Launch Positioning Builder

Research the competitive landscape and produce a complete positioning document — category definition, differentiation claims, value props, proof points, and messaging hierarchy. Output is directly usable in website copy, sales decks, and investor materials.

Built for: First PMM hire at a seed/Series A startup, or a founder wearing the product marketing hat. The output should be opinionated, not a generic template.

When to Use

"Help me position [product] against [competitors]"
"We need a positioning doc before our launch"
"How should we differentiate from [competitor]?"
"Rewrite our positioning — it's too generic"
"What category should we create or own?"

Phase 0: Intake

Product name + URL — What are you positioning?
One-sentence pitch — How do you describe what you do today?
Top 2-3 competitors — Names + URLs. Who does your buyer compare you to?
ICP — Title, company type, stage (e.g., "Head of Growth at Series A B2B SaaS")
Key differentiators — What do you believe makes you different? (even if not yet articulated)
Existing proof points — Customer wins, metrics, logos, quotes (anything you have)
Positioning trigger — Why now? (new launch, competitive pressure, rebrand, entering new segment)

Phase 1: Competitive Landscape Research

1A: Competitor Website Analysis

For each competitor, research and extract:

Search: "[competitor name]" site:[competitor-url]
Search: "[competitor name]" positioning OR "we help" OR "the only"
Fetch: competitor homepage, pricing page, about page

Extract from each competitor:

Tagline / hero copy — their primary claim
Category language — what category do they put themselves in?
Key differentiators — what do they emphasize?
Proof points — customer logos, metrics, case studies
Pricing model — free trial, freemium, enterprise, usage-based
Target audience language — who do they say they serve?

1B: Review Mining (if available)

If competitors have G2/Capterra reviews, scan for:

What customers praise (their perceived strengths)
What customers complain about (your potential wedge)
How customers describe the category

1C: Ad Copy Analysis (optional)

Search for competitor ad copy:

Search: "[competitor name]" advertisement OR "sponsored"

Ad copy reveals what competitors believe converts — their sharpest positioning.

Phase 2: Positioning Framework

Build the positioning doc using April Dunford's framework adapted for early-stage:

2A: Category Definition

Approach	When to Use	Example
Existing category	You compete head-to-head	"CRM for startups"
Subcategory	You serve a niche better	"AI-native sales engagement"
New category	You do something genuinely different	"Revenue orchestration platform"

Decision criteria:

If your ICP already searches for the category → use existing or subcategory
If you'd spend 50% of sales calls explaining the category → don't create a new one
If no existing category captures what you do → create one, but keep it intuitive

2B: Competitive Alternatives

What would your customer do if you didn't exist?

Direct competitors (same category)
Adjacent tools (partial overlap)
Manual process (spreadsheets, hiring, doing nothing)

2C: Unique Attributes → Value Props

Map each differentiator to a customer value:

Unique Attribute	Value to Customer	Proof Point
[What you have]	[Why they care]	[Evidence]
[What you have]	[Why they care]	[Evidence]

2D: Messaging Hierarchy

Level	Message	Use Where
Positioning statement	For [ICP] who [pain], [Product] is the [category] that [key differentiator]. Unlike [alternative], we [unique value].	Internal alignment, PR
Primary headline	[Outcome-driven claim]	Homepage hero, ads
Supporting messages (3)	[Value prop 1], [Value prop 2], [Value prop 3]	Feature sections, sales deck
Proof line	[Metric or customer quote]	Below the fold, case studies

Phase 3: Competitive Positioning Map

Create a 2x2 positioning matrix:

                    [Dimension A: e.g., Ease of Use]
                    High
                      |
         [You]        |       [Competitor A]
                      |
    ──────────────────┼──────────────────
                      |
      [Competitor C]  |       [Competitor B]
                      |
                    Low
        Low ──────────────────────── High
                    [Dimension B: e.g., Enterprise-readiness]

Choose dimensions where you win on at least one axis. Avoid dimensions where you lose on both.

Phase 4: Output Format

# Positioning Document — [Product Name]
Created: [DATE] | Trigger: [launch/rebrand/competitive shift]

---

## Positioning Statement

For [ICP] who [pain point],
[Product] is the [category]
that [key differentiator].
Unlike [primary alternative],
we [unique value that matters to ICP].

---

## Category

**Category:** [name]
**Approach:** [Existing / Subcategory / New]
**Rationale:** [1-2 sentences on why this framing]

---

## Competitive Landscape

### Direct Competitors
| Competitor | Positioning | Strength | Weakness (your wedge) |
|-----------|-------------|----------|----------------------|
| [Name] | "[Their tagline]" | [What they do well] | [Where they fall short] |

### Alternative Solutions
- [Manual process / spreadsheet / hiring]
- [Adjacent tool category]

---

## Value Propositions

### Primary: [Headline claim]
[2-sentence explanation + proof point]

### Secondary A: [Value prop]
[2-sentence explanation + proof point]

### Secondary B: [Value prop]
[2-sentence explanation + proof point]

---

## Proof Points Library

### With Metrics
- "[Customer quote with number]" — [Source]
- [Metric]: [claim] — [evidence]

### Logos & Social Proof
- [Customer logos to feature]
- [Review platform ratings]

---

## Messaging by Audience

### [Persona 1: e.g., Founder/CEO]
- **Pain:** [What keeps them up at night]
- **Hook:** "[Message that resonates]"
- **Proof:** [Evidence they'd trust]

### [Persona 2: e.g., Head of Growth]
- **Pain:** ...
- **Hook:** ...
- **Proof:** ...

---

## Positioning Map

[2x2 matrix with chosen dimensions]

---

## Where to Deploy This Positioning

| Asset | Key Message | Priority |
|-------|------------|----------|
| Homepage hero | [Primary headline] | P0 — update now |
| Sales deck slide 2-3 | [Positioning statement] | P0 |
| LinkedIn company tagline | [One-liner] | P1 |
| Cold email opening line | [Pain hook] | P1 |
| G2 profile description | [Category + differentiator] | P2 |

---

## What We're NOT Saying

(Guardrails to keep messaging consistent)
- We don't claim to be [X] — that's [competitor]'s territory
- We don't target [segment] — outside our ICP
- We avoid the word "[buzzword]" — overused, means nothing

Save to clients/<client-name>/product-marketing/positioning-[YYYY-MM-DD].md.

Cost

Component	Cost
Web research (competitor sites)	Free
Review mining (if using review-scraper)	~$0.50-1.00
All analysis and positioning	Free (LLM reasoning)
Total	Free — $1

Tools Required

web_search — for competitor research
fetch_webpage — for analyzing competitor sites
Optional: review-scraper for review-based insights

Trigger Phrases

"Build a positioning doc for [product]"
"How should we position against [competitor]?"
"We need positioning before our launch"
"Run the positioning builder for [client]"

launch-positioning-builder