messaging-positioning

name	messaging-positioning
description	Build product positioning and messaging using April Dunford's framework — competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value, best-fit customer. Use on "help me position my product", "write my messaging", "rewrite the homepage hero", or "my pitch isn't landing".
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","AskUserQuestion"]

Messaging & Positioning (April Dunford style)

Position first, then write copy. Never the other way around.

The 5 + 1 inputs (work in order — don't skip)

1. Competitive alternatives. What would customers do if you didn't exist? (Not just competitors — could be spreadsheets, an intern, doing nothing.)
2. Unique attributes. What capabilities do you have that the alternatives don't?
3. Value (so what?). What do those attributes enable for the customer? Dollarize where possible.
4. Best-fit customer characteristics. Who cares most about that value? (Firmographic + situational.)
5. Market category. What frame of reference makes the value obvious? (Pick the context in which you win.)
6. (Optional) Trends. What broader shifts make this urgent now?

Workflow

1. Interview the user through each input. Push back on vague answers.
2. Draft a positioning statement:

   For <best-fit customer> who are trying to <job to be done>,
   <product> is a <market category> that <unique value>.
   Unlike <competitive alternative>, we <key differentiator backed by unique attribute>.
   

3. Derive messaging from positioning:
   • Hero headline (≤ 10 words, states the unique value)
   • Subhead (≤ 20 words, says who it's for + how it's different)
   • 3 proof pillars (the unique attributes, each with an outcome)
   • Objection responses (for each alternative, a one-liner)
4. Save to ./positioning.md and ./messaging.md.

Sanity tests

• If you changed your competitive alternatives, would your messaging still be true? → Positioning is too generic.
• Can you finish "Unlike X, we are the only one that Y"? → If no, you have a me-too.
• Do 3 different customer segments all resonate equally? → You're probably positioned too broadly.

Anti-patterns

• "Best-in-class AI-powered platform for modern teams" — positioning salad
• Leading with features before establishing the category
• Fighting in a category you can't win (e.g., picking "CRM" when you're smaller than Salesforce)
• Describing what you do instead of what customers get

Guardrails

• If the user has < 10 customers, positioning is hypothesis, not doctrine — revisit every 90 days.
• If the user's champion and economic buyer are different roles, consider separate messaging for each.
• Refuse to skip step 1 (alternatives). Most bad positioning dies here.