How to apply April Dunford’s positioning framework to digital transformation & tech consultancies.
April Dunford’s B2B positioning framework isn’t just useful for product companies.
It’s incredibly powerful for digital transformation and technology consultancies – arguably more so, because most consultancies are positioned painfully generically.
“Experts in digital transformation.”
“Technology-led, business-first.”
“End-to-end delivery.”
Sound familiar?
That’s not positioning. That’s table stakes.
Positioning for B2B consultancies is about making very deliberate choices so the right buyers instantly understand:
- what type of work you actually do
- who you are best suited to help
- what makes your approach meaningfully different
- and why choosing you reduces risk for them
In this article, I’ll walk through April Dunford’s 5-step positioning process, applied specifically to digital transformation and technology consultancies, with practical prompts and a worked example you can follow.
The 5-step framework (quick refresher)
- Competitive alternatives (what else buyers would do)
- Unique attributes (your distinctive delivery capabilities)
- Value (what those attributes enable, commercially and emotionally)
- Ideal customer profile (the clients you are genuinely best for)
- Market category (the context buyers use to understand you)
Getting the order right matters even more for consultancies, because skipping steps usually results in sounding like every other firm.
Step 1: Identify your real competitive alternatives
For consultancies, this is where most positioning exercises go wrong.
Your competitors are not just other consultancies “like you”. They also include:
- internal teams
- incumbents already on the account
- large SIs
- delaying or doing nothing
Common consultancy mistakes at this stage
Listing only similar-sized consultancies
Ignoring internal delivery teams as alternatives
Forgetting that many buyers default to incumbents due to political safety
Tech consultancy example
Let’s say we’re working with a digital transformation consultancy specialising in regulated industries.
Typical (wrong) answer:
“Our competitors are other digital consultancies.”
More accurate competitive alternatives:
- Internal transformation teams
- Big SIs with existing framework agreements
- Niche compliance specialists
- Incremental optimisation rather than full transformation
- Doing nothing due to risk aversion or budget pressure
Why this matters:
Your positioning must explain why choosing you is a sensible alternative, not just why you’re better in abstract terms.
Step 2: Identify your unique attributes that clients actually care about
This is not your service list.
It’s the things about how you work that are genuinely distinctive and experienced by the client.
A practical filter for consultancies
If a prospect says:
“Every consultancy says that.”
…it’s not a positioning attribute.
Tech consultancy example (continued)
Instead of:
- “Deep expertise”
- “Client-centric”
- “Agile delivery”
We land on:
- Proven delivery in heavily regulated environments
- Teams that combine technical delivery with regulatory fluency
- Fixed-scope transformation phases that reduce commercial risk
- Senior practitioners embedded, not just oversight partners
These are delivery-level differentiators, not marketing claims.
Step 3: Translate attributes into value (especially risk reduction)
Consultancy buyers are buying confidence, not just capability.
So value isn’t only operational – it’s also political and emotional.
A simple translation still applies:
Attribute -> Functional value -> Business value -> Emotive value
Tech consultancy example (continued)
| Attribute | Functional value | Business value | Emotive value |
| Regulated environment experience | Fewer compliance blind spots | Reduced regulatory risk | Peace of mind |
| Fixed-scope delivery phases | Predictable timelines | Budget and delivery certainty | Less personal exposure and risk |
| Embedded senior delivery | Faster decision-making | Higher success rates | Confidence in leadership and ability to ‘let go’ |
This is where consultancies differentiate properly – by addressing unspoken fears.
Step 4: Define who this is actually for (and who it isn’t)
Generic ICPs kill consultancy positioning.
Instead of:
- “Mid-market to enterprise organisations”
Be ruthless and specific.
Tech consultancy ICP prompts
- Industry and regulatory complexity
- Transformation maturity
- Internal capability gaps
- Political risk profile
- Appetite for change
Tech consultancy example ICP
- Regulated organisations (financial services, healthcare, critical infrastructure)
- Complex legacy environments
- Board-level visibility on transformation outcomes
- Low tolerance for delivery failure
- Buyers who prioritise risk reduction over speed-at-all-costs
Exclusion here is a strength, not a weakness.
Step 5: Choose the right market category to sit in
Many consultancies try to invent categories to sound innovative.
That usually backfires.
Market category is about context, not creativity.
Two key tech consultancy rules…
- Buyers need to quickly understand what type of partner you are
- Overly broad categories (“digital transformation”) work against differentiation
Tech consultancy example
Instead of:
- “End-to-end digital transformation consultancy for financial services and critical organisations”
You might anchor to:
- “Digital enablement partner for regulated industries”
- “Technology modernisation partner for compliance-driven organisations”
Familiar first. Differentiated second.
Pulling it all together
When consultancy positioning is done properly:
- Proposals become clearer and shorter
- Sales conversations shift from “what do you do?” to “how do you work?”
- You compete less on price and more on fit
- Buyers self-select earlier
Positioning for consultancies isn’t about sounding bigger, broader or more impressive. It’s about making deliberate choices so the right clients quickly understand what type of partner you are, when you’re the right fit, and why choosing you is the safest and smartest option for their specific context. Get the positioning right, and everything improves – from lead quality and proposal win rates to margins, momentum and long-term client relationships.