Marketing Strategy

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)

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)

1. Competitive alternatives — What would customers do without you? (competitors, spreadsheets, DIY, status quo)
2. Unique attributes — What do you have that alternatives don't?
3. Value mapping — Attribute → Value → Outcome (e.g., AI automation → eliminates manual entry → save 10 hrs/week)
4. Best-fit customers — Who values this most? Use win/loss data.
5. Market category — Head-to-head, niche ("CRM for agencies"), or new category
6. 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):

1. Headline — product name + one-sentence customer benefit
2. Opening — who is the customer and what problem is solved
3. Problem paragraph — the current pain in detail
4. Solution paragraph — what the product does
5. Customer quote (fictional) — how it changes their life
6. 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:

Growth Loops & PLG

Growth Loop Types

PLG Motion Types