Use when defining or sharpening what a product IS before writing copy or planning a launch. Triggers on "how do I position this", "what category are we in", "who is this really for", "positioning statement", "we sound like everyone else", "nobody gets what we do", "frame the product", "April Dunford positioning". Runs competitive alternatives → unique attributes → the value they enable → best-fit segment → market frame, producing one tight defensible paragraph. Do NOT use for the actual page/headline wording - use messaging-hierarchy instead; for what to charge - use pricing-strategy or saas-pricing.
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---
name: positioning-statement
description: Use when defining or sharpening what a product IS before writing copy or planning a launch. Triggers on "how do I position this", "what category are we in", "who is this really for", "positioning statement", "we sound like everyone else", "nobody gets what we do", "frame the product", "April Dunford positioning". Runs competitive alternatives → unique attributes → the value they enable → best-fit segment → market frame, producing one tight defensible paragraph. Do NOT use for the actual page/headline wording - use [[messaging-hierarchy]] instead; for price points - use [[pricing-strategy]] or [[saas-pricing]].
---
# Positioning Statement
Positioning is the context you set so a buyer instantly understands what you are,
why you are different, and why they should care. Get it wrong and every downstream
asset - the headline, the deck, the launch - is fluent nonsense written about the
wrong product for the wrong person. This is the first GTM step. Everything else
([[messaging-hierarchy]], [[launch-plan-sequencer]], [[launch-day-runbook]],
[[plg-motion-designer]], ) is calibrated to its output, so do
it first and do it honestly.
The trap is positioning from ambition - the category you wish you led, the buyer
you wish you had. Position from evidence instead: the alternatives real customers
weigh, the attributes you actually have, and the segment that already loves you.
This follows April Dunford's method (*Obviously Awesome*): build positioning bottom-up
from competitive alternatives, not top-down from a category you picked.
## When to use this skill
Reach for it before writing any customer-facing copy or planning a launch, and
re-run it whenever the product, the best-fit customer, or the competitive set has