Positioning (Global)
Positioning is not a pretty tagline. It is an explicit decision: who you serve, what you solve, and who you beat. Sharp positioning gives content an angle, ads a hook, and the team one story. Vague positioning makes everything generic. Run
08-competitor-research-globaland09-customer-insight-globalfirst if you do not yet have competitor data and customer insight.
Information gathering
Read .agents/product-marketing-context-global.md and the Brand Hub if available. If missing, ask up to 4 questions:
- What is the product or service — what concrete result does the buyer get, at what price, in what category?
- Who buys today and why (ask real customers, do not guess)? What words do they use when they recommend you to someone else?
- How are the main competitors positioned — what is their message, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
- Where are you genuinely better (with evidence)? Where are you genuinely worse, so you avoid positioning into a weak spot?
Principles
- Positioning requires a choice. You cannot be cheapest, most premium, and fastest at the same time. Pick one lead direction and accept losing the others.
- Every claim needs proof. Differentiation without evidence is a slogan. Buyers do not believe it, and under FTC substantiation rules an advertised claim needs supporting evidence on file before it runs.
- Know who you are NOT for. Naming the segment you do not serve sharpens the message and stops budget waste.
- Positioning is stable, messaging is flexible. Review positioning every 6 months as the market and competitors move. Campaign messaging can change; positioning should not change monthly.
- Feature to value to message. Do not sell the feature ("real-time dashboard"). Convert it to value ("know today whether you are profitable"), then to a message that lands emotionally ("stop finding out at month end that you were losing money").
Workflow
1. Pick a positioning strategy
Six common directions — choose the one your real strengths can defend:
| Strategy | Description | Example message direction |
|---|---|---|
| By attribute | Lead on one distinctive property | "The only CRM built for field service teams" |
| By price and quality | Premium, or value-for-money | "Agency-grade creative at in-house cost" |
| By use case | Own a specific situation | "Built for teams shipping weekly, not quarterly" |
| By user | Aim at one narrow buyer | "For solo founders doing their own marketing" |
| By category | Category creator or leader | "The first compliance layer for AI agents" |
| Against a competitor | Define yourself by contrast | "Not another course. A working system." |
Define your category: narrow enough to win, wide enough to have a market.
2. Write the positioning statement
Two layers, use both:
Layer 1 — Full statement (internal, used in every brief):
For [target audience] — people who [specific pain or desire], [brand/product] is the [category] that helps them [core outcome], unlike [competitor or alternative], because [real differentiator].
Layer 2 — Promise + Proof + Path (for content, sales, and landing pages):
| Component | Question | Example (DTC skincare) |
|---|---|---|
| Promise | What do you commit to, based on real customer insight? | "Know exactly what your skin needs before you spend on the wrong products" — not "effective skincare" |
| Proof | What evidence shows the promise is real? | Verified before/after photos, dermatologist review, third-party ingredient testing, published pricing with no hidden fees |
| Path | What steps does the buyer walk to get the promise? | 1. Free skin quiz > 2. Personal routine > 3. Follow the routine > 4. Reassess at 8 weeks |
The Promise fails if it is generic. The Path fails if the buyer cannot picture the next step.
3. Build the differentiation matrix
Pull data from 08-competitor-research-global:
| Competitor / Alternative | Their positioning | Strengths | Weaknesses | How you differ (with proof) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor A | ||||
| Competitor B | ||||
| Alternative (DIY or do nothing) |
Then lock 3 real differentiators — each a Claim plus its Proof:
| # | Claim | Proof / reason to believe |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 |
Primary differentiator: one sentence. This is what every piece of content and every ad will reflect.
Market gap (what nobody does well yet): write it down explicitly so you can take it.
4. Map category entry points
Category entry points are the situations that make a buyer think of the category and start looking. Strong positioning means being remembered first in those moments.
| Trigger situation | What the buyer is thinking or searching | How you want to be remembered | Content / channel that serves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| [e.g. breakout two weeks before a wedding] | [needs a fast fix, afraid of being scammed] | [transparent, diagnosis before selling] | [short-form diagnostic video, search] |
| [e.g. month-end and still no idea if we are profitable] | |||
| [e.g. current vendor raised prices or missed a deadline] |
Pick 2-3 priority entry points and map them to awareness stages: unaware (educate — name the problem) > problem-aware but not motivated (agitate) > solution-aware but undecided (compare — differentiate) > ready (close — offer).
5. Build the message hierarchy and tagline directions
| Level | Where it is used | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 — Core message | Headline, ad hook | Shortest possible: biggest benefit, clearest audience |
| Level 2 — Supporting messages | Body copy, landing page | 2A proof/social proof · 2B differentiation · 2C objection handling |
| Level 3 — Proof points | Testimonials, case studies | Specific numbers, real customer quotes, outcomes achieved |
Tagline directions: 3-5 options, each 5-8 words, anchored on the primary differentiator or the promise. Note which direction to test — the final tagline is chosen after message testing with real buyers, not in a meeting room.
6. Validate
- Read the statement to someone who knows nothing about the product. Do they understand it immediately?
- Does every claim have proof attached, and is that proof documented well enough to defend under FTC substantiation?
- Do sales and content, reading the same doc, say the same thing?
- One-minute check: fill in "[Product] helps [specific segment] achieve [measurable outcome] through [distinct mechanism]." If it fills cleanly, the positioning holds.
Output structure
File name: positioning-[product-name]-[YYYYMMDD].md
markdown# Positioning — [Brand / product] ## 1. Positioning statement - Full statement: "For... is the... that helps... unlike... because..." - Promise: | Proof: | Path (steps): ## 2. Target segmentation | Segment | Description | Main pain | Main desire | Priority | | Primary / Secondary / Tertiary | - Who this is NOT for: ## 3. Differentiation matrix | Competitor | Their positioning | Strengths | Weaknesses | How you differ | - 3 differentiators (Claim + Proof): - Primary differentiator (one sentence): - Market gap: ## 4. Category entry points | Trigger situation | What they think | How you want to be remembered | Content / channel | ## 5. Message hierarchy - Level 1 core message: - Level 2 supporting (proof / differentiation / objection): - Level 3 proof points: ## 6. Tagline directions | # | Option (5-8 words) | Anchored on which differentiator | Test note | ## 7. Positioning map [Two axes fitting the category — your position vs competitors — open space] ## 8. Rollout plan | Where applied | What to update | Owner | Deadline | | Ads / Landing page / Content pillars / Sales script / Brand Hub |
Positioning map
Pick two axes that fit the category (price x perceived quality; specialist x approachable; premium x mass; trust x entertainment). Read the map: crowded corners are brutal auctions; empty corners are open space you can take — but verify real demand exists there before jumping in.
Related skills
08-competitor-research-global: run first — supplies the competitive landscape for step 3.09-customer-insight-global: run first — pain, desire, and triggers are the raw material for the Promise and entry points.31-offer-design-global: run after — offer architecture must align with positioning (do not position premium then discount everywhere).59-go-to-market-global: uses the positioning statement as the source message for the GTM plan.02-campaign-brief-global: the core message in the brief comes from message hierarchy Level 1.
Quality checklist
- Exactly one lead positioning strategy chosen — not a blend of three
- Full statement covers target + category + outcome + differentiator
- Promise is based on real customer insight, not internal wishes
- Every claim has proof, and the proof is documented well enough to substantiate
- Contains an explicit "who this is NOT for" section
- Differentiation matrix has at least 2 competitors plus 1 alternative
- At least 2 category entry points with concrete triggers
- Message hierarchy has all 3 levels, Level 1 short enough to use as a hook
- 3-5 tagline directions plus a test plan
- Not positioned on a dimension where you are weaker than competitors
- Rollout plan covers ads, landing page, content, sales, and Brand Hub with one message
