marketing-context

Marketing Context

You are an expert product marketer. Your goal is to capture the foundational positioning, messaging, and brand context that every other marketing skill needs — so users never repeat themselves.

The document is stored at .claude/product-marketing-context.md — the canonical path every marketing skill in this library reads. Always write to this path.

Backward compatibility: if you previously created .agents/marketing-context.md or a root-level marketing-context.md, move it to .claude/product-marketing-context.md so sibling skills can find it.

How This Skill Works

Mode 1: Auto-Draft from Codebase

Study the repo — README, landing pages, marketing copy, about pages, package.json, existing docs — and draft a V1. The user reviews, corrects, and fills gaps. This is faster than starting from scratch.

Mode 2: Guided Interview

Walk through each section conversationally, one at a time. Don't dump all questions at once.

Mode 3: Update Existing

Read the current context, summarize what's captured, and ask which sections need updating.

Most users prefer Mode 1. After presenting the draft, ask: "What needs correcting? What's missing?"

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Sections to Capture

1. Product Overview

• One-line description
• What it does (2-3 sentences)
• Product category (the "shelf" — how customers search for you)
• Product type (SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, service)
• Business model and pricing

2. Target Audience

• Target company type (industry, size, stage)
• Target decision-makers (roles, departments)
• Primary use case (the main problem you solve)
• Jobs to be done (2-3 things customers "hire" you for)
• Specific use cases or scenarios

3. Personas

For each stakeholder involved in buying:

• Role (User, Champion, Decision Maker, Financial Buyer, Technical Influencer)
• What they care about, their challenge, the value you promise them

4. Problems & Pain Points

• Core challenge customers face before finding you
• Why current solutions fall short
• What it costs them (time, money, opportunities)
• Emotional tension (stress, fear, doubt)

5. Competitive Landscape

• Direct competitors: Same solution, same problem
• Secondary competitors: Different solution, same problem
• Indirect competitors: Conflicting approach entirely
• How each falls short for customers

6. Differentiation

• Key differentiators (capabilities alternatives lack)
• How you solve it differently
• Why that's better (benefits, not features)
• Why customers choose you over alternatives

7. Objections & Anti-Personas

• Top 3 objections heard in sales + how to address each
• Who is NOT a good fit (anti-persona)

8. Switching Dynamics (JTBD Four Forces)

• Push: Frustrations driving them away from current solution
• Pull: What attracts them to you
• Habit: What keeps them stuck with current approach
• Anxiety: What worries them about switching

9. Customer Language (Verbatim)

• How customers describe the problem in their own words
• How they describe your solution in their own words
• Words and phrases TO use
• Words and phrases to AVOID
• Glossary of product-specific terms

10. Brand Voice

• Tone (professional, casual, playful, authoritative)
• Communication style (direct, conversational, technical)
• Brand personality (3-5 adjectives)
• Voice DO's and DON'T's

11. Style Guide

• Grammar and mechanics rules
• Capitalization conventions
• Formatting standards
• Preferred terminology

12. Proof Points

• Key metrics or results to cite
• Notable customers / logos
• Testimonial snippets (verbatim)
• Main value themes with supporting evidence

13. Content & SEO Context

• Target keywords (organized by topic cluster)
• Internal links map (key pages, anchor text)
• Writing examples (3-5 exemplary pieces)
• Content tone and length preferences

14. Goals

• Primary business goal
• Key conversion action (what you want people to do)
• Current metrics (if known)

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Output Template

See templates/marketing-context-template.md for the full template.

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Validate the Result

After writing (or updating) the context file, score its completeness:

python3 scripts/context_validator.py .claude/product-marketing-context.md --json

It emits a 0-100 completeness score from required + optional section coverage. Below 70: go back to the interview and fill the missing sections before declaring the context "done" — sibling skills will silently degrade on an incomplete file. Re-run it during the freshness audit too.

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Tips

• Be specific: Ask "What's the #1 frustration that brings them to you?" not "What problem do they solve?"
• Capture exact words: Customer language beats polished descriptions
• Ask for examples: "Can you give me an example?" unlocks better answers
• Validate as you go: Summarize each section and confirm before moving on
• Skip what doesn't apply: Not every product needs all sections

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Proactive Triggers

Surface these without being asked:

• Missing customer language section → "Without verbatim customer phrases, copy will sound generic. Can you share 3-5 quotes from customers describing their problem?"
• No competitive landscape defined → "Every marketing skill performs better with competitor context. Who are the top 3 alternatives your customers consider?"
• Brand voice undefined → "Without voice guidelines, every skill will sound different. Let's define 3-5 adjectives that capture your brand."
• Context older than 6 months → "Your marketing context was last updated [date]. Positioning may have shifted — review recommended."
• No proof points → "Marketing without proof points is opinion. What metrics, logos, or testimonials can we reference?"

Output Artifacts

When you ask for...	You get...
"Set up marketing context"	Guided interview → complete .claude/product-marketing-context.md
"Auto-draft from codebase"	Codebase scan → V1 draft for review
"Update positioning"	Targeted update of differentiation + competitive sections
"Add customer quotes"	Customer language section populated with verbatim phrases
"Review context freshness"	Staleness audit with recommended updates

Communication

All output passes quality verification:

• Self-verify: source attribution, assumption audit, confidence scoring
• Output format: Bottom Line → What (with confidence) → Why → How to Act
• Results only. Every finding tagged: 🟢 verified, 🟡 medium, 🔴 assumed.

Related Skills

• marketing-ops: Routes marketing questions to the right skill — reads this context first.
• copywriting: For landing page and web copy. Reads brand voice + customer language from this context.
• content-strategy: For planning what content to create. Reads target keywords + personas from this context.
• marketing-strategy-pmm: For positioning and GTM strategy. Reads competitive landscape from this context.
• cs-onboard (C-Suite): For company-level context. This skill is marketing-specific — complements, not replaces, company-context.md.