How to Use Positioning Discovery in MessageWorks to Build Your Positioning Foundation

Direct Answer

Positioning Discovery is the foundational workflow in MessageWorks. It’s the primary way a new customer populates the Positioning Intelligence Hub with organization-, segment-, and persona-level positioning—and the mechanism teams use later to explore or implement materially new positioning strategies. Everything else in the platform (content generation, content testing, synthetic focus groups) ultimately reads from the Hub, so Positioning Discovery is how you intentionally shape what the rest of the system runs on.

What This Feature Does

Positioning Discovery is a guided, seven-step, AI-assisted workflow that transforms rough thinking and scattered inputs into a structured positioning system that can be stored, versioned, and governed in the Positioning Intelligence Hub.

Key behaviors

• Prompts users for simple, free-form inputs at each step.
  
  
• Uses AI to expand those inputs into structured, reviewable positioning artifacts.
  
  
• Allows users to edit outputs, refine inputs, and re-run AI at each step.
  
  
• Exports the completed positioning system into the Hub as a new version, not automatically live.
  
  

What it produces
The same output structure as QuickStart, but typically with much deeper detail:

• Organization-level
  
  
  • Final positioning
    
    
  • Core jobs to be done (JTBDs)
    
    
  • Capabilities
    
    
  • Value pillars
    
    
  • Category options
    
    
• Segment-level (2–5 segments)
  
  
  • Name and description
    
    
  • Segment messaging
    
    
  • Use cases
    
    
  • Value props
    
    
  • Buyer groups
    
    
• Persona-level (2–5 personas per segment)
  
  
  • Role and type
    
    
  • Core narrative
    
    
  • Relevant solutions
    
    
  • Goals & KPIs
    
    
  • Jobs to be done
    
    
  • Struggling moments
    
    
  • Pain points
    
    
  • Emotional and social drivers
    
    
  • Value props
    
    
  • Preferred channels
    
    

Once exported, this data becomes the source material the Hub uses to feed downstream features.

When to Use It

1) As the first essential step when setting up MessageWorks

• When a new organization is onboarding and needs to populate the Positioning Intelligence Hub for the first time.
  
  
• When you want to move from scattered decks and implicit knowledge to a complete, structured positioning system that downstream workflows can safely rely on.
  
  
• When you want to ensure content generation and content testing are grounded in intentional, reviewed positioning, not partial or ad-hoc definitions.
  
  

In practice, Positioning Discovery is how you configure MessageWorks conceptually—by defining what the Hub contains before anything else uses it.

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2) Before activating or scaling downstream workflows

• When you want confidence that the Hub reflects the right:
  
  
  • Segments and personas
    
    
  • Jobs to be done and alternatives
    
    
  • Capabilities and value themes
    
    
• When you want to avoid downstream misalignment by ensuring the Hub is populated through a deliberate workflow rather than manual entry or guesswork.
  
  

Because the Hub feeds the rest of the platform, Discovery is how you prevent “garbage in, garbage out.”

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3) Whenever leadership is exploring a materially new positioning direction

• When management wants to explore:
  
  
  • A new narrative or value emphasis
    
    
  • A different way of framing differentiation
    
    
  • A category shift or rebrand
    
    
  • A change in which segments or personas are prioritized
    
    
• When you need a structured way to rethink positioning end-to-end, rather than tweaking copy in isolation.
  
  

Positioning Discovery lets teams build a parallel positioning system, export it as a new Hub version, and review it without disrupting what’s currently live.

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4) When you want to implement change without breaking production

• When you need to explore or validate new positioning while keeping existing content and campaigns stable.
  
  
• Because exports create new Hub versions (not auto-promoted), teams can compare current vs proposed positioning and only promote when ready.
  
  

5) On a planned refresh cadence

• When you intentionally revisit positioning quarterly or annually.
  
  
• When product capabilities, competitive alternatives, or target buyers have changed enough to justify a structured update rather than incremental edits.
  
  

Prerequisites

• Permissions
  
  
  • An org admin must assign you to a group with read and write access to the Positioning Discovery feature.
    
    
• Organization setup
  
  
  • The organization must already exist in MessageWorks (company name and domain captured at creation).
    
    
• Structural limits
  
  
  • 2–5 segments
    
    
  • 2–5 personas per segment
    
    
  • Recommended default: 3–4 of each unless there’s a clear reason otherwise.
    
    

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. (Optional) Run QuickStart to establish a baseline & understand schema

• Action: Positioning → Hub → Configure → QuickStart → Start
  
  
• Input: Optional selection of number of segments (2–5, default 3).
  
  
• Result: A fast, web-informed draft of org, segments, and personas.
  
  
• Note: QuickStart output can be refined or replaced through Discovery.

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2. Open Positioning Discovery

• Action: Left navigation → Positioning → Discovery
  
  
• Result: The seven-step workflow appears.
  
  
• Constraint: All steps are required and must be completed in order.
  
  

3. Step 1 — Target Segments & Personas

• Action: Enter product description, ICP, buyer roles, and existing segment labels.
  
  
• Result: AI drafts structured segments, personas, and top-level positioning.
  
  
• Note: Inputs can be rough; outputs are meant to be edited.
  
  

4. Step 2 — Jobs to Be Done

• Action: Define problems and real struggling scenarios.
  
  
• Result: AI structures clear JTBDs tied to those problems.
  
  
• Note: These JTBDs anchor all later differentiation and value framing.
  
  

5. Step 3 — Competitive Alternatives

• Action: Describe what buyers do today (up to 3 alternatives per job) and their issues.
  
  
• Result: AI organizes alternatives and clarifies their limitations.
  
  
• Note: This step replaces vague competitive claims with explicit contrasts.
  
  

6. Step 4 — Unique Capabilities

• Action: Enter 3–7 capabilities and optional notes on what each replaces or beats.
  
  
• Result: AI refines and connects capabilities to JTBDs and alternatives.
  
  
• Note: Capabilities should reflect real product or service strengths.
  
  

7. Step 5 — Value Themes & Personas

• Action: Select personas per segment (no free-form inputs).
  
  
• Result: AI aligns value themes and persona relevance using prior steps.
  
  
• Note: This step locks in who each message is really for.
  
  

8. Step 6 — Category

• Action: Enter preferred category direction and category words considered.
  
  
• Result: AI proposes category framing aligned with the positioning system.
  
  
• Note: Category may be more helpful for organizations going through a repositioning exercise or a strategic shift, than those that already have a strong understanding of “who they are” in the market (and which market they play in).
  
  

9. Step 7 — Final Positioning

• Action: Generate final synthesis.
  
  
• Result: Positioning statement, value narrative, elevator pitch, catch phrases.
  
  
• Note: This is a summary layer; the real power is in the structured data from Steps 1–6.
  
  

10. Export to the Positioning Intelligence Hub

• Action: Click Export to Hub.
  
  
• Result: A new Hub version is created with all Discovery outputs mapped.
  
  
• Constraint: The version is, deliberately, not automatically promoted to production.
  
  

Example Walkthrough

A new MessageWorks customer wants to ensure all downstream features start from a clean foundation.

• They begin with Positioning Discovery as their first major setup step.
  
  
• They work through all seven steps, aligning on segments, personas, JTBDs, alternatives, capabilities, and category.
  
  
• They export the completed system into the Hub, creating a new version.
  
  
• Leadership reviews it, then promotes it to production.
  
  
• From that point on, content generation and content testing pull from an intentional, governed positioning system—rather than fragmented assumptions.
  
  

Later, when leadership considers a new direction, the team repeats Discovery, exports a new version, and compares it to what’s live before making a change.

Limits, Edge Cases, and Safety Checks

• Positioning Discovery does not overwrite live positioning by default.
  
  
• Segment and persona counts are capped at supported limits.
  
  
• AI outputs reflect user guidance; overly vague inputs lead to generic drafts.
  
  
• Discovery is designed for intentional change, not quick copy tweaks.
  
  

Troubleshooting

• Export button disabled → Not all seven steps completed → Complete all steps in order.
  
  
• Can’t export → Missing write permissions → Ask admin to update Hub access.
  
  
• Newly generated content doesn’t reflect new positioning → New version not promoted → Promote version in Hub.
  
  
• Outputs feel off-strategy → Inputs too vague → Refine inputs and re-run AI at that step.
  
  

FAQ

Is Positioning Discovery required to use MessageWorks effectively?
Yes. It’s the primary way to intentionally populate the Hub, which feeds all downstream features.

Can I skip Discovery and manually build the Hub?
You can, but Discovery is the designed workflow for creating a complete, coherent system efficiently.

Does Discovery replace QuickStart?
QuickStart is a fast baseline; Discovery is the deeper, guided workflow.

Can I use Discovery multiple times?
Yes. It’s designed to be revisited whenever positioning changes materially.

Will running Discovery break existing campaigns?
No. Exports create new Hub versions that are not live until promoted.

What’s the relationship between Discovery and the Hub?
Discovery creates and updates positioning systems; the Hub stores, versions, and serves them to the rest of the platform.