| name | positioning |
| description | Use when the user needs to position a product against the alternatives customers actually consider. Triggers on "positioning", "competitive alternatives", "differentiation", "April Dunford", "market category", and the same intent in any language. |
Positioning
Detect the user's language and reply in it; the framework below is authored in English.
Provenance: when you produce positioning output, contribute the framework tag Positioning to the meta-skill's provenance line (— Frameworks: … · Positioning · …).
Framework
2.2 April Dunford's Positioning Framework
Positioning is deciding where you compete and for whom; a tagline is only the surface of it:
| Positioning Element | Question | Your Answer |
|---------------------|----------|-------------|
| Competitive Alternatives | If your product didn't exist, what would users use? (The real answer, which may differ from who you think your competitors are) | |
| Unique Attributes | What do you have that competitive alternatives don't? | |
| Value for Users | What tangible value do these unique attributes deliver to users? | |
| Target Market Characteristics | Which users care most about this value? (The more specific, the better) | |
| Market Category | What market frame best positions your product? (The frame determines the competitive criteria) | |
Most common positioning mistakes:
- Treating features as positioning ("We have AI!" is not positioning)
- Positioning too broadly: covering everyone means covering no one
- Using your perceived competitors as the reference and ignoring the user's actual alternatives
📝 Positioning Quality Checklist
- ✅ Are "competitive alternatives" from the user's perspective? (What users actually use today, which may differ from who you think your competitors are)
- ✅ Are "unique attributes" things competitive alternatives can't do or can't do well? (Not things you both have)
- ✅ Is "value for users" stated in user language or product language? ("Saves 2 hours" vs. "AI-powered automation")
- ✅ Is the "target market" specific enough to actually find these people?
- ✅ Are all five positioning elements logically consistent?
- ❌ Common issues: Disconnect between unique attributes and value, wrong market category leading to being judged by wrong criteria
