How to apply April Dunford’s positioning framework to B2B SaaS positioning.
April Dunford’s positioning framework is one of the most useful models in B2B marketing and has been successfully used by hundreds of growing B2B technology companies. It can be totally transformational for B2B SaaS companies looking to position their brand in a distinctive, buyer-centric way.
Too often, B2B SaaS companies treat positioning as:
- a messaging exercise
- a copywriting sprint
- or a “let’s rewrite the homepage” project
It isn’t.
Positioning is about making deliberate choices so the right buyer immediately understands:
- what your product is
- who it’s for
- why it exists (intentional and inevitable)
- and why it’s better for them specifically
In this article, I’ll walk through April Dunford’s 5-step positioning process and show exactly how to apply it in a B2B SaaS context, with practical prompts and a worked example that you can follow along with.
The 5-step framework (quick refresher)
- Competitive alternatives (what/who else)
- Unique attributes (your distinctive capabilities and features)
- Value (what those attributes enable)
- Ideal customer profile (perfect customer)
- Market category (the context and dynamics you compete in)
We’ll go through these in the right order, because skipping steps is where B2B SaaS positioning usually falls apart.
Step 1: Identify your real competitive alternatives
This is not “who we’d like to beat”.
It’s what customers would actually do if you didn’t exist.
Common B2B SaaS mistakes at this stage
- Listing only direct competitors
- Ignoring spreadsheets, internal tools or “do nothing”
- Assuming buyers start with a category already defined
B2B SaaS example
Let’s say we’re working with a B2B SaaS platform for revenue forecasting aimed at finance teams.
Typical (wrong) answer:
“Our competitors are Company A, Company B and Company C.”
More accurate answer:
- Excel and Google Sheets
- Finance and IT teams building their own models internally
- BI tools not designed for forecasting
- ERP add-ons
- Doing quarterly forecasts instead of rolling forecasts
- Something like Zapier that allows for integration between finance systems and reporting tools
Why this matters:
Positioning only makes sense relative to what you replace, not what you admire. Your reason for existing and the inherent value that comes from you being an alternative option for buyers to consider.
Step 2: Identify your unique attributes that customers actually care about
This is not your feature list.
It’s the capabilities that genuinely differentiate you, as experienced by the customer.
Practical filter for SaaS teams
If a competitor can:
- copy it in 6 months, or
- already has a similar checkbox
…it’s probably not a positioning attribute.
B2B SaaS example (continued)
Instead of:
- “AI-powered”
- “Real-time dashboards”
- “Easy to use”
We land on:
- Forecasts update automatically when CRM or ERP data changes
- Scenario modelling without spreadsheet rewrites
- Built specifically for finance teams, not sales ops
- Deploys in weeks without IT-heavy implementation
Notice how these are capability-level, not marketing fluff.
Step 3: Translate attributes into value (this is where most B2B SaaS messaging fails)
Attributes don’t persuade. Outcomes do.
This step answers:
“So what does that mean for the buyer?”
A simple B2B SaaS value translation formula is:
Attribute -> Functional value -> Business value -> Emotive value
B2B SaaS example (continued)
| Attribute | Functional value | Business value | Emotive value |
| Auto-updating forecasts | Finance always works with current data | Fewer forecast errors at board level | Less embarrassment and less likely to lose job |
| Scenario modelling | Test assumptions quickly | Better strategic decisions under uncertainty | More confidence |
| Built for finance, not ops | Less training and rework | Faster adoption across the team | No painful adoption phase or disruption |
This is where your commercial story starts to take shape, and where you can start to overlay emotion.
Step 4: Define who this is actually for (your real ICP)
Good B2B SaaS positioning excludes as much as it includes.
Instead of:
“Mid-market to enterprise companies”
Push for:
- job role
- maturity level
- pain intensity
- internal environment
- Mindset
B2B SaaS example ICP
- 100-1,000 employee B2B companies
- Dedicated finance team (not founder-led finance)
- Constant reforecasting due to growth or market volatility
- CFO frustrated with spreadsheet risk and board pressure
- Looking to scale-up fast and need reliable data for quicker strategic decisions
This level of clarity makes every marketing and sales decision easier.
Step 5: Choose the right market category
Market category is not branding.
It’s the mental shortcut buyers use to understand you.
Two key SaaS rules here
If buyers don’t recognise the category, you’ll have to educate before you can sell.
The category should work in your favour, not against you.
B2B SaaS example
Instead of inventing:
“AI-driven predictive finance enablement platform”
You might anchor to:
“Revenue forecasting software for finance teams”
or “Financial planning & analysis (FP&A) software – without spreadsheets”
Clear first. Clever later.
You can be instantly recogniseable and then blow them out the water with your differentiated capabilities. Anchoring in familiarity and then exciting with uniqueness.
Pulling it all together (what changes in the real world)
When B2B SaaS positioning is done properly:
- Your homepage gets simpler, not longer
- Sales decks get shorter
- Objections become more predictable
- You stop competing on generic feature comparisons
- Buyers instantly ‘get you’
Most importantly, the right prospects recognise themselves in your messaging immediately.
Positioning isn’t about finding clever words or inventing a new category for the sake of it. For B2B SaaS, it’s about making deliberate, evidence‑based choices so the right buyers immediately understand what your offering is, why it matters to them, and why it’s better than the alternatives they’re already using. Get that right, and your messaging, sales conversations and growth strategy all get a lot easier.