marketing-context

---
name: marketing-context
description: Use when creating or maintaining the foundational marketing context document that guides all marketing skills before starting a project.
category: Marketing
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# Marketing Context

Capture the foundational positioning, messaging, and brand context that every other marketing skill needs — so users never repeat themselves.

The document is stored at `.syntic/product-marketing-context.md` — the canonical path every marketing skill reads.

## 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?"*

## Sections to Capture

### 1. Product Overview
- One-line description
- What it does (2-3 sentences)
- Product category
- 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
- Jobs to be done (2-3 things)
- Specific use cases or scenarios

### 3. Personas
For each stakeholder in buying:
- Role (User, Champion, Decision Maker, Financial Buyer, Technical Influencer)
- What they care about, their challenge, the value you promise

### 4. Problems & Pain Points
- Core challenge 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

### 6. Differentiation
- Key differentiators
- How you solve it differently
- Why that's better (benefits, not features)
- Why customers choose you

### 7. Objections & Anti-Personas
- Top 3 objections + how to address each
- Who is NOT a good fit

### 8. Switching Dynamics (JTBD Four Forces)
- **Push**: Frustrations driving 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
- How they describe your solution
- 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
- Current metrics (if known)

## Validation

Assess completeness against required and optional section coverage. Below 70: return to the interview and fill missing sections before declaring the context "done." Refresh the context every 6 months as positioning may shift.

## Tips

- **Be specific**: Ask "What's the #1 frustration?" 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

## 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 `.syntic/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 with source attribution and confidence scoring. Findings tagged as verified, medium confidence, or 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.
- **brand-guidelines** — For positioning and GTM strategy. Reads competitive landscape from this context.