Positioning Statement (Geoffrey Moore)
Fill in the For/that need/is a/that + Unlike/provides template from Crossing the Chasm — forces hard choices about target, category, need, and defensible differentiation.
Your marketing deck says "for modern teams that want to move faster" — and nobody knows what that means, including the sales team. Geoffrey Moore's positioning forces real decisions: which customer, which category, which competitor, which outcome. If you can't fill in "unlike X," you don't have differentiation — you have hope.
Who it's for: PMs clarifying product strategy, founders aligning stakeholders on positioning, marketing leads sharpening messaging, sales enablement leads defining competitive narrative
Example
"Write a positioning statement for our B2B analytics tool targeting mid-market HR" → For VPs of HR / that need to reduce time-to-hire / [Product] is a hiring analytics platform / that cuts time-to-fill 40%. Unlike spreadsheets and Greenhouse reports / provides predictive candidate-quality scoring in <5 min
CLAUDE.md Template
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
npx ccplaybooks add positioning-statement# Positioning Statement (Geoffrey Moore)
Create a Geoffrey Moore-style positioning statement articulating who your product serves, what need it addresses, how it's categorized, what benefit it delivers, and how it differs from alternatives. Align stakeholders on strategy, guide messaging, test if value prop is crisp and defensible.
Not a tagline or elevator pitch — a strategic clarity tool that forces hard choices about target, need, and differentiation.
## The Framework
From *Crossing the Chasm* (Geoffrey Moore). Two parts:
### Value Proposition
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What This Does
Walks through Geoffrey Moore's two-part positioning template: Value Proposition (For / that need / is a / that) + Differentiation (Unlike / provides). Each box has quality checks for specificity, defensibility, category fit, and outcome focus.
Pairs with jobs-to-be-done (that need), proto-persona (For), and problem-statement (underlying problem). Feeds into press-release and PRD messaging.
Quick Start
mkdir -p ~/Documents/Positioning
mv ~/Downloads/CLAUDE.md ~/Documents/Positioning/
cd ~/Documents/Positioning
claude
Provide target segment, underserved need (from research), product category, and competitive landscape. Claude drafts and stress-tests the positioning.
The Template
Value Proposition:
For [target], that need [underserved need], [product] is a [category] that [benefit outcome].
Differentiation:
Unlike [real alternative, often Excel], [product] provides [durable outcome differentiation].
Stress Tests
- Would a customer recognize themselves in "For [target]"?
- Can you point to research that validates the need?
- Does the category anchor against the right competitors?
- Could you prove the differentiation with a demo or case study?
- Does it guide product decisions ("should we build X?")?
Tips & Best Practices
- Name the real competitor. Often it's Excel, spreadsheets, email threads, or "doing nothing" — not the competitor you wish you fought.
- Outcomes, not features. "Reduces churn 40%" beats "has predictive analytics."
- Narrow the target segment. You can expand later; positioning works when specific.
- Pick a category buyers know. Category creation requires $$$ and years. Most startups shouldn't.
- Read it aloud with a customer. Nodding = works. Confusion = revise.
Common Pitfalls
- "For everyone" or "for businesses that want efficiency"
- Feature list in the benefit slot ("provides AI, automation, integrations")
- Imaginary competitor ("unlike legacy systems")
- Unprovable differentiation ("revolutionary AI")
- Category confusion ("next-gen platform for digital transformation")