Guided positioning flow

A disciplined way to turn a rough idea into a positioning result.

The flow is designed to keep audience selection, proof review, and claim safety connected. It helps the result stay specific without pretending certainty that is not there yet.

The ten stages
1. What are you positioning?

Start with the object itself so the rest of the flow can stay specific.

2. Who is it for?

Capture the primary audience and keep mixed audiences visible instead of hiding them.

3. What problem does it solve?

Turn the offer into a concrete problem statement the audience would recognize.

4. What makes it different?

Name the differentiator directly so the claim is not just aesthetic or implied.

5. What proof exists?

List only the proof that actually exists and keep unknowns labeled as unknown.

6. What should people do next?

Match the CTA to the trust level, audience maturity, and channel context.

7. Where will this be used?

Tune the output for homepage, sales deck, investor brief, social, or internal use.

8. What tone and trust level are needed?

Choose whether the result should feel direct, careful, premium, or regulated.

9. What claims should be avoided?

Remove claims that cannot be supported or should stay staged until reviewed.

10. Generate positioning result.

Return the summary, claim-to-proof map, trust state, and next best action.

Readiness bands
Strong position

Audience, proof, and CTA all line up.

Good start, refine proof

The direction is useful, but evidence still needs tightening.

Clarify audience first

The audience is too broad or mixed to trust the draft yet.

Needs more information

Positioning should stay draft until the missing inputs are filled.

Claim discipline
  • Keep unknown proof unknown.
  • Map every public claim to available evidence.
  • Stage risky claims before they are promoted externally.
  • Use the next best action instead of pretending certainty.