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AI prompts for business founders: offer, market, customers and positioning

Six prompts ready to copy into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot to define your offer, your market, your target customers, your competitors and your positioning – all the way to the financial plan.

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot can save you valuable time when structuring your project. Here are six ready-to-use prompts, to be used in order: from formulating your offer to your financial plan.

The six prompts at a glance

  1. 1. Formulating your offer: turn your activity into clear products or services.
  2. 2. Defining your market and target customers: geographical area, field of activity and target customers.
  3. 3. Profiling your target customers: problems, fears, objections and motivations of each target customer.
  4. 4. Analysing the competition: direct and indirect competitors, their strengths and weaknesses.
  5. 5. Formulating your value proposition (USP): a clear promise that sets you apart.
  6. 6. Drawing up your financial plan: revenue, costs, profit and cash over 3 years.

How to use them

Copy a prompt with the “Copy prompt” button, paste it into the AI tool of your choice and complete the last line with your information. The summary you get at the end of each prompt can be pasted directly into the next one.

AI suggests, you decide: always check the results, test them with real customers and do not share confidential information. To discuss them with a coach, book an appointment with Fri Up.

1. Formulating your offer

From a voice message, turn the entrepreneur’s activity into clear products or services for end customers.

What you need: a voice message or a text in which you describe your activity.

Prompt You are an expert in marketing and in formulating offers for entrepreneurs. I will give you the transcript of a voice message or a text in which I explain my activity. Based on this message, formulate my offer as products or services for my end customers. Rules: - 5 products or services at most. If my activity has fewer, do not add any. - Each one is described in a single, simple and clear sentence that someone unfamiliar with my field can understand. - Each sentence says what the customer gets, not how I work. - No jargon and no empty marketing phrases. - Give each product or service a short name. Response format: [Product/service name]: [one-sentence description] If something in my voice message is unclear, ask me a question instead of making it up. Here is my voice message or text: [paste the transcript here]

2. Defining your market and target customers

Clarify the geographical area, the field of activity and the target customers.

What you need: the summary of prompt 1 (your offer).

Prompt You are an assistant who helps business founders clearly define their market and target customers. I will describe the offer I propose. Help me clarify three points, in order, one at a time. Only move on to the next point once the previous one is clear. 1) Geographical area Ask me about the geographical scope I want to address, i.e. the geographical boundary of my market: a city, a metropolitan area, a region, a canton, a country, a language area, or a combination. If my answer is vague, suggest 2 or 3 concrete options. 2) Field of activity Based on the offer I propose (see prompt “Formulating your offer”), describe my activity on three levels: field of activity, sub-field, specialisation. Each level is just a few words. 3) Target customers Based on the offer I propose (see prompt “Formulating your offer”), identify at most 5 target customers, and only where relevant. Describe each one in a simple sentence: who they are and why my offer interests them. Rules: - Simple language, no jargon. - One or two questions at a time, no more. - If information is missing, ask instead of making it up. - Ask me to validate each point (geographical area, field of activity, target customers). Format of the final summary: Geographical area: [scope] Field of activity: [field] > [sub-field] > [specialisation] Target customers: - [Target customer name]: [one-sentence description] Here is my offer: [describe the offer I propose or paste the summary of the previous prompt]

3. Profiling your target customers

Write a detailed profile of each target customer: problems, fears, frustrations, objections and motivations.

What you need: the summaries of prompts 1 and 2 (your offer and your target customers).

Prompt You are an assistant who helps business founders understand their target customers in depth. I will give you the list of my target customers (see prompt “Defining your market and target customers”) and the offer I propose (see prompt “Formulating your offer”). Before you start, ask me for the offer I propose and my target customers. If my answer is unclear, ask me one or two more questions. Then, for each target customer, write a detailed profile using the structure below: 1. Profile: their main characteristics, their context and what sets them apart. 2. Challenges / problems: the specific difficulties my product or service can solve. 3. Fears or reluctance: what holds them back from buying, psychologically or practically. 4. Frustrations: what does not satisfy them today, with the problem or with existing solutions. 5. Objections / false beliefs: the arguments that could stop them from deciding to buy. 6. Motivations: the deeper reasons that drive them to buy and the benefits they are looking for. Rules: - Clear, empathetic and organised tone. - Simple language, no jargon. - 2 to 4 short points per section, tailored to each target customer, without generalities that apply to everyone. - Anything you infer without my having told you is a hypothesis to be checked with real customers: present it as such. Format: [Target customer name] - Profile: … - Challenges / problems: … - Fears or reluctance: … - Frustrations: … - Objections / false beliefs: … - Motivations: … When all the profiles are written, finish with a summary: for each target customer, in one or two sentences, who they are, what they expect and the main obstacle to overcome. Here are my offer and my target customers: [describe the offer I propose and the list of target customers, or paste the summaries of the previous prompts]

4. Analysing the competition

Research competitors in the geographical area and describe their offer, business model, promise, strengths and weaknesses. This prompt requires an AI tool with web search enabled.

What you need: the summaries of prompts 1 and 2 (geographical area, field of activity, offer and target customers).

Prompt You are an assistant who helps business founders identify and understand their competition. Before starting your research, ask me for the following three pieces of information, one at a time, if I have not already provided them: 1. Geographical area and field of activity: the geographical boundary of my market, field, sub-field and specialisation. 2. Product or service: what I concretely offer. 3. Target customers: the customers I am addressing. If my answer is unclear, ask me one or two more questions before moving on to the next one. Then search the internet for competitors active in my geographical area who offer products or services matching the same target customers. Distinguish between: - direct competitors, who offer something similar to my offer and address the same target customers in the same geographical area; - indirect competitors, who meet the same need in a different way, who offer something similar but address other target customers, or who offer something similar to the same target customers but in another geographical area. Keep at most 8 competitors, starting with the most relevant ones and the direct competitors. For each competitor, briefly describe: - Offer: what they offer. - Business model: how they make money (price, subscription, commission, etc.). - Promise: what they promise their customers, in one sentence. - Strengths: 2 or 3 points. - Weaknesses: 2 or 3 points. Rules: - Simple language, no jargon. - Only list real competitors you found in your research, with a link to their website. - If information is not available (for example prices), write “not found” instead of making it up. - If you find few competitors in my area, say so and suggest widening the search to a neighbouring area. Format: [Competitor name] (direct / indirect) – [link] - Offer: … - Business model: … - Promise: … - Strengths: … - Weaknesses: … Finish with a summary in 3 to 5 sentences: what the competition looks like in my area, and which customer needs seem poorly covered. Here is my project: [describe the geographical area of the market, the field of activity, the offer and the target customers, or paste the summaries of the previous prompts]

5. Formulating your value proposition (USP)

Generate 5 differentiating value propositions and recommend the strongest one.

What you need: the summaries of prompts 1 to 4 (offer, market, target customer profiles and competitors).

Prompt You are an assistant specialising in marketing and positioning strategy who helps business founders formulate a clear, strong and differentiating unique selling proposition (USP). Your goal: find a promise that sets the business apart from its competitors and precisely meets the needs of its target customers. Before you start, ask me for the following information, one at a time, if I have not already provided it: 1. Geographical area and field of activity: the geographical boundary of my market, field, sub-field and specialisation. 2. Target customers: the profiles I am targeting and their main needs. 3. Product or service: what I concretely offer. 4. Benefits: what extra value my product or service brings to my customers. 5. Competitors: who they are and what they promise. If an answer is vague, ask me one more question before moving on to the next one. On this basis, suggest 5 differentiating value propositions. Each one must: - meet a key need of at least one target customer; - clearly stand out from what competitors promise; - rest on a concrete feature of my product or service. Rules: - Strategic, professional and action-oriented tone. - Simple language, no jargon or empty superlatives (“the best”, “unique”, “innovative”). - Each promise fits in one sentence and is understandable without explanation. - If a promise is already used by a competitor, discard it. Format: USP [no.]: [the promise in one sentence] - Need covered: … - Difference from competitors: … - Concrete proof: the product feature that makes the promise credible. Then recommend the value proposition that seems strongest to you and explain your choice in two sentences. Finish with a one-paragraph summary covering: the geographical area, the competitors, the target customers, the product's benefits and the chosen USP. Here is my project: [describe the geographical area of the market, the field of activity, the offer, its benefits, the target customers and the competitors, or paste the summaries of the previous prompts]

6. Drawing up your financial plan

Build a simple 3-year financial plan: revenue, direct costs and gross margin per product, then salaries, fixed costs, profit and cash flow.

What you need: the summaries of prompts 1, 2 and 5 (offer, geographical area, target customers and value proposition), and your prices if already set.

Prompt You are an assistant who helps business founders draw up a simple 3-year financial plan for launching their activity. 1) Initial questions First ask me what offer I propose and, if I know it, its selling price. Ask me one or two more questions if it is not clear. If I have not told you my geographical area and my target customers, ask me before continuing. 2) Assumptions As this is a new business, estimate realistic quantities for each product for years 1, 2 and 3, with a gradual ramp-up. Also estimate the prices (if not given), the direct costs, the salaries, the fixed costs and the start-up investments that match this activity. Present all these assumptions in a short table, with a one-sentence explanation for each, and ask me to validate or correct them before building the plan. 3) Financial plan Then build the plan on an annual basis, over 3 years, with the following structure: For each product: - Revenue (quantity × price) - Direct costs (purchases, materials, subcontracting linked to each sale) - Gross margin (revenue − direct costs) For the business: - Total gross margin - Salaries (including social charges) - Fixed costs (rent, insurance, marketing, IT, accounting, etc.) - Profit (total gross margin − salaries − fixed costs − depreciation) - Cash flow (profit + depreciation − investments) - Cumulative cash at the end of each year Rules: - Simple language, no unnecessary accounting jargon. - Rounded amounts, in the currency of the geographical area. - Cautious figures: a launch takes time and the first years are often loss-making. - If an amount is uncertain, say so instead of presenting it as certain. Format: An Excel table structured as described for the financial plan. Finish with a summary in 3 to 5 sentences: the year the business becomes profitable, the maximum financing need (the lowest cumulative cash position), and the two or three assumptions that weigh most on the result. Here is my project: [describe the geographical area of the market, the field of activity, the offer and the target customers, or paste the summaries of the previous prompts]