prd-v09-positioning-dunford

# Positioning (Dunford 5-Step)

Position in workflow: v0.8 Monitoring Setup → **v0.9 Positioning (Dunford)** → v0.9 Offer Construction (Hormozi) → v0.9 Launch Channels (ORB)

## Execution Mode

Default is **standard**. See [`.claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md`](../../rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md) for selection logic.

| Mode | What this skill produces |
|------|--------------------------|
| **quick** | One positioning statement; one best-fit segment; one category claim |
| **standard** | Full 5 steps; one segment + ≥3 alternatives + 3–5 attributes mapped to value; category claim with frame of reference |
| **deep** | Multiple segment variants; A/B positioning candidates to test; competitor positioning teardown; "best-fit" disqualification rules |

## Framework: Dunford's 5 Steps

From *Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning* (April Dunford, 2019). Positioning is **the act of deliberately defining how you are the best at something a defined market cares a lot about** — not a feature list, not a tagline, not your founder's story.

The five steps run in order:

1. **Competitive alternatives** — What would your customers use if you did not exist? (Status-quo wins as often as competitor products do.)
2. **Unique attributes** — What capabilities or qualities do *you* have that those alternatives don't?
3. **Value (and proof)** — Translate each attribute into the value it delivers to a customer. Anchor in evidence, not aspiration.
4. **Customers who care a lot** — Among all possible buyers, which segment cares *most* about that value? This is your "best-fit" target.
5. **Market category** — Pick the category (the **frame of reference**) that puts your unique strengths at the center and is intelligible to your best-fit customer.

A 6th step (**relevant trends**) is optional and used only when a current market trend reinforces the positioning. Skip it in quick mode.

The work product is a **positioning statement** plus a small set of **positioning rules** that downstream skills (Offer Construction, Launch Channels, GTM messaging) must honor.

## Consumes

- **CFD-\* competitive alternatives** (from v0.2 Competitive Landscape Mapping) — Anchors step 1; without real alternatives, positioning is hypothetical
- **CFD-\* customer interviews** (from v0.1 + v0.4) — Source for "who cares a lot" in step 4; the strongest evidence for value claims in step 3
- **BR-\* product type** (from v0.2 Product Type Classification) — Clone/Unbundle/Undercut/Slice/Wrapper/Innovation shapes the kind of category claim that's credible
- **FEA-\* feature list** (from v0.3 Feature Value Planning) — Source for step 2 (unique attributes); attribute claims must trace to shipping features
- **PER-\* personas** (from v0.4 Persona Definition) — Step 4 best-fit segment is one of these PER- entries, sharpened

This skill assumes v0.2 (competitive landscape, product type) and v0.4 (personas) are complete.

## Produces

- **GTM-\* entries with Type=Positioning** — The positioning statement, the category claim, and the frame of reference. Each downstream messaging GTM- must trace to one of these.
- **BR-POS-\* positioning rules** — Constraint-style rules: *who we are*, *who we are not*, *what category we live in*. These become guardrails for v0.9 Offer Construction, Launch Channels, and v1.0 adoption work.
- **CFD-\* updates** — When step 3 reveals value claims are weakly evidenced, surface them as research gaps with confidence ≤ 2/5.

Confidence guidance per P4: a positioning statement should reach **3/5** before downstream skills consume it (i.e., grounded in actual customer interviews, not internal opinion). Quick mode may produce 2/5 outputs but must tag them.

## Execution

Run the five steps in order. Each step has a single deliverable.

### Step 1: List competitive alternatives

Inventory CFD- entries that name alternatives. Include the status quo ("spreadsheet + email"), not just competitor products. Cluster into 2–4 alternative categories.

**Deliverable**: A ranked list of competitive alternatives with rough usage volume estimates.

### Step 2: Identify unique attributes [standard+]

For each FEA- you ship, ask: "Does this alternative have it? At this quality?" Keep only attributes that are demonstrably *yours*. Quick mode picks the top 3.

**Deliverable**: 3–5 attributes that are uniquely yours vs. the alternatives.

### Step 3: Translate attributes to value

For each attribute, write the value it creates *for the customer*. Anchor in CFD- evidence (interview quotes, beta data, usage metrics). Mark each value claim with a confidence score.

**Deliverable**: An attribute → value table with evidence and confidence per row.

### Step 4: Identify customers who care a lot

Cross-reference the value claims against your PER- personas. Which persona's pains are *most* addressed by your unique values? That is your best-fit segment. Write a "best-fit characteristics" list (firmographics, behaviors, triggers).

**Deliverable**: One sharpened best-fit PER- variant with "ideal customer" characteristics.

### Step 5: Pick a market category

Choose the **frame of reference** — the category that puts your strengths at the center and is meaningful to your best-fit customer. Test against three checks:
- Does it make the value claims feel inevitable?
- Does it disqualify alternatives that aren't a good fit?
- Would your best-fit customer recognize the category name?

**Deliverable**: One category claim ("we are the X for Y who need Z") and a one-paragraph positioning statement.

### Step 6: Trends [deep only]

If a current market trend reinforces the positioning (e.g., "AI-native", "compliance-first"), name it. Otherwise skip — trends without product fit are noise.

**Deliverable** (deep mode): One sentence connecting the positioning to a current trend, with citation.

## Output Template

```
GTM-XXX: Positioning Statement
Type: Positioning
Owner: Founder / Product Marketing
Status: Ready

Best-fit segment: PER-XXX (s