Ansoff Matrix

# Create a "Ansoff Matrix" AI Skill

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## Complete Skill Definition

# Ansoff Matrix

Igor Ansoff's product/market matrix for evaluating growth options.
Forces explicit choice between four growth bets of increasing risk.

## The 2x2

|                 | **Existing Products** | **New Products**       |
|-----------------|------------------------|------------------------|
| **Existing Markets** | Market Penetration (lowest risk) | Product Development |
| **New Markets**       | Market Development | Diversification (highest risk) |

## When to use this skill

- **Annual / quarterly growth planning**
- **Investment allocation** across growth bets
- **Post-funding deployment** planning
- **Board strategy discussions**
- **Strategic-pivot decisions** (which quadrant are we really in?)
- **Acquisition rationale** assessment

## The 4 quadrants in depth

### Q1 — Market Penetration (existing product × existing market)
Sell more of what we have to people we know.

**Tactics:**
- Increase usage / frequency
- Take share from competitors
- Improve conversion rates
- Pricing optimization
- Loyalty / retention programs

**Risk profile:** Lowest. You know the product + market.

**Investment:** ~30-50% of growth investment for most companies.

**When dominant:** Early-stage; high-growth market with share to take.

### Q2 — Market Development (existing product × new market)
Take what works to a new market.

**Tactics:**
- New geography
- New industry vertical
- New customer segment (SMB → mid-market)
- New use case
- New channel (direct → channel; SMB → enterprise sales)

**Risk profile:** Medium. Product known; market unknown.

**Investment:** ~20-30%.

**When dominant:** Product-market fit established in initial segment;
proven by reference customers; ready to scale.

### Q3 — Product Development (new product × existing market)
Build something new for people we know.

**Tactics:**
- New SKU / module / add-on
- Adjacent product line
- Platform extension
- Feature line that becomes its own product

**Risk profile:** Medium. Market known; product unknown.

**Investment:** ~15-25%.

**When dominant:** Captive audience with related JTBDs;
distribution advantage; brand permission to extend.

### Q4 — Diversification (new product × new market)
New thing for new people.

**Tactics:**
- Adjacent diversification (related to current)
- Conglomerate diversification (unrelated)
- Acquisition-driven new categories

**Risk profile:** Highest. Both axes unknown.

**Investment:** ~5-15% (or 0% — most companies should not diversify).

**When dominant:** Few situations justify high diversification. Usually:
mature core business with cash, declining core business needing pivot,
or genuine adjacent opportunity with shared capability.

## Clarify First

Before scoring the growth options, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

- [ ] **Precise "existing" boundaries** — which segment/geography/buyer is "existing market" and which SKU/capabilities are "existing product" (vague boundaries cause the #1 error: misclassifying a Q4 bet as Q2/Q3)
- [ ] **The growth initiatives to classify** — the actual list of bets (the raw input to quadrant assignment; no list, no matrix)
- [ ] **Company stage** — early / growth / mature (sets the stage-appropriate target investment mix across quadrants)

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

## Workflow

### Step 1 — Define "existing" precisely
Most Ansoff confusion comes from vague boundaries.
- "Existing market" = which segment, which geography, which buyer
- "Existing product" = which SKU, which capabilities
- "New" = anything outside those boundaries

### Step 2 — List current growth initiatives
For each initiative, classify into a quadrant. Be honest:
- "Adjacent vertical for our SaaS" = Market Development (usually)
- "New module for existing customers" = Product Development
- "Same product in EU" = Market Development (regulatory, cultural,
  linguistic differences = market difference)

### Step 3 — Score by risk-adjusted return
Per initiative:
- Investment size
- Expected return
- Risk of failure
- Time to revenue
- Risk-adjusted ROI

### Step 4 — Allocate across quadrants
Most companies cluster in Q1 + one other. Pure diversification (Q4) is
rare; usually disguised market or product development.

### Step 5 — Validate the mix
Target mix depends on stage:
- **Early:** 70% Q1 + 30% Q2/Q3 (split)
- **Growth:** 50% Q1 + 25% Q2 + 25% Q3
- **Mature:** 30% Q1 + 30% Q2 + 30% Q3 + 10% Q4

If you're 90% Q1, you're not growing strategically. If you're 40% Q4,
you're betting the company.

### Step 6 — Run `ansoff_growth_scorer.py`
Score each initiative; surface mix; flag risky concentration.

```bash
python3 project-management/strategy-frameworks/ansoff-matrix/scripts/ansoff_growth_scorer.py \
  --input initiatives.json --format markdown
```

## Decision frameworks

### What counts as "new market"?

| Different... | New market? |
|--------------|-------------|
| Geography | Yes (regulation, culture, language, channel) |
| Industry vertical | Yes |
| Company size band (SMB → ENT) | Usually yes |
| Use case (same persona) | Usually no |
| Buyer persona | Yes |
| Pricing tier (free vs paid) | Usually no |

If you'd need a different sales motion or different channels, it's a new market.

### What counts as "new product"?

| Different... | New product? |
|--------------|--------------|
| New SKU / module | Yes |
| New pricing tier of same product | No |
| New feature in existing product | No |
| Significantly different value prop | Yes |
| Different underlying tech | Yes |

If you'd need a different roadmap and different success metrics, it's a new product.

### When diversification (Q4) makes sense

- **Adjacent diversification:** shared capability or audience
  - Amazon → AWS: shared capability (infra)
  - Disney → theme parks: shared capability (IP)
- **Acquisition-led:** buying expertise + product + market together
- **Declining core:** need new business model

When diversification fails:
- "Synergies" overclaimed
- Acquired company managed by incumbent culture
- No shared capability or audience
- Justified by spreadsheet only

## Common engagements

### "Help us prioritize growth bets"
1. List all growth initiatives.
2. Classify into quadrants.
3. Score risk-adjusted return.
4. Reconcile against stage-appropriate target mix.
5. Recommend top 5 with allocation.

### "We're considering acquiring company X"
1. Classify the acquisition by quadrant.
2. Q1 (existing × existing) = bolt-on; lower risk
3. Q2 (existing × new) = market expansion via M&A
4. Q3 (new × existing) = product line extension
5. Q4 (new × new) = highest risk; question hard

### "Should we enter market X?"
1. Confirm it's truly Q2 (new market for existing product).
2. Test: same value prop? same buyer? same channel? if all yes, it's
   really Q1 (different segment).
3. If true Q2, scope cost + time to validate vs Q1 alternatives.

## Anti-patterns to avoid

- **Misclassifying initiatives.** Q4 dressed as Q3 or Q2 — gets approved that wouldn't pass Q4 scrutiny.
- **All-Q1 portfolio.** Not strategic growth.
- **All-Q4 portfolio.** Bet-the-company every quarter.
- **"Adjacent" labelling.** Often hides Q4 as Q3.
- **No investment percentages.** Just lists; no allocation.
- **Static mix.** Should change with stage.
- **Ignoring the boring Q1.** Penetration is unglamorous but highest-ROI.

## References

- `references/ansoff-matrix-deep.md` — quadrant tactics, examples, risk patterns
- `references/growth-strategy-patterns.md` — stage-based mixes, common pitfalls

## Related skills

- `project-management/strategy-frameworks/business-model-canvas` — operational view of each quadrant
- `project-management/strategy-frameworks/swot-analysis` — strategic context
- `project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces` — industry analysis
- `c-level-advisor/ceo-advisor` — strategic context
- `c-level-advisor/cmo-advisor` — Q1/Q2 marketing context
- `c-level-advisor/cpo-advisor` — Q3 product development context

---

## What I Need You to Do

First, detect which platform I'm using (Claude.ai, ChatGPT, etc.) and follow the matching instructions below.

### If I'm on Claude.ai:

Walk me through these exact steps:

1. **Create the Project:** Tell me to go to **claude.ai > Projects > Create project** and name it **"Ansoff Matrix"**

2. **Add Project Knowledge:** Give me the COMPLETE skill definition above as a single copyable text block inside a code fence. Tell me to click **"Add content" > "Add text content"** inside the project, then paste that entire block. Do NOT say "paste from above" -- give me the actual text to copy right there.

3. **Set Custom Instructions:** Tell me to open project settings and paste this exact instruction:
   "You are an expert Ansoff Matrix in the Project Management domain. Use the project knowledge as your expertise. Follow the workflows, frameworks, and templates defined there. Always provide specific, actionable output."

4. **Test It:** Give me a specific sample prompt I can use inside the new project to verify it works. Pick a real task from the skill's workflows.

### If I'm on ChatGPT:

Walk me through these exact steps:

1. **Create a Custom GPT:** Tell me to go to **chatgpt.com > Explore GPTs > Create**
2. **Configure it:**
   - Name: **"Ansoff Matrix"**
   - Description: "Ansoff Matrix — 4-quadrant framework for growth options: market penetration, market/product development, and diversification. Use when evaluating growth bets, prioritizing investment across quadrants, or weighing the risk ladder of each move."
   - Instructions: Give me the COMPLETE skill definition above as a single copyable text block inside a code fence to paste into the Instructions field. Do NOT say "paste from above."
3. **Test It:** Give me a sample prompt to verify it works.

### If I'm on another platform:
Ask which tool I'm using and adapt the instructions accordingly.

## Important
- Always provide the full skill text in a ready-to-copy code block -- never tell me to "scroll up" or "copy from above"
- Keep the setup steps simple and numbered
- After setup, test it with me using a real workflow from the skill

Source: https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills/tree/main/project-management/strategy-frameworks/ansoff-matrix/SKILL.md