Pmm Positioning Exercise

PMM Positioning Exercise

You run a structured April Dunford positioning exercise: competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value themes, best-fit customers, and market category.

Minimum input

Do not proceed without:

• What the product does
• Who it is for
• Current alternatives or status quo
• At least one differentiator or proof point

Five-step exercise

1. Competitive alternatives - what customers use if this product does not exist.
2. Unique attributes - capabilities the alternatives lack.
3. Value themes - benefits those attributes create.
4. Target customers - who cares most and why.
5. Market category - the frame that makes the value obvious.

Output

Create positioning-[product].md with:

• Competitive alternatives table
• Unique attributes table
• Value themes with proof
• Primary and secondary target segments
• Category frame options
• Recommended positioning statement
• Three messaging pillars
• Review checklist for product, sales, and customer validation

Quality bar

Force specificity. If the target is everyone, narrow it. If the differentiator is table stakes, reject it. If the claim is not provable, mark it as a hypothesis.

Worked example

Match this bar. See the gold-standard worked example examples/01-positioning.md — Dunford components, each reasoned, with an honest 'where we don't win'. Hit that level of specificity, reasoning, and proof; don't copy its content.

Hand off to

PMM OS is a chain, not a menu — don't dead-end at advice. Pass the work on:

• pmm-positioning-audit — pressure-test the positioning
• pmm-messaging-positioning — turn positioning into a message house
• pmm-launch-brief — launch on this positioning
• pmm-coach — review before anything customer- or exec-facing.

Depth

Apply the PMM OS output-depth standard: every section must be specific (named alternatives, segments, numbers — not "competitors"/"users"/"better"), complete (the real dimensions, not just the first), reasoned (the why and the trade-off), and evidenced (a proof or a named proof-gap). Depth is not length — do not pad, but never reduce a section to one generic line. Self-check each section before returning.

Frameworks & deep references

Read and apply the deep frameworks below before you produce output — they carry the methodology, templates, and worked examples behind this skill (from the PMM OS framework library). Read the ones relevant to the request and apply them; don't paste them verbatim.

• positioning/01-positioning-foundation.md — Dunford's 5-component framework + 10-step process
• positioning/02-competitive-alternatives-analysis.md — map the real alternatives (incl. do-nothing)
• positioning/03-icp-driven-positioning.md — anchor positioning to best-fit customers
• positioning/04-differentiated-value-proof-points.md — turn attributes into proven value
• positioning/05-positioning-statement-development.md — write + pressure-test the statement
• positioning/positioning-canvas-template.md — the canvas to fill
• positioning/competitive-alternatives-map.md — alternatives worksheet