Product Marketing

Product & Marketing — Strategy Through Execution

Frameworks and production patterns for product management and product marketing. Every recommendation cites its source — no opinions disguised as best practice.

This skill works in two modes:

• Builder — you're shipping a product and need to figure out positioning, pricing, launch, and growth
• Operator — you're running a product org and need discovery, prioritization, roadmapping, and metrics

Architecture Overview

[Strategy]
    ├── Vision & mission (where we're going)
    ├── Competitive landscape (who else, what's different)
    ├── Strategic pillars (3-5 focus areas)
    └── What we will NOT do
              ↓
[Discovery]
    ├── Customer interviews (weekly cadence)
    ├── JTBD analysis (functional, emotional, social jobs)
    ├── Opportunity Solution Trees (outcomes → opportunities → solutions)
    └── Assumption mapping → experiment design
              ↓
[Positioning & Messaging]
    ├── Dunford 5-component positioning
    ├── Messaging hierarchy (tagline → value prop → pillars → proof)
    ├── Strategic narrative (Raskin structure)
    └── Per-persona variations
              ↓
[Prioritization & Roadmap]
    ├── RICE / ICE / WSJF scoring
    ├── Now / Next / Later roadmap
    ├── OKRs (quarterly outcomes)
    └── Saying no (with a framework)
              ↓
[Go-to-Market]
    ├── GTM motion (PLG vs Sales-Led vs Community-Led)
    ├── Pricing strategy (Van Westendorp, anchoring, tiers)
    ├── Launch plan (tiered: major / feature / minor)
    └── Channel selection (Bullseye method)
              ↓
[Marketing Copy]
    ├── Landing pages (PAS / AIDA / BAB frameworks)
    ├── Pricing pages (tier structure, anchoring)
    ├── Email sequences (onboarding, launch, nurture)
    └── Case studies, changelogs, announcements
              ↓
[Metrics & Feedback Loop]
    ├── North Star + input metrics
    ├── AARRR funnel (Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral)
    ├── Unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback)
    └── Experiment results → feed back into Discovery

Quick Reference

Decision Matrix: "What Do I Do First?"

By stage

By question

The #1 Mistake: Building Before Positioning

Most builders skip positioning and go straight to "what features should we build?" This is backwards. If you can't complete this sentence, you don't have positioning:

For [target customer] who [key need/problem], [product name] is a [market category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitive alternative], we [primary differentiator].

If that sentence feels forced or generic, start with Positioning & Messaging before anything else.

Common Anti-Patterns

Verified Against

This skill synthesizes frameworks from authoritative, primary sources:

Last verified: March 2026