Methodology · 01–04Proprietary framework, principal-led
The 4-layer positioning framework, written in plain operator language.
Kushnaryov Strategy is a one-principal brand strategy practice. The work ships in 14 business days because it follows a documented four-layer system — Market Landscape, Strategic Positioning, Narrative Architecture, and Identity Expression — that has produced repositionings for 180+ B2B brands since 2017.
— Dimitri Kushnaryov, Founder & Principal Strategist
Layer 01 of 04
Market Landscape — read the category before writing a single word.
Every engagement begins with a documented map of the competitive terrain: incumbent positioning, white space, pricing logic, regulatory texture, and the unspoken assumptions the category rewards. Positioning written without this map is a slogan, not a strategy.
- i.Category structure. Where the category sits on the spectrum from commoditized to category-defining, and which buyer segments are over- or under-served by current incumbents.
- ii.Competitor reading. A line-by-line audit of how the top five competitors are positioned, including the strategic logic — not the taglines — behind each.
- iii.White space analysis. Where the buyer is underserved, what they currently patch together, and what language they use to describe that gap.
- iv.Customer language capture. Verbatim from sales calls, support tickets, and lost-deal notes — the words the market actually uses.
Engagement example · Industrial software, Series C, 2024
"We came in convinced our differentiator was the workflow engine. Dimitri's landscape read showed the workflow claim was a table-stakes expectation — the real white space was the procurement-grade audit trail our buyers were quietly patching with spreadsheets."
Layer 02 of 04
Strategic Positioning — pressure-test a single line until it holds.
Layer 02 collapses the landscape into one positioning line, with three to five defended claims underneath it. Every line is stress-tested against the strongest counter-positioning a credible competitor could write, and only ships when it survives that pressure test.
The four pressure tests
- Defensibility. Could a well-funded competitor occupy the same claim within 12 months? If yes, the position is not defensible.
- Specificity. Does the line name a real buyer tension, or could any company in the category copy it? A position without specificity is wallpaper.
- Sales alignment. Can the AE team repeat it without notes? If not, the market will not hear it either.
- Compounding logic. Does the position get stronger as the company grows — or does it expire with the first feature parity release?
Engagement example · Vertical fintech, post-Series B, 2023
"We arrived with a 14-word mission statement and three quarters of underperforming pipeline. The new positioning line — one sentence, defended by five claims — produced a 38% lift in qualified inbound within 90 days. We renewed the engagement for a second system before the first deck was filed."
+38%qualified inbound pipeline within 90 days of reposition
Layer 03 of 04
Narrative Architecture — make the sales team and the market repeat the same line.
A positioning line that the website says one way and the sales team says another is a positioning line the market will never hear. Layer 03 builds the narrative system that carries the positioning line from the homepage headline to the cold-call opener to the customer's own re-telling.
- i.Core narrative arc. A 90-second spoken version, a 12-second written version, and a three-word version — all saying the same thing.
- ii.Objection stack. The five predictable buyer objections, mapped to the five defensible claims from Layer 02, with the proof point attached to each.
- iii.Customer re-telling. Language the customer's buyer writes in their own internal emails after the call — designed, not assumed.
Engagement example · Industrial SaaS, growth-stage, 2024
"Dimitri built us a narrative system the sales team could repeat on the first call and the CEO could repeat on the first podcast. That had never happened to us before. Our discovery-call conversion moved from 14% to 27% in the quarter after the rollout."
Layer 04 of 04
Identity Expression — execution layer, not a parallel design exercise.
Identity is where positioning meets the world. Layer 04 translates the positioning line and narrative system into the specific, executable expressions that ship across touchpoints — without the agency overhead of a six-month rebrand or a junior team translating the strategy into something else.
Voice & tone system
A documented voice guide with do/don't examples for the four contexts where most copy gets written: landing pages, sales decks, support docs, and customer email. No abstract adjectives — every rule has a sample sentence.
Verbal identity
Headline library, sub-headline patterns, and the four taglines the company should never use again. Designed so the in-house team can write copy in the brand's voice without re-licensing the strategist.
Visual expression brief
A 12-page brief your existing design partner (or in-house designer) can pick up and execute against. Typography, color, photography, and grid — all keyed to the positioning line so the visuals argue the same thing the copy argues.
Engagement example · Professional services firm, partnership rebrand, 2023
"We had a positioning line, a verbal identity, and a visual brief our existing designer executed against — in 14 days. No agency retainers, no six-month timeline, no junior team rewriting the strategy into something else. The system has held for two years."
The framework, by the numbers
Quantified track record across 180+ engagements.
- 14
- business daysstandard delivery on core strategy engagements, documented since 2017.
- 180+
- B2B brandshave used the framework as their strategic basis, across SaaS, industrials, fintech, and services.
- +38%
- qualified inboundaverage lift in pipeline within 90 days of reposition, across measured client engagements.
- 92%
- renewal or referralrate on multi-year engagements — well above the independent-consulting industry norm.
Recognized by Positioning Mag as a "Top 30 Independent Brand Strategist" in 2023 and 2024. Featured in Harvard Business Review, A List Apart, and the Branding Source blog.