manojbajaj95 Marketing Strategy
Workspace Context
Read bootstrap context before asking questions: strategy/brand.md for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; about/me.md for personal voice; content/ideas.md and content/calendar.md for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md, and route durable learnings back to strategy/brand.md, about/me.md, or content/ideas.md.
Operating Contract
This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.
Strategy and positioning layer for B2B SaaS — from product-market fit through competitive intelligence, sales enablement, and growth loops. For launch execution and channel strategy, see go-to-market-strategy.
Product Strategy Stack
VISION — Where are we going? (3–10 years)
STRATEGY — How will we win? (1–3 years)
ROADMAP — What are we building? (Quarters)
EXECUTION — How are we building? (Sprints)
Philosophy: Start with the customer problem, not your solution. Make trade-offs explicit — strategy is choosing what NOT to do. Systems over tactics: growth loops compound; growth hacks don't.
Product-Market Fit Spectrum
Level 0: Problem Fit → Real problem worth solving
Level 1: Solution Fit → Your solution addresses the problem
Level 2: PMF → Customers pull the product from you
Level 3: Scale Fit → Repeatable growth engine working
Level 4: Moat Fit → Defensible competitive advantage established
PMF validation signals: 5+ ICP customers, below-median sales cycle, above-median LTV, <5% churn, NPS 9–10.
Market Opportunity (TAM/SAM/SOM)
| Metric | What It Means | How to Calculate |
|---|---|---|
| TAM | Everyone who could theoretically buy | Target customers × avg contract value |
| SAM | Those you can reach and serve | TAM × geographic/product constraints |
| SOM | Realistic near-term share | SAM × 1–5% penetration |
Validate top-down with bottom-up: (realistic customers × conversion rate × ACV). Gap >3x → revisit assumptions.
ICP & Segmentation
ICP Firmographics (Series A sweet spot): 50–5,000 employees, SaaS/Tech/Professional Services, $5M–$500M revenue.
Buyer Personas:
- Economic Buyer (VP/Director): Cares about ROI, cost reduction → business outcomes + case studies
- Technical Buyer (Engineer): Cares about integration, security → architecture, uptime, SOC 2
- Champion (Manager): Cares about ease of use → UX, quick wins
ICP Scoring (HubSpot): A (perfect fit) → D (poor fit). Focus acquisition on A/B, disqualify D.
Positioning (April Dunford Method)
- Competitive alternatives — What would customers do without you? (competitors, spreadsheets, DIY, status quo)
- Unique attributes — What do you have that alternatives don't?
- Value mapping —
Attribute → Value → Outcome(e.g., AI automation → eliminates manual entry → save 10 hrs/week) - Best-fit customers — Who values this most? Use win/loss data.
- Market category — Head-to-head, niche ("CRM for agencies"), or new category
- Trend layer — What macro trend makes now the right time to buy?
Value proposition: [Product] helps [Target] [Achieve Goal] by [Unique Approach]
Positioning template:
For [target customer]
Who [need/problem]
[Product] is a [category]
That [key benefit]
Unlike [competitors]
Our product [unique differentiator]
Messaging hierarchy: One-liner → 3–5 key benefits → feature/outcome pairs → proof points (logos, stats, case studies)
Working Backwards (PR/FAQ)
Write an internal press release BEFORE building. If you can't write a compelling press release, you don't have a compelling product.
Press Release structure (~1 page):
- Headline — product name + one-sentence customer benefit
- Opening — who is the customer and what problem is solved
- Problem paragraph — the current pain in detail
- Solution paragraph — what the product does
- Customer quote (fictional) — how it changes their life
- Getting started + CTA
FAQ (External + Internal): External = questions real customers would ask. Internal = questions your skeptical colleagues would ask (the hard ones).
Anti-patterns: Writing the PR after building, solution-first thinking, vague customer definition ("everyone could use this"), skipping the hard internal FAQ, marketing hyperbole instead of specific measurable claims.
Competitive Intelligence
Tiers: Direct competitors | Indirect/adjacent | Status quo (spreadsheets, DIY, do nothing)
Intel sources: Product trials, website monitoring, customer interviews, Gong/Chorus recordings, G2 reviews, competitor job postings, industry reports.
Battlecard template (one per competitor):
Competitor | Strengths | Weaknesses | Our advantages
When we win | When we lose
Talk tracks for top 3 objections
Proof points (case studies, review comparisons, win rate)
Update monthly. Distribute via Notion/Confluence to Sales, CS, Product.
Win/Loss process: Interview within 2 weeks of close. Track in HubSpot: reason, competitor, price factor, product gap. Share monthly insights report with product and sales.
Competitive moat types:
| Moat | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Network Effects | Product improves as more users join | Slack, LinkedIn |
| Switching Costs | Painful to leave | Salesforce, Workday |
| Data Advantages | Proprietary data improves product | Google, Waze |
| Scale Economies | Cost advantages at scale | AWS, Stripe |
| Brand | Trust and recognition | Apple, Notion |
Growth Loops & PLG
Growth Loop Types
| Loop | Mechanism | Key Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Viral | Users invite users | K-factor |
| Content | Users create discoverable content | Indexed pages |
| Paid | Revenue funds acquisition | CAC payback |
| SEO | Content ranks, drives traffic | Organic traffic |
PLG Motion Types
| Motion | Best For | Key Lever |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Simple products, network effects | Free → paid conversion |
| Free Trial | Complex products | Trial conversion rate |
| Reverse Trial | High-value products | Premium feature discovery |
| Usage-Based | API/variable consumption | Usage expansion |
North Star Metric
A good North Star measures value delivered, is a leading indicator of revenue, reflects product strategy, and is actionable by the product team. Examples: Slack → DAU sending messages; Airbnb → Nights booked
AARRR Funnel: Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral. Fix activation before optimizing acquisition — don't fill a leaky bucket.
Business Model Design
| Model | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS | Predictable, high LTV | Long sales cycle |
| Freemium | Low CAC, viral | Free → paid conversion hard |
| Usage-Based | Scales with customer | Revenue unpredictability |
| Marketplace | Network effects | High volume needed |
Unit economics:
LTV = (Monthly Revenue × Gross Margin %) ÷ Monthly Churn Rate
Target: LTV > 3x CAC, CAC payback < 18 months
Sales Enablement
Core assets: Sales deck (15 slides, visual-first) · One-pagers (product, competitive, case study, pricing) · Battlecards · Demo script (discover → show → Q&A → next step) · Email sequences · ROI calculator
Enablement cadence:
- Monthly: Competitive update call — product updates, battlecards, win/loss, best practices
- Quarterly: Half-day workshop — positioning refresh, role-play, customer panel
- New hire: 4-week ramp — company → ICP/messaging → competitive intel → demo certification
PMM handoffs: Demand Gen (2-week lead time) | Sales (48-hr SLA on competitive questions) | Product (weekly sync) | CS (1-week for launch enablement)
Product Marketing Context Document
Create strategy/brand.md capturing:
- Product Overview — one-liner, what it does, category, business model
- Target Audience — company type, decision-makers, use case, jobs to be done
- Buyer Personas — user, champion, economic buyer, technical influencer (pain + value promise each)
- Problems & Pain Points — core challenge, why alternatives fail, cost of the problem
- Competitive Landscape — direct, secondary, indirect competitors + how each falls short
- Differentiation — key differentiators, why customers choose you
- Objections & Anti-Personas — top 3 objections + who is NOT a good fit
- Customer Language — verbatim phrases customers use for the problem and your solution
- Brand Voice — tone, style, personality (3–5 adjectives)
- Proof Points — metrics, notable customers, testimonial snippets
Auto-draft approach: Study the repo (README, landing pages, marketing copy), draft V1, then ask: "What needs correcting? What's missing?"
All other marketing skills reference this file automatically.
PMM KPIs
| KPI | Target |
|---|---|
| Feature adoption (90 days) | >40% |
| Win rate (competitive deals) | >30% |
| Sales velocity | -20% YoY |
| Deal size (ACV) | +25% YoY |
| Launch ROMI | 3:1 (pipeline : spend) |
QBR slide structure: Executive summary → KPI dashboard (target vs. actual) → what worked / what didn't → next quarter priorities + budget ask
Key Strategic Questions
- Horizontal vs Vertical? — Serve many industries or dominate one deeply?
- High-Touch vs Self-Service? — Drives CAC, LTV, and scaling ability
- Niche vs Broad? — Start narrow, expand over time
- Premium vs Budget? — Rarely can do both
- First Mover vs Fast Follower? — Category size determines which matters
Anti-Patterns
- Vision without strategy — inspiring destination, no map
- Strategy without trade-offs — if everything is a priority, nothing is
- TAM theater — unrealistic market sizes to impress investors
- Feature parity obsession — chasing competitors instead of customers
- Premature scaling — scaling before PMF
- Optimizing acquisition before activation — filling a leaky bucket
- Vanity metrics — MAU without engagement is meaningless