positioning-workshop skill

Purpose

Guide product managers through discovering and articulating product positioning by asking adaptive questions about target customers, unmet needs, product category, benefits, and competitive differentiation. Use this to align stakeholders on strategic positioning before writing PRDs, launch plans, or marketing materials—ensuring you've made deliberate choices about who you serve, what need you address, and how you differ from alternatives.

This is not a brainstorming session—it's a structured discovery process that outputs a Geoffrey Moore positioning statement backed by evidence and strategic choices.

Input

Works best with: The product (or feature) whose positioning feels fuzzy. Also useful: Current messaging, who you think the customer is, competitors, and where positioning breaks down today (sales calls, website, launch).

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The workshop opens by asking about your target customer and proceeds one question at a time.

Example invocation: Run a positioning workshop for our API monitoring tool — we keep getting compared to Datadog and losing.

Key Concepts

The Positioning Workshop Flow

An interactive discovery process that:

1. Gathers product context (marketing materials, competitor intel)
2. Identifies target customer segment through questioning
3. Uncovers underserved needs via Jobs-to-be-Done lens
4. Defines product category and benefits
5. Establishes competitive differentiation
6. Outputs a complete positioning statement (uses positioning-statement.md)

Why This Works

• Structured discovery: Prevents "positioning by committee" (too vague)
• Evidence-based: Uses real marketing materials, customer feedback, competitive intel
• Adaptive: Questions adjust based on B2B vs. B2C, new product vs. repositioning, etc.
• Actionable output: Generates a Geoffrey Moore positioning statement ready for stakeholder review

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not a tagline generator: Positioning ≠ marketing copy
• Not feature-first: Starts with customer problems, not product capabilities
• Not consensus-driven: Forces hard choices (can't be "for everyone")

When to Use This

• Defining positioning for a new product
• Repositioning an existing product (pivot, market shift)
• Aligning stakeholders on product strategy
• Preparing for launch or major release
• Before writing positioning-dependent artifacts (PRD, press release, sales deck)

When NOT to Use This

• Before customer research (positioning requires validated insights)
• For internal tools with captive users (no market positioning needed)
• When positioning is already clear and validated

Facilitation Source of Truth

Use workshop-facilitation as the default interaction protocol for this skill.

It defines:

• session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
• one-question turns with plain-language prompts
• progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
• interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
• numbered recommendations at decision points
• quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include Other (specify) when useful)

This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic.

Application

This interactive skill asks up to 5 adaptive questions, offering 3-4 enumerated context-aware options at each step.

Interaction pattern: Pair with skills/workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md when you want a one-step-at-a-time flow with numbered recommendations at decision points and quick-select options for regular questions. If the user asks for a single-shot output, skip the multi-turn facilitation.

Step 0: Gather Context (Before Questions)

Agent suggests:

Before we begin, let's gather product context to ground our positioning work:

For Your Own Product:

• Current website copy (homepage, product pages, value prop)
• Existing positioning statements or messaging docs
• Customer testimonials or case studies
• Sales objections or competitive win/loss analysis
• Product descriptions or feature lists

For Repositioning an Existing Product:

• Current positioning (what are you saying today?)
• Customer feedback or support tickets (what problems do they report?)
• Competitive intel (how do competitors position themselves?)

If You Don't Have a Product Yet (or Want to Benchmark):

• Find 2-3 competitor or analog products
• Copy their website homepage, positioning statements, or value props
• We'll use these as reference points

You can paste this content directly, or we can proceed with a brief description.

Question 1: Target Customer Segment

Agent asks: "Based on the context provided, who is the primary customer segment you're serving?"

Offer 4 enumerated options (adapted based on product context):

1. B2B: SMB decision-makers — E.g., "Small business owners (10-50 employees) managing operations" (like Gusto, QuickBooks)
2. B2B: Enterprise buyers — E.g., "IT/Product leaders at companies with 500+ employees" (like Salesforce, Workday)
3. B2C: Mass market consumers — E.g., "Gen Z users (18-25) seeking budgeting tools" (like Mint, Venmo)
4. B2C: Niche enthusiasts — E.g., "Fitness enthusiasts tracking macros and workouts" (like MyFitnessPal, Strava)

Or describe your own target customer segment (be specific: demographics, role, company size, behaviors).

Adaptation tip: If marketing materials mention "enterprises," "SMBs," "consumers," or specific personas, suggest those.

User response: [Selection or custom]

Question 2: Underserved Need (Jobs-to-be-Done)

Agent asks: "What underserved need or pain point does your target customer experience that your product addresses?"

Offer 4 enumerated options (adapted based on Question 1):

Example (if Q1 = B2B SMB decision-makers):

1. Time-consuming manual work — E.g., "Spend 10+ hours/week on tasks that should be automated" (invoice processing, payroll, reporting)
2. Lack of visibility or control — E.g., "Can't see real-time status of projects, causing missed deadlines" (project tracking, dashboards)
3. Compliance or risk burden — E.g., "Fear of tax penalties or legal issues due to manual errors" (accounting, HR compliance)
4. Costly inefficiency — E.g., "Losing revenue due to slow processes or customer friction" (sales ops, customer onboarding)

Or describe the specific pain point/unmet need based on customer research, support tickets, or competitive gaps.

Adaptation tip: Use language from customer testimonials or case studies in the provided materials.

User response: [Selection or custom]

Question 3: Product Category

Agent asks: "What product category does your solution fit into? (This anchors how buyers evaluate you.)"

Offer 4 enumerated options (adapted based on Q1 + Q2):

Example (if Q1 = B2B SMB, Q2 = Time-consuming manual work):

1. Workflow automation platform — E.g., "Automates repetitive tasks across apps" (like Zapier, Integromat)
2. Business management software — E.g., "All-in-one platform for operations (invoicing, payroll, CRM)" (like HubSpot, Zoho)
3. Vertical SaaS — E.g., "Purpose-built for a specific industry (e.g., HVAC, legal, dental)" (like Jobber, Clio)
4. AI-powered assistant — E.g., "AI tool that automates workflows via natural language" (like Notion AI, Jasper)

Or define your own category. Note: Creating a new category is risky—pick an existing one unless you have strong rationale.

Adaptation tip: If competitors are in a clear category, default to that unless you're deliberately creating a new one.