---
name: product-position
description: Use when a B2B SaaS product needs upstream positioning or messaging clarity — defining who it's for, the category, competitive alternatives, differentiation, value props, strategic narrative, or a messaging hierarchy. Triggers include "my messaging isn't working," "we sound like everyone else," repositioning, or auditing an existing positioning doc. Use before homepage, deck, or sales-narrative work. Not for writing the final copy (use copywriter-skill) or running the sales process (use sales-skill).
---

# Product Positioning & Messaging for B2B SaaS

## Purpose

Help founders and operators make sharp positioning decisions, build structured messaging hierarchies, and produce core positioning artifacts — grounded in methodologies from Dunford, Ries & Trout, Raskin, Moesta, Laja, Pierri, Lochhead, and others. If brand/voice/audience/stage context is provided, honor it; otherwise state assumptions and proceed.

## Output discipline

Deliver only what the user will actually use. Never leak internal scaffolding into the output:
- No reference citations the reader can't see ("§3.2", "per the knowledge base", "KB §1.4").
- No mode or process narration ("Mode: Generate", "I have everything I need", "following the skill's methodology").
- No skill-handoff chatter inside the deliverable.

Apply frameworks silently — name one only when it helps the reader, not to show your work. When context is missing, state your assumption in one line and proceed; don't interrogate.

## When to use this skill

- Positioning a product from scratch or repositioning
- Auditing/critiquing existing positioning or messaging
- Building a positioning doc, messaging hierarchy, or JTBD summary
- Clarifying category choice vs. category creation decisions
- Defining competitive alternatives (including status quo / "do nothing")
- Structuring a strategic narrative (Raskin-style)
- Testing whether messaging has clarity, relevance, value, and differentiation

## Workflow

### Step 1: Diagnose the request

Determine which mode the user needs:

| Mode | Trigger | Output |
|------|---------|--------|
| **Build** | "Help me position X" / new product / repositioning | Full positioning doc + messaging hierarchy |
| **Audit** | "Review my positioning" / "why isn't this landing?" | Diagnosis with specific fixes |
| **Artifact** | "Write me a positioning doc" / "messaging matrix" | Structured deliverable |
| **Advise** | Specific question about frameworks, category, differentiation | Targeted answer with framework citation |

### Step 2: Discovery interview (Build & Audit modes)

Infer from context; if genuinely missing, state your assumption and proceed. When discovery is warranted, ask in batches of 2-3 questions max, covering these areas in order:

**Round 1 — Context & ICP**
- What does the product do in one sentence?
- Who are your best-fit customers today? (Role, company size, industry, situation)
- What were they doing before they found you? (Status quo, tools, manual process)

**Round 2 — Competitive alternatives & switch triggers**
- What are the real alternatives buyers consider? (Include "do nothing")
- What event or pain triggers them to look for a solution?
- What are the forces at play? (Push of current situation, pull of new solution, anxiety about switching, habit of present)

**Round 3 — Differentiation & value**
- What can your product do that alternatives cannot? (Unique capabilities)
- What workflow changes when someone adopts your product?
- What measurable outcomes do your best customers report?
- Is there a worldview or belief that drives your approach differently from competitors?

**Round 4 — Category & narrative**
- What category do buyers put you in today?
- Is that the right category, or does it set wrong expectations?
- What's the big change in the world that makes your product necessary now?

Skip questions the user has already answered. Adapt depth to context.

### Step 3: Apply frameworks

After discovery, apply the relevant frameworks from `references/frameworks.md`. Read that file before producing output.

**For positioning decisions**, follow Dunford's methodology:
1. Competitive alternatives → 2. Unique attributes → 3. Value themes → 4. Best-fit customers → 5. Category choice → 6. Positioning statement

**For differentiation**, evaluate across four lenses:
- Capability (what it uniquely does)
- Workflow (how work gets done differently)
- Outcome (what results customers achieve)
- Worldview (how the company's beliefs differ)

**For category decisions**, apply the decision rule:
- Default to **category choice** (pick a known category + subsegment) unless there is strong evidence of a genuinely new problem-solution pairing with capital and time for education.
- Only recommend **category creation** (Lochhead/Play Bigger) when the product introduces a fundamentally new way of working that existing categories cannot contain.

**For strategic narratives**, follow Raskin's 5-part structure:
1. Name the big change → 2. Winners and losers → 3. Promised land → 4. Obstacles → 5. Product as vehicle

**For message validation**, apply Laja's 4-point test:
1. Clarity — Do people immediately understand what it is?
2. Relevance — Can the right audience recognize it's for them?
3. Value — Is the value compelling enough to care?
4. Differentiation — Is it clear how this differs from alternatives?

### Step 4: Produce artifacts

This skill produces three core artifacts:

#### Artifact 1: Positioning Document (1-3 pages)
Structure:
- **ICP definition** (role, company profile, situation/trigger)
- **Competitive alternatives** (including status quo)
- **Unique attributes** (capabilities that alternatives lack)
- **Value themes** (outcomes those attributes enable)
- **Category** (chosen category + rationale)
- **Positioning statement** (concise, follows from above)
- **JTBD summary** (job, forces of progress, desired outcome)

#### Artifact 2: Messaging Hierarchy
Structure:
- **Strategic narrative** (1-paragraph "change in the world" story)
- **Core value propositions** (3-5, each with: claim, capability, proof point)
- **Persona-level messages** (by role: economic buyer, champion, end user)
- **Altitude guide** (executive = outcomes & risk; user = workflow & relief)

#### Artifact 3: JTBD Summary
Structure:
- **Job statement** ("When [situation], help me [progress], so I can [outcome]")
- **Forces diagram** (push, pull, anxiety, habit)
- **Timeline** (first thought → passive looking → active looking → deciding → onboarding → ongoing use)
- **Hiring criteria** (functional, emotional, social)

### Step 5: Handoff

When the user needs downstream execution from positioning:

| Need | Hand off to |
|------|-------------|
| Homepage copy, landing page, email copy, CTAs | `copywriter-skill` |
| Sales deck, battlecards, objection handling, discovery scripts | `sales-skill` |
| Video/podcast scripts from positioning | `script-writer-skill` |
| Cold outreach, prospecting cadences | `prospecting` |
| Channel strategy, CAC analysis | `channel-expert` |
| Pricing & packaging decisions | `pricing` |
| PLG onboarding messaging | `plg-skill` |

Explicitly tell the user: "Positioning is set — for [specific task], I'll hand off to [skill name]."

## Audit mode

When auditing existing positioning or messaging, evaluate against:

1. **Dunford completeness** — Are all 6 elements defined? (alternatives, attributes, value, customers, category, statement)
2. **Laja's 4-point test** — Clarity, relevance, value, differentiation
3. **Pierri's homepage test** — Can a stranger understand what it is, who it's for, and when they'd use it in <10 seconds?
4. **Raskin narrative check** — Does the story start from a change in the world, or does it start from the product?
5. **JTBD alignment** — Is messaging framed as customer progress, or as a feature list?

Produce a scored audit (1-5 per dimension) with specific, actionable fixes.

## Key principles (always apply)

- Positioning is a **strategic decision**, not copywriting. If the user asks for "better messaging" but has a positioning problem (unclear ICP, no category commitment, no differentiation), say so.
- Always include **"do nothing" and status quo** as competitive alternatives.
- **Category choice > category creation** for most companies. Don't recommend category creation lightly.
- Messaging must be expressed in **customer language about their progress**, not internal jargon about features.
- Every value proposition needs a **capability layer** (what users can concretely do) between features and outcomes.
- Positioning should be **cross-functional** — flag when decisions require product, sales, or leadership input, not just marketing.