Product Marketing

Product & Marketing — Strategy Through Execution

Frameworks and production patterns for product management and product marketing. Every recommendation cites its source — no opinions disguised as best practice.

This skill works in two modes:

• Builder — you're shipping a product and need to figure out positioning, pricing, launch, and growth
• Operator — you're running a product org and need discovery, prioritization, roadmapping, and metrics

Architecture Overview

[Strategy]
    ├── Vision & mission (where we're going)
    ├── Competitive landscape (who else, what's different)
    ├── Strategic pillars (3-5 focus areas)
    └── What we will NOT do
              ↓
[Discovery]
    ├── Customer interviews (weekly cadence)
    ├── JTBD analysis (functional, emotional, social jobs)
    ├── Opportunity Solution Trees (outcomes → opportunities → solutions)
    └── Assumption mapping → experiment design
              ↓
[Positioning & Messaging]
    ├── Dunford 5-component positioning
    ├── Messaging hierarchy (tagline → value prop → pillars → proof)
    ├── Strategic narrative (Raskin structure)
    └── Per-persona variations
              ↓
[Prioritization & Roadmap]
    ├── RICE / ICE / WSJF scoring
    ├── Now / Next / Later roadmap
    ├── OKRs (quarterly outcomes)
    └── Saying no (with a framework)
              ↓
[Go-to-Market]
    ├── GTM motion (PLG vs Sales-Led vs Community-Led)
    ├── Pricing strategy (Van Westendorp, anchoring, tiers)
    ├── Launch plan (tiered: major / feature / minor)
    └── Channel selection (Bullseye method)
              ↓
[Marketing Copy]
    ├── Landing pages (PAS / AIDA / BAB frameworks)
    ├── Pricing pages (tier structure, anchoring)
    ├── Email sequences (onboarding, launch, nurture)
    └── Case studies, changelogs, announcements
              ↓
[Metrics & Feedback Loop]
    ├── North Star + input metrics
    ├── AARRR funnel (Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral)
    ├── Unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback)
    └── Experiment results → feed back into Discovery

Quick Reference

| Need to... | See | |---|---| | Define product vision and strategy | [Strategy](resources/strategy.md) | | Run customer interviews, map opportunities | [Discovery](resources/discovery.md) | | Position your product against competitors | [Positioning & Messaging](resources/positioning-and-messaging.md) | | Plan pricing, launch, and GTM motion | [Go-to-Market](resources/go-to-market.md) | | Decide what to build next, manage roadmap | [Prioritization & Roadmap](resources/prioritization-and-roadmap.md) | | Choose metrics, set OKRs, measure growth | [Metrics & Analytics](resources/metrics-and-analytics.md) | | Write landing pages, emails, case studies | [Marketing Copy](resources/marketing-copy.md) | | Generate PRDs, briefs, battle cards | [Templates](resources/templates.md) |

Decision Matrix: "What Do I Do First?"

By stage

| Stage | First Priority | Second Priority | Skip For Now | |---|---|---|---| | Idea stage | Discovery (interviews, JTBD) | Strategy (vision, landscape) | Metrics, Launch | | Pre-launch | Positioning, Messaging | Pricing, Landing page copy | Roadmap, OKRs | | Launch | GTM plan, Launch copy | Metrics setup, Activation | Long-term roadmap | | Growing | Metrics (North Star, retention) | Prioritization, OKRs | Re-positioning (unless stalled) | | Scaling | Strategy (pillars, what not to do) | Roadmap, Team OKRs | Discovery basics (should be habitual) |

By question

| Question | Framework | Resource | |---|---|---| | "Who is this for?" | User personas + JTBD | [Discovery](resources/discovery.md) | | "Why would they pick us?" | Dunford positioning | [Positioning](resources/positioning-and-messaging.md) | | "What should we build next?" | RICE + Opportunity Solution Tree | [Prioritization](resources/prioritization-and-roadmap.md) | | "How do we price this?" | Van Westendorp + competitive anchoring | [Go-to-Market](resources/go-to-market.md) | | "How do we know it's working?" | North Star + AARRR | [Metrics](resources/metrics-and-analytics.md) | | "What should the landing page say?" | PAS framework + messaging hierarchy | [Marketing Copy](resources/marketing-copy.md) | | "How do we launch?" | Tiered launch plan | [Go-to-Market](resources/go-to-market.md) | | "Should I write a PRD?" | Yes — use lightweight Notion-style format | [Templates](resources/templates.md) |

The #1 Mistake: Building Before Positioning

Most builders skip positioning and go straight to "what features should we build?" This is backwards. If you can't complete this sentence, you don't have positioning:

> For [target customer] who [key need/problem], [product name] is a [market category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitive alternative], we [primary differentiator].

If that sentence feels forced or generic, start with [Positioning & Messaging](resources/positioning-and-messaging.md) before anything else.

Common Anti-Patterns

| Anti-Pattern | Why It Fails | What To Do Instead | |---|---|---| | "We're for everyone" | No positioning = no differentiation. You compete on price alone | Pick a beachhead segment. Dominate it. Expand later (Moore, "Crossing the Chasm") | | Feature roadmap shared publicly | Commits you to outputs, not outcomes. Competitors copy. Customers wait instead of buying | Now/Next/Later roadmap with themes, not features | | Pricing based on costs | Ignores willingness-to-pay. Leaves money on the table | Value-based pricing. Start with Van Westendorp research | | "We'll launch when it's ready" | Perfectionism kills momentum. You learn nothing without users | Ship to a small cohort. Iterate. Launch is marketing, not engineering | | Measuring everything | Dashboard with 50 metrics = no focus. Teams optimize for their own metric, not the product | One North Star + 3-5 input metrics. That's it | | Copying competitor pricing | Their costs, market, and positioning are different from yours | Price based on YOUR value proposition to YOUR target segment | | Annual roadmap with specific features | World changes quarterly. Roadmap becomes fiction | Quarterly OKRs + Now/Next/Later. Commit to outcomes, not outputs |

Verified Against

This skill synthesizes frameworks from authoritative, primary sources:

| Source | What We Cite | Publication | |---|---|---| | Marty Cagan / SVPG | Product operating model, empowered teams, product strategy | "Transformed" (2024), "Empowered" (2020), "Inspired" (2018) | | April Dunford | 5-component positioning, sales pitch structure | "Obviously Awesome" (2019), "Sales Pitch" (2023) | | Teresa Torres | Continuous discovery, Opportunity Solution Trees, assumption mapping | "Continuous Discovery Habits" (2021) | | Clayton Christensen | Jobs-to-be-Done theory | "Competing Against Luck" (2016) | | Tony Ulwick | Outcome-Driven Innovation (quantitative JTBD) | "Jobs to be Done" (2016) | | Reforge | Growth loops, Four Fits, retention analysis | Courses and essays (2018–2026) | | Andy Raskin | Strategic narrative structure | "Greatest Sales Deck" (2016, updated through 2024) | | Emily Kramer / MKT1 | Startup marketing architecture, messaging hierarchy | MKT1 Newsletter (2021–2026) | | Geoffrey Moore | Technology adoption lifecycle, chasm crossing | "Crossing the Chasm" (3rd ed, 2014) | | John Doerr / Christina Wodtke | OKRs | "Measure What Matters" (2018), "Radical Focus" (2nd ed, 2021) | | Intercom | RICE prioritization | Intercom blog (2018) | | Amplitude | North Star framework | "North Star Playbook" (2019) | | Dave McClure | AARRR / Pirate Metrics | "Startup Metrics for Pirates" (2007) | | Ryan Singer | Shape Up (appetite-based development) | "Shape Up" (2019) | | Gabriel Weinberg | Traction channels, Bullseye framework | "Traction" (2015) | | David Skok | SaaS unit economics | ForEntrepreneurs blog (2010–2026) | | Patrick Campbell | SaaS pricing strategy | ProfitWell / Paddle content archive | | Donald Miller | StoryBrand narrative framework | "Building a StoryBrand" (2017) |

Last verified: March 2026

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: LeahyCC
• Source: LeahyCC/claude-skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://skills.sh/LeahyCC/claude-skills/wcag-accessibility

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.