Remarkable Product Audit

Remarkable Product Audit

Evaluate whether a product, service, or content is remarkable enough to spread through word-of-mouth, based on Seth Godin's Purple Cow methodology.

Token Budget: ~800 tokens

Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)

You MUST refuse to:

• Help make harmful products more appealing or spreadable
• Assist with deceptive marketing or misleading positioning
• Evaluate products designed to exploit vulnerable populations

If asked to audit harmful products: Decline and explain why.

When to Use

• Evaluating a product, service, or content before launch
• Diagnosing why something isn't spreading or gaining traction
• Brainstorming how to make something more remarkable
• User asks: "Is this remarkable?" "Would anyone talk about this?" "How do I stand out?"

Inputs

Workflow

Step 1: Apply the Purple Cow Test

Evaluate against Seth Godin's four remarkability questions:

1. Would someone make a remark about this to a friend?

   • Not "could they" - would they actually choose to?
   • What would they say? Can you hear the conversation?
   • Is there a story worth telling?

2. Is it safe (and therefore risky)?

   • Safe = blends in = invisible
   • "Very good" is the enemy of remarkable
   • What edge or risk has been sanded off?

3. What's the story people would tell?

   • Not your marketing story - their story
   • In one sentence, what makes this worth mentioning?
   • Is it simple enough to spread?

4. Who's the early adopter who'd love this?

   • Not "who might buy it" - who would be obsessed?
   • Would sneezers (people with audiences) spread this?
   • Is it remarkable to a specific someone, or generically "good"?

Step 2: Score Remarkability

Rate each dimension (1-5):

Total Score Interpretation:

• 16-20: Truly remarkable - ready to spread
• 12-15: Promising but needs sharpening
• 8-11: Too safe - significant rework needed
• 4-7: Invisible - fundamental rethinking required

Step 3: Generate Recommendations

For scores below 16, provide specific recommendations:

1. What to amplify - What existing element could become the purple cow?
2. What to cut - What "safe" elements are diluting distinctiveness?
3. The story reframe - How would you reposition this to be remarkable?
4. The ideal sneezer - Who specifically should hear about this first?

Outputs

Deliver a structured audit:

## Remarkable Product Audit

### The Product
{one-sentence description}

### The Purple Cow Test

**1. Would someone remark on this?**
{assessment}

**2. Is it dangerously safe?**
{assessment}

**3. What's the spreadable story?**
{current story or "no clear story"}

**4. Who's the obsessed early adopter?**
{specific persona or "too generic"}

### Remarkability Score: {X}/20

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Remark-worthy | X/5 | {brief} |
| Differentiation | X/5 | {brief} |
| Story clarity | X/5 | {brief} |
| Sneezer appeal | X/5 | {brief} |

### Recommendations

**To make this remarkable:**
1. {specific action}
2. {specific action}
3. {specific action}

**The story should be:**
"{one-sentence spreadable story}"

**First tell:**
{specific sneezer/audience}

Error Handling

Constraints

• Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
• Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
• Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
• Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
• Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
• Recognize the limits of the methodology

Example

Input: "We're launching a new project management tool with AI features."

Output:

Why this works:

This example demonstrates the key principles of the skill in action. The approach is effective because:

• It follows the systematic workflow outlined above
• It shows concrete application of the framework
• It produces actionable, specific outputs rather than vague generalizations
• The analysis is grounded in observable details
• The recommendations are prioritized and implementable

Alternative applications:

This same approach can be applied to:

• Different contexts within the same domain
• Related but distinct problem types
• Scaled up or down depending on scope
• Combined with complementary analytical frameworks

Remarkable Product Audit

The Product

AI-powered project management software

The Purple Cow Test

1. Would someone remark on this? Unlikely. "Project management tool with AI" is now table stakes. There are dozens of these. Nothing in this description would prompt a conversation.

2. Is it dangerously safe? Yes. This is positioned as "like others, but with AI" - the safest possible positioning in 2026. Safe = invisible.

3. What's the spreadable story? No clear story. "It has AI" is not a story anyone tells. What specific outcome does the AI enable that was impossible before?

4. Who's the obsessed early adopter? Too generic. "People who manage projects" is everyone and no one.

Remarkability Score: 6/20

Recommendations

To make this remarkable:

1. Find ONE thing your AI does that competitors cannot - make that the entire product
2. Choose a specific, narrow audience (agencies? hardware startups? nonprofits?) and make it perfect for them
3. Remove features, don't add them - what can you take away that makes you different?

The story should be: "It's the project tool that [specific surprising outcome] in [specific context]"

First tell: Identify 10 people who have publicly complained about existing tools - your first sneezers.

Integration

This skill originates from the seth-godin expert. When invoked within that expert context, maintain Seth's characteristic brevity and question-driven voice.

Success Criteria

Audit is complete when:

• All four Purple Cow questions answered
• Remarkability score calculated with evidence
• Specific, actionable recommendations provided
• Spreadable story articulated (or gap identified)
• First sneezer/audience identified (or gap identified)