Positioning Mastery

When This Skill Activates

Claude uses this skill when:

• •Defining product positioning
• •Writing value propositions
• •Choosing market category
• •Differentiating from competitors

Core Frameworks

1. April Dunford's Positioning Framework

The Five Components:

1. WHO is this best for?

• •Specific segment, not "everyone"
• •Define ideal customer profile

2. WHAT category does this fit in?

• •Existing category or new?
• •Sets expectations

3. WHAT alternatives exist?

• •What do customers use now?
• •Don't say "no competitors"

4. UNIQUE value you provide

• •What's different?
• •Why does that matter?

5. PROOF it's real

• •Evidence/metrics
• •Customer stories

Action Templates

Template: Positioning Canvas

# Positioning: [Product]

## 1. Best For (Target Customer)
**Ideal customer:**
- Industry: [specific]
- Role: [specific]
- Problem: [specific pain]
- **NOT for:** [who should avoid]

## 2. Category
**It's a:** [category name]
**Context:** [how customers understand it]

## 3. Alternatives
**Customers currently use:**
- [Alternative 1]
- [Alternative 2]
- [Alternative 3]

**Why they're insufficient:**
- [Reason]

## 4. Unique Value
**We're different because:**
- [Differentiator 1]
- [Differentiator 2]

**Why that matters to customers:**
- [Customer benefit 1]
- [Customer benefit 2]

## 5. Proof Points
- [Metric/case study]
- [Metric/case study]
- [Metric/case study]

## One-Sentence Positioning
"For [target customer] who [need/problem], [product] is a [category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [key differentiator]."

Quick Reference

🎯 Positioning Checklist

Clarity:

• • Who it's for (specific)
• • What category (clear)
• • What alternatives (honest)
• • Unique value (different)
• • Proof (credible)

Testing:

• • Customer understands it
• • Sales team can pitch it
• • Differentiation is clear

Key Quotes

April Dunford:

"Positioning is the first thing you need to get right. Everything else flows from it."

On Competitors:

"When you say 'we have no competitors,' customers hear 'there's no demand for what you do.'"