{"title":"The LAKA marketing grid","version":"1.0.0","reviewed_on":"2026-09-03","purpose":"Eight variables describe any offer; four change levels describe how far a positioning move departs from the category baseline. Position an offer by writing one cell per variable, then read the row of the deepest level you claimed — that row is the promise the funnel must deliver.","levels":["Baseline","Minor change","Major change","Category shift"],"level_definitions":[{"level":"Baseline","definition":"The default the market already expects. Competing here means competing on price and availability."},{"level":"Minor change","definition":"An incremental improvement inside the existing category. Buyers compare it feature by feature against the baseline."},{"level":"Major change","definition":"A substantial re-bundling of the offer that changes how buyers evaluate it, while staying inside the recognized category."},{"level":"Category shift","definition":"A repositioning that changes what is actually being bought. The funnel must teach the new category before it can sell within it."}],"variables":[{"id":"object","name":"Object purchased","question":"What does the buyer believe they are buying?","cells":{"Baseline":"A commodity product or standard service unit","Minor change":"A bundled or upgraded version of the standard unit","Major change":"An integrated system replacing several separate purchases","Category shift":"A planned outcome or architecture — a different thing than the category sells"}},{"id":"condition","name":"Condition","question":"What situation makes the buyer act?","cells":{"Baseline":"A single felt want or convenience","Minor change":"A vendor or intermediary adds the offer to an existing purchase","Major change":"Multiple existing pieces need to work together","Category shift":"Decisions must hold across people, contexts, third parties, risk and time"}},{"id":"action","name":"Action","question":"What does the buyer (or seller) actually do?","cells":{"Baseline":"Buy and use","Minor change":"Connect or configure what was bought","Major change":"Program and customize the assembled system","Category shift":"Discover, model, specify, coordinate, verify and evolve"}},{"id":"tools","name":"Tools","question":"What instruments does the offer put to work?","cells":{"Baseline":"Off-the-shelf consumer tools","Minor change":"A vendor platform","Major change":"Specialist equipment and automation","Category shift":"A proprietary decision framework, requirements model and coordination plan"}},{"id":"resources","name":"Resources","question":"Whose capacity and money are committed?","cells":{"Baseline":"The buyer's own budget and effort","Minor change":"One hired specialist","Major change":"A contracted trade or implementation team","Category shift":"An independent advisor coordinating multiple specialists"}},{"id":"outcome","name":"Outcome","question":"What state does the buyer end up in?","cells":{"Baseline":"A working product","Minor change":"Convenience — fewer steps, one interface","Major change":"Automated routines that run without attention","Category shift":"A system that adapts over time without trapping the owner in avoidable complexity"}},{"id":"buyer","name":"Buyer","question":"Who is actually making the decision?","cells":{"Baseline":"An individual end consumer","Minor change":"A premium consumer","Major change":"A professional intermediary buying on the end user's behalf","Category shift":"Every party with a stake — end users, intermediaries, professionals and institutions"}},{"id":"success","name":"Success","question":"How does everyone know it worked?","cells":{"Baseline":"The product functions","Minor change":"The pieces connect","Major change":"The routines run as programmed","Category shift":"People achieve outcomes reliably, privately and simply — measured, not assumed"}}],"reading_rules":["Write one cell per variable before writing any funnel copy; the grid is the position, the funnel is its delivery.","The deepest level claimed across the eight variables sets the education burden of the funnel: a category shift must be taught before it can be sold.","Never claim a level in copy that the offer does not operationally deliver — the grid is a promise inventory, not a slogan generator.","When two variables sit at different levels, the funnel leads with the deepest one and supports it with the others."]}