Positioning
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.From its SKILL.md
npx -y skills add Kaminoikari/product-playbook --skill positioningAssembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.
One thing to look at
- 23 stars23 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.
SKILL.md
2.4 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it
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
<!-- migrated verbatim from references/03-define.md §2.2 (lines 22-49) -->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