58-positioning-global

# Positioning (Global)

> Positioning is not a pretty tagline. It is an explicit decision: who you serve, what you solve, and who you beat. Sharp positioning gives content an angle, ads a hook, and the team one story. Vague positioning makes everything generic. Run `08-competitor-research-global` and `09-customer-insight-global` first if you do not yet have competitor data and customer insight.

## Information gathering

Read `.agents/product-marketing-context-global.md` and the Brand Hub if available. If missing, ask up to 4 questions:

1. **What is the product or service** — what concrete result does the buyer get, at what price, in what category?
2. **Who buys today and why** (ask real customers, do not guess)? What words do they use when they recommend you to someone else?
3. **How are the main competitors positioned** — what is their message, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
4. **Where are you genuinely better** (with evidence)? Where are you genuinely worse, so you avoid positioning into a weak spot?

## Principles

1. **Positioning requires a choice.** You cannot be cheapest, most premium, and fastest at the same time. Pick one lead direction and accept losing the others.
2. **Every claim needs proof.** Differentiation without evidence is a slogan. Buyers do not believe it, and under FTC substantiation rules an advertised claim needs supporting evidence on file before it runs.
3. **Know who you are NOT for.** Naming the segment you do not serve sharpens the message and stops budget waste.
4. **Positioning is stable, messaging is flexible.** Review positioning every 6 months as the market and competitors move. Campaign messaging can change; positioning should not change monthly.
5. **Feature to value to message.** Do not sell the feature ("real-time dashboard"). Convert it to value ("know today whether you are profitable"), then to a message that lands emotionally ("stop finding out at month end that you were losing money").

## Workflow

### 1. Pick a positioning strategy

Six common directions — choose the one your real strengths can defend:

| Strategy | Description | Example message direction |
|----------|-------------|---------------------------|
| By attribute | Lead on one distinctive property | "The only CRM built for field service teams" |
| By price and quality | Premium, or value-for-money | "Agency-grade creative at in-house cost" |
| By use case | Own a specific situation | "Built for teams shipping weekly, not quarterly" |
| By user | Aim at one narrow buyer | "For solo founders doing their own marketing" |
| By category | Category creator or leader | "The first compliance layer for AI agents" |
| Against a competitor | Define yourself by contrast | "Not another course. A working system." |

Define your category: narrow enough to win, wide enough to have a market.

### 2. Write the positioning statement

Two layers, use both:

**Layer 1 — Full statement (internal, used in every brief):**

```
For [target audience] — people who [specific pain or desire],
[brand/product] is the [category]
that helps them [core outcome],
unlike [competitor or alternative], because [real differentiator].
```

**Layer 2 — Promise + Proof + Path (for content, sales, and landing pages):**

| Component | Question | Example (DTC skincare) |
|-----------|----------|------------------------|
| Promise | What do you commit to, based on real customer insight? | "Know exactly what your skin needs before you spend on the wrong products" — not "effective skincare" |
| Proof | What evidence shows the promise is real? | Verified before/after photos, dermatologist review, third-party ingredient testing, published pricing with no hidden fees |
| Path | What steps does the buyer walk to get the promise? | 1. Free skin quiz > 2. Personal routine > 3. Follow the routine > 4. Reassess at 8 weeks |

The Promise fails if it is generic. The Path fails if the buyer cannot picture the next step.

### 3. Build the differentiation matrix

Pull data from `08-competitor-research-global`:

| Competitor / Alternative | Their positioning | Strengths | Weaknesses | How you differ (with proof) |
|--------------------------|-------------------|-----------|------------|-----------------------------|
| Competitor A | | | | |
| Competitor B | | | | |
| Alternative (DIY or do nothing) | | | | |

Then lock **3 real differentiators** — each a Claim plus its Proof:

| # | Claim | Proof / reason to believe |
|---|-------|---------------------------|
| 1 | | |
| 2 | | |
| 3 | | |

Primary differentiator: one sentence. This is what every piece of content and every ad will reflect.

Market gap (what nobody does well yet): write it down explicitly so you can take it.

### 4. Map category entry points

Category entry points are the situations that make a buyer think of the category and start looking. Strong positioning means being remembered first in those moments.

| Trigger situation | What the buyer is thinking or searching | How you want to be remembered | Content / channel that serves it |
|-------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| [e.g. breakout two weeks before a wedding] | [needs a fast fix, afraid of being scammed] | [transparent, diagnosis before selling] | [short-form diagnostic video, search] |
| [e.g. month-end and still no idea if we are profitable] | | | |
| [e.g. current vendor raised prices or missed a deadline] | | | |

Pick 2-3 priority entry points and map them to awareness stages: unaware (educate — name the problem) > problem-aware but not motivated (agitate) > solution-aware but undecided (compare — differentiate) > ready (close — offer).

### 5. Build the message hierarchy and tagline directions

| Level | Where it is used | Content |
|-------|------------------|---------|
| Level 1 — Core message | Headline, ad hook | Shortest possible: biggest benefit, clearest audience |
| Level 2 — Supporting messages | Bod