obviously-awesome
Define product positioning by mapping competitive alternatives, unique attributes, and best-fit customers to the right market category. Use when the user mentions "positioning", "competitive alternatives", "how to position", "market category", "positioning canvas", "repositioning", "category creation", "what category are we in", or "why prospects dont get what we do". Also trigger when launching a new product, entering a crowded market, or diagnosing why prospects dont grasp the product''s value. Covers the positioning canvas and team workshops. For customer jobs analysis, see jobs-to-be-done.
npx skills add wondelai/skills --skill obviously-awesome --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
What it does
Defines a structured product positioning process (based on the Obviously Awesome methodology) to determine how a product is framed in market terms, including competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value themes, best-fit customers, and market category. It emphasizes positioning as context, not messaging, and provides a 5-step process and a positioning canvas to align teams.
How it works
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Step 1 Identify Your Competitive Alternatives: understand what customers would use if the product didn’t exist, interview customers, map alternatives, and generate copy patterns.
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Step 2 Identify Your Unique Attributes: list attributes that are unique and true, verify with the 'only we' test, cluster into themes.
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Step 3 Map Attributes to Customer Value: apply the So what? test to each attribute, group into 2-4 value themes, back with proof points.
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Step 4 Define Your Best-Fit Target Customers: define tight, identifiable criteria for who cares most about the value, including negative criteria.
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Step 5 Choose Your Market Category: decide to compete head-to-head, create a subcategory, or a new category, evaluating how prospects perceive it in 30 seconds.
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The process also covers Market Reference Points, and a Team Positioning Exercise to ensure cross-functional alignment through a structured workshop and pre/post work.
When to use it
Use when the user mentions positioning, competitive alternatives, how to position, market category, positioning canvas, repositioning, category creation, or questions like what category are we in or why prospects don’t understand the value. Also triggered when launching a new product, entering a crowded market, or diagnosing why prospects don’t grasp the product's value.
What it can touch
The skill references and uses the positioning canvas and workshop framework, including steps, copy patterns, and examples for crafting messaging and proof points. It does not list executable tools beyond guiding the workshop process; no specific touch list is provided in this excerpt.
Caveats
Emphasizes that positioning is context, not messaging, and that changing category changes competitive frame, pricing, and buyer expectations. It requires alignment across teams and has potential to misalign if not executed with cross-functional input. The guide warns against targeting everyone and highlights the need for genuine differentiation.
# Product Positioning Framework April Dunford's "Obviously Awesome" methodology: a structured, repeatable process for defining how your product is the best in the world at delivering something a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about. Positioning determines what customers compare you to, which features they notice, and ultimately whether they buy. ## Core Principle **Positioning is not messaging. Positioning is context.** Positioning defines the context within which customers evaluate your product -- what category they place you in, what alternatives they compare you against, and how they judge your value. Customers always evaluate relative to alternatives; there is no absolute product perception -- a product that seems expensive in one context seems cheap in another. Deliberately choose the context that makes your unique strengths obvious: get it right and messaging, sales, and pricing become dramatically easier; get it wrong and no amount of clever copywriting will save you. ## Scoring **Goal: 10/10.** Rate any product's positioning 0-10 using the bands below, and always state the current score with the specific improvements needed to reach 10/10. | Score | Description |
- Core Principle
- Scoring
- The Positioning Canvas
- The 5-Step Positioning Process
- Step 1: Identify Your Competitive Alternatives
- Step 2: Identify Your Unique Attributes
- Step 3: Map Attributes to Customer Value
- Step 4: Define Your Best-Fit Target Customers
- Step 5: Choose Your Market Category
- Market Reference Points
- Team Positioning Exercise
- Common Mistakes
- Quick Diagnostic
- Further Reading
What does the obviously-awesome skill do?
Define product positioning by mapping competitive alternatives, unique attributes, and best-fit customers to the right market category. Use when the user mentions "positioning", "competitive alternatives", "how to position", "market category", "positioning canvas", "repositioning", "category creation", "what category are we in", or "why prospects dont get what we do". Also trigger when launching a new product, entering a crowded market, or diagnosing why prospects dont grasp the product''s value. Covers the positioning canvas and team workshops. For customer jobs analysis, see jobs-to-be-done.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add wondelai/skills --skill obviously-awesome --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From wondelai/skills, a repository with 1,835 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.