyoos.com

Today, we're excited to get to know Sarah Jacobson, CEO and Co-Founder of FairStreet, the new startup Medicare agency that helps independent agents grow faster. Founded in 2021, Fairstreet empowers the 55 million Americans 65 and older to make confident and well-informed health insurance choices, starting with Medicare enrollment. They're building the platform used by top independent insurance agents to help older adults navigate the complex world of Medicare. Fairstreet most recently raised a Seed Round led by Fika Ventures along with Pear and 645 Ventures. We're proud to be pre-seed investors in FairStreet! FairStreet was founded by Sarah Jacobson and Tori Seidensteen after meeting at Stanford Business School. Tori was a software engineer on Facebook's health team, growing from 0 to 50 million users in two years. Sarah was previously a product manager at Square and Stride Health, a health insurance marketplace. In this episode, Sarah shares wise insights on user and hypothesis driven prototyping and creating fast iteration cycles, as well as founder motivation strategies such as building structure to create a sense of progress in the 0 to 1 stage.

Be sure to subscribe to the Dog Whistle Brand Newsletter on Substack here: www.dogwhistlebranding.comOrder my book, “Black Veteran Entrepreneur” here: https://amzn.to/3gme7kgCheckout April's book here: https://amzn.to/3x4sJd4

On this episode of the pod, Vasa joins Blaine & Ramon to talk about how brand building and product positioning. They also cover topics including creative direction, the role of content in growth initiatives, how to nail a creative brief, how to design content for different parts of the marketing funnel, learnings from working with some of the top brands in CPG, and much more. 5:05It started with content creation and the why behind content creation. I like to say, content within context, something along those lines. You can't just post pictures of your product. It's gotta balance information and entertainment and a bunch of other things. And there has to be a goal behind it. And it's not just like a shot in the dark, let's go viral type thing, which a lot of founders kind of think can happen, especially that don't have the, um, experience in CPG or in marketing in general.10:30But I think where people fail is in the creative creative brief process. So part of a creative brief is where is it going, the exhibition of it. But they don't really like chime into what problem are we solving, what's the goal? And most importantly, what part of the funnel are we in? So from a creative perspective, if you're running certain ads, top funnel, middle funnel and bottom funnel, you're saying different things. The top funnel might be a, this is why we exist, here's some cool things about our product, this is a problem we solve. You might be saying different things down further in the funnel.15:00 I speak always in the lens of food and beverage and for me the foundational element of creativity is how do you set up your positioning statement To me that is the Rosetta Stone of any brand. And there is a positive correlation between brands that know that like the back of their hand and how well they do and the brands that are figuring it. Like everyone's figuring it out. I figured it out for a period of time for Perfy, but the faster you can get to that, there it is, the better chance of success that you have. This episode is brought to you by OpenStore: Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you. Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter hereFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokVasa Martinez - Founder & CEO of PerfyRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Seated

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a talk on Product Positioning by April Dunford, Founder of Ambient Strategy and Author of Obviously Awesome from Traction Conference 2019.    Positioning has an impact across all key product decisions, from roadmap to pricing. Buyers need context to understand new innovative offerings. Businesses that figure out how to set that context have a distinct advantage over those that don't.   April provides a methodology for picking the right positioning strategy and shares examples from companies that repositioned their products or companies to unlock hyper-growth.   More specifically, April covers:   0:44 - One of the most misunderstood concepts in product marketing 3:47 - Why positioning is still important 7:02 - The effects of positioning your product in a certain market category 12:09 - The biggest problem around positioning and how to fix it 20:03 - Competitive comparables 26:21 - A small change in branding that made a big difference   Learn more at https://tractionconf.io   Connect with April Dunford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Get April's book Obviously Awesome at  https://www.aprildunford.com/obviously-awesome   This episode is brought to you by:   Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don't get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.   Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca    Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at  https://contentallies.com  

CoSchedule started the Actionable Marketing Podcast (AMP) in 2015 and has recorded and published more than 300 episodes. CoSchedule has worked with some of the smartest minds out there that share their stories with you through this podcast. This season, CoSchedule brings back some of the best of the best evergreen content.  The success of your company depends on the marketing you do, how you choose to present the benefits of a product or service, and which audience to target. How you position a product or service can make or break your company. Stop right there. Forget everything you thought you knew about product positioning. Connecting your product or service with buyers is not a matter of following trends, selling harder, or trying to attract the widest customer base. Today, my guest is April Dunford, who has launched more than a dozen products and shares some of the biggest mistakes that startups, marketers, and entrepreneurs make with product positioning. Also, she's the author of Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It. April's book describes her point of view on positioning and offers a step-by-step process to perfectly position your product or service.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Career Change: Fake it til you figure it out. How hard can it be? Do it right, and the company grows quickly, gets acquired; you get bored and do another startup Definition of Positioning: How to win at doing something that a well-defined market cares about Perfect marketing execution won't save you from weak positioning; marketing execution and results are only as good as positioning that feeds into them Who should decide the positioning for your product? Everybody Siebel Story: Too small to buy out beyond a billion dollars Positioning Pitfalls: People don't do positioning deliberately; and when they try to fix it, they don't follow a process but wing it or write a “Positioning Statement” Positioning Statement Components: Who's your competitive alternatives? What are the unique capabilities or features that your product has? What's the value that those features can enable for customers? Who's my target customer? Is this a market that I'm going to win? Signs of weak positioning include: How a customer reacts to your product/service They compare you to a non-competitor; not in the right market Customer knows what you do, but not the value or why they should care   Links: April Dunford Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It CoSchedule   Quotes by April Dunford: “Not only is positioning a thing I should figure out, it's potentially a super powerful thing.” “Two years after graduating from engineering, I'm running this great big marketing team. It's global. I've got this giant budget...even though I was completely unqualified for it.” “I focus on positioning, mainly because I think people do a really terrible job at positioning. There's not many people that know how to do it right.” “A shift in positioning can totally result in a shift in the product roadmap, a shift in your pricing, a shift in a way you sell, a shift in your channels.” "You see signs of weak positioning across your entire sales marketing funnel, but often the place where it's most obvious is looking at how a customer reacts when they first encounter your product or your offering."