--- name: market-context version: 1.0.0 description: > Builds the "why now" layer (market maturity, macro forces, buying triggers, narrative arc, category moment), then deepens brain Section 5. Trigger with "why now", "what's our market context", "define our category", "market narrative", "what macro trends support us", "buying triggers", or any request to define, update, or audit the market forces that make your positioning credible. metadata: author: Stefanos Karakasis context: brain-dependent quality_gate: true last_updated: 2026-08-31 --- # Market Context ## How This Works Positioning says what you are. Alternatives say what you beat. Market context says why the world needed you right now — the layer that makes a narrative land as inevitable instead of opportunistic. This skill builds that narrative from macro forces and buying triggers, then deepens your brain's existing Section 5 in place rather than creating a second market file — one source of truth stays intact for every downstream skill. **Step 0** — Load brain Section 5 (current market context, however thin), Section 3 (alternatives, for narrative grounding), and any guardrails from `/context/meta-patterns.md`. **Step 1** — Establish category and maturity: what category the product competes in (existing, emerging, or being created), and where that category sits on the adoption curve. **Step 2** — Surface macro forces and buying triggers: what external shifts (regulatory, technological, economic, cultural) create demand for this category right now, and what specific event moves a buyer from passive awareness to active evaluation. Every force and trigger tagged `[CONFIRMED]` / `[INFERRED]` / `[HYPOTHESIS]`. **Step 3** — Build and stress-test the narrative arc: the single sentence connecting macro force → buyer consequence → why the old approach breaks → why now. Run the specificity and buyer-connection checks before it ships. **Step 4** — Deepen brain Section 5 with the narrative (on user confirmation). **Step 5** — Learning Close: log the session to `/context/skill-sessions.md`. --- ## Trigger - **When:** Defining or sharpening the market narrative — why this category, why this moment, what forces make the solution feel inevitable rather than opportunistic. - **Not for:** Positioning statement or messaging hierarchy itself → use `positioning-messaging`. Competitive alternatives mapping → that's brain Section 3, handled within `product-marketing-context` or this skill's own Step 0 load, not rebuilt here. Full ICP or buying-committee work → `ideal-customer-profile` or `buyer-personas`. - **Example prompts:** - "Why now for this launch?" - "What's our market context?" - "Define our category — are we creating one or fighting in one?" - "What macro trends support us right now?" - "Audit our market narrative — does it still hold?" --- ## Inputs - **Args:** None required — the skill asks one question at a time if nothing is on file. Analyst reports, customer interview notes, or a pasted market description speed this up but aren't required. - **Defaults:** No brain, or Section 5 still empty → run full BUILD. Section 5 populated → load silently, offer [View current] [Update] [Audit narrative durability]. - **Context keys:** - `/foundation/brain.md` — read Sections 3 and 5 if present; written to (Section 5 only) after explicit user confirmation of the exact before/after. - `/context/meta-patterns.md` — guardrails, read at Step 0. --- ## Connectors (Optional) | Connector | What it adds | |---|---| | `~~market data` | Market and traffic signals | | `~~SEO` | Demand trends | | `~~knowledge base` | Internal market notes | > **No connectors?** Paste the material and I'll work from that. The output has the same shape. > Pulled facts are drafts: each is tagged with category, tool and date, and nothing is written until you confirm. --- ## Pre-flight - Check `/foundation/brain.md` Section 5 — if populated, this is an UPDATE or AUDIT, not a fresh BUILD. - If `/foundation/brain.md` doesn't exist at all, surface once: "No brain found. You can still run this skill, but output will be less precise. Run product-marketing-context first for sharper results. Continuing." No hard block. --- ## Steps **Step 1 — Category and maturity.** Ask what category the product competes in — existing, emerging, or being created. Push for specificity: "project management" and "async work coordination for distributed teams" are different answers with different GTM implications. Then place it on the adoption curve: Nascent, Early Growth, Growth, Mature, or Declining — each stage implies a different motion (educate first vs. differentiate vs. win on execution). **Step 2 — Macro forces and buying triggers.** For each macro force, capture: what's specifically changing (not "AI is changing everything" — generic forces get rejected), who feels it most, what it makes buyers do differently, and how long it's been building. Distinguish forces (the conditions) from triggers (the moment a buyer acts): compliance deadlines, scale thresholds, incidents, leadership change, competitive pressure, budget cycles. Tag every claim `[CONFIRMED]` (direct source — a quote, a filing, a transcript), `[INFERRED]` (a pattern with no direct confirmation), or `[HYPOTHESIS]` (a plausible force with no supporting evidence yet). **Step 3 — Narrative arc and category moment.** Build the arc: "[Market force] has caused [specific change in buyer's world]. This means [buyer consequence]. The old approach [what they used to do] no longer works because [why]. [Product] was built for this moment because [connection to the force]." Name the category moment: creation (lead with problem, educate first), redefinition (challenge the dominant frame), or differentiation (lead with the gap from brain Section 3). Exit check — the arc must pass all three: - Specificity: every force names who feels it and what changed, not a category-level generality - Coherence: force → trigger → consequence → solution holds as one chain; break any link and it collapses in a sales conversation - Durability: rate `durable` / `at-risk` / `short-window` and set a review date — a narrative that expires silently is worse than one that was never built **Step 4 — Deepen brain Section 5 on confirmation.** Show the user the exact before/after for Section 5 before writing anything. On confirmation, write: ```markdown ## Section 5: Market Context **Market Maturity:** {{stage}} — {{one-line GTM implication}} **Macro Forces Making Our Solution Relevant:** {{numbered list, each tagged CONFIRMED/INFERRED/HYPOTHESIS}} **Why Now:** {{buying triggers — trigger type, who feels it, urgency window}} **Market Narrative (The bigger story):** {{the full arc sentence, plus category moment named, plus durability rating and review date}} ``` Never write silently — this is a shared source of truth every downstream skill reads. **Step 5 — Learning Close.** Append an entry to `/context/skill-sessions.md`, in the format defined in `product-marketing-context/.claude-plugin/skill-sessions-format.md` (Type A — execution session): ````yaml type: execution skill: market-context session_date: {{date}} pattern: "{{what surprised you, what the tagging discipline caught, or 'none' if nothing notable happened — never skip the row}}" source: {{surprised/wrong/missing/N/A}} ```` --- ## Outputs - Brain Section 5 deepened in place (on confirmation only) - A stated narrative arc, category moment, and durability rating — not buried in prose - Session logged to `/context/skill-sessions.md` - **External side effects:** N/A - **Next skill:** check `next-skill-map.md` for "After market-context" and surface that prompt. --- ## Verification - Every macro force names who feels it and what specifically changed — no generic entries survive to Section 5 - Narrative arc is one coherent chain — force → trigger → consequence → solution — not four disconnected claims - Category moment explicitly named, not implied - Durability rated and a review date set - Brain Section 5 write shown to the user before it happens, written only on confirmation - Session logged with all five fields, `pattern: none` written explicitly if nothing notable happened — the row is never skipped --- ## Do Not Use For - **positioning-messaging** — when the task is producing the positioning statement or messaging hierarchy itself, not the market narrative that grounds it. Run this skill first if Section 5 is thin, then that one. - **product-marketing-context** — when the task is the full brain build from zero, or any section other than 5 - **ideal-customer-profile** — when the task is who buys, not why now - **buyer-personas** — when the task is mapping the buying committee, not the external market forces around the deal --- ## Operating Rules 1. **Load brain Section 5 first.** Don't re-ask what's already answered. 2. **Never write to Section 5 without showing the exact before/after first.** No silent writes, ever. 3. **Reject generic macro forces.** "Digital transformation" fails the specificity test; a named regulation with a named affected buyer passes. 4. **Every force needs a buyer connection.** A macro force with no traceable buyer consequence is background noise, not narrative material — cut it. 5. **Tag every claim.** CONFIRMED / INFERRED / HYPOTHESIS, inline, never buried in prose. 6. **Rate durability and set a review date.** An undated narrative is a narrative nobody will remember to revisit. --- ## Quality Gate | Check | Standard | Pass = | |---|---|---| | Category and maturity stated | Specific category, adoption-curve stage named | Yes | | Macro forces specific | Each names who feels it + what changed | Yes | | Narrative arc coherent | Force → trigger → consequence → solution holds | Yes | | Category moment named | Creation / redefinition / differentiation stated | Yes | | Durability rated | durable / at-risk / short-window + review date | Yes | | Confirmation before write | Exact before/after shown, user confirmed | Yes | | Learning Close complete | Five-field row appended, never skipped | Yes | --- ## Commands ### /build Run full BUILD: category, maturity, macro forces, buying triggers, narrative arc, category moment, durability rating. ### /update Refresh Section 5 after a macro shift, category move, or new buying trigger — asks only for what changed. ### /audit Test whether the current narrative arc still holds. Re-check each macro force (accelerating / stalled / reversed), re-check buying triggers, and deliver one verdict: `HOLD` (update review date only), `REVISE` (rewrite affected sections), or `REBUILD` (run full BUILD again — market has moved materially).