Run a positioning workshop that surfaces target customer, unmet need, category, benefits, and differentiation. Use when your product messaging feels fuzzy, generic, or misaligned.
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Slash command/positioning-workshop
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Run a positioning workshop that surfaces target customer, unmet need, category, benefits, and differentiation. Use when your product messaging feels fuzzy, generic, or misaligned.
---name: positioning-workshop
argument-hint: "[product]"
description: Run a positioning workshop that surfaces target customer, unmet need, category, benefits, and differentiation. Use when your product messaging feels fuzzy, generic, or misaligned.
intent: >-
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.
type: interactive
best_for:
- "Running a workshop to sharpen product positioning"
- "Clarifying target customer, category, and differentiation"
- "Fixing fuzzy or generic messaging before launch"
scenarios:
- "Help me run a positioning workshop for our B2B analytics product"
- "Our messaging feels generic. Facilitate a positioning session."
- "We need to define who we serve and why we're different"
---## 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.`
- 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):**
2. **Spreadsheets/manual processes** — E.g., "Unlike Excel (which requires manual updates), we provide real-time automated sync across tools"
3. **Vertical competitor** — E.g., "Unlike generic automation tools, we're pre-built for [industry] with templates and compliance features"
4. **Enterprise-only solutions** — E.g., "Unlike enterprise tools (complex, expensive), we're designed for SMBs with simple pricing and 10-minute setup"
**Or describe your primary competitive alternative and your unique differentiation (focus on outcomes, not features).**
**Adaptation tip:** Use competitive intel from provided materials (win/loss analysis, sales objections).
**User response:** [Selection or custom]
---
### Output: Generate Positioning Statement
After collecting responses, the agent generates a positioning statement using the `positioning-statement.md` format:
```markdown
# Positioning Statement
**Based on your responses, here's your positioning statement:**
---
## Value Proposition
**For** [Target customer from Q1]
- **that need** [Underserved need from Q2]
- [Product name]
- **is a** [Product category from Q3]
- **that** [Key benefit from Q4]
---
## Differentiation Statement
- **Unlike** [Primary competitor from Q5]
- [Product name]
- **provides** [Unique differentiation from Q5]
---
## Positioning Summary (One-Sentence Version)
[Product name] is a [category] for [target] that [benefit], unlike [competitor] which [limitation].
**Example:** "Acme Workflows is a no-code automation platform for small business owners that reduces manual work from 10 hours/week to 1 hour, unlike Zapier which requires technical setup and coding knowledge."
---
## Next Steps
1. **Stress-test this positioning:**
- Read it aloud to 5 target customers. Do they recognize themselves?
- Share with stakeholders (product, marketing, sales). Does it align?
- Check if differentiation is defensible (can competitors copy this in 6 months?).
2. **Refine based on feedback:**
- If target feels too broad → Narrow further (e.g., "SMB owners" → "SMB owners in service industries")
- If need isn't resonating → Validate with more customer research
- If category confuses → Pick a clearer category or commit to category creation
3. **Apply to artifacts:**
- Update website homepage and product pages
- Revise sales deck and pitch materials
- Use in PRD, press release, or roadmap planning (reference `press-release.md`, `positioning-statement.md`)
---
**Would you like to refine any part of this positioning, or shall we document it as final?**
```
---
## Examples
### Example 1: Good Positioning Workshop (B2B SaaS Automation)
**Step 0 - Context Provided:**
User shares current website copy:
> "Acme Workflows helps small businesses automate repetitive tasks. Connect your apps and save time."
**Question 1 Response:** "B2B: SMB decision-makers — Small business owners (10-50 employees) managing operations"
**Question 2 Response:** "Time-consuming manual work — Spend 10+ hours/week on invoice processing, data entry, reporting"
**For** small business owners (10-50 employees) managing daily operations
- **that need** to eliminate 10+ hours/week spent on manual tasks like invoice processing, data entry, and reporting
- Acme Workflows
- **is a** no-code workflow automation platform
- **that** reduces manual work from 10 hours/week to 1 hour by automating repetitive tasks across apps
## Differentiation Statement
- **Unlike** Zapier, which requires technical setup and coding knowledge
- Acme Workflows
- **provides** visual, no-code workflows that non-technical business owners can set up in 10 minutes
## Positioning Summary
Acme Workflows is a no-code automation platform for small business owners that reduces manual work from 10 hours/week to 1 hour, unlike Zapier which requires technical setup and coding knowledge.
```
**Why this works:**
- Target is specific (SMB owners, 10-50 employees, operations focus)
- Need is measurable (10+ hours/week on manual tasks)
- Category is clear (workflow automation)
- Benefit is outcome-focused (10 hours → 1 hour)
- Differentiation is defensible (no-code vs. technical setup)
---
### Example 2: Bad Positioning Workshop (Vague)
**Question 1 Response:** "Businesses"
**Question 2 Response:** "Need better tools"
**Question 3 Response:** "Software"
**Question 4 Response:** "Productivity"
**Question 5 Response:** "We're better than competitors"
**Generated Positioning Statement:**
```markdown
**For** businesses
- **that need** better tools
- ProductX
- **is a** software
- **that** improves productivity
**Unlike** competitors
- ProductX
- **provides** better features
```
**Why this fails:**
- Target is too broad ("businesses" = everyone)
- Need is vague ("better tools" = meaningless)
- Category is not specific ("software" says nothing)
- Benefit is unmeasurable ("productivity" = how much?)
- Differentiation is empty ("better features" = unverifiable)
**How to fix:** Go back and answer with specificity. Use customer research, not guesses.
---
## Common Pitfalls
### Pitfall 1: "For Everyone"
**Symptom:** Target is "all businesses" or "anyone who wants to be productive"
**Consequence:** Positioning becomes invisible—no one feels it's *for them*.
**Fix:** Narrow ruthlessly. Pick the *first* customer segment. You can expand later.
---
### Pitfall 2: Need is a Feature Request
**Symptom:** "Need better dashboards" or "Need AI-powered analytics"
**Consequence:** You've jumped to solution, not problem.
**Fix:** Ask "Why do they need that?" Keep asking until you hit the root need.
---
### Pitfall 3: Category Confusion
**Symptom:** "We're a next-generation platform for digital transformation"
**Consequence:** Buyers don't know how to evaluate you.
**Fix:** Pick a category buyers understand. If creating a new one, budget for category education.
---
### Pitfall 4: Differentiation is a Feature
**Symptom:** "Unlike competitors, we have AI"
**Consequence:** Features are copiable. Not durable differentiation.
**Fix:** Focus on outcomes: "Unlike competitors, we reduce setup time from 2 hours to 10 minutes."
---
### Pitfall 5: No Customer Validation
**Symptom:** Positioning created in a vacuum, never tested with customers
**Consequence:** It sounds good internally but doesn't resonate externally.
**Fix:** Read positioning statement to 5 target customers. If they don't say "Yes, that's me," revise.
---
## References
### Related Skills
- `positioning-statement.md` — The output format this workshop generates
- `proto-persona.md` — Defines the "For [target]" segment
- `jobs-to-be-done.md` — Informs the "that need" statement
- `problem-statement.md` — Problem framing supports positioning
