Page 66 · Module 02, Design Your Business · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksAnsoff Matrix
Find the right growth direction before committing resources
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
Before looking at new markets or new products, ask AI to run a full Market Penetration analysis on your existing business. Most companies at under 20% market share have significant penetration opportunity they haven't fully activated. Penetration is always cheaper than acquisition of new markets.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should stress-test your business model? Business models fail quietly — not all at once, but one flawed assumption at a time. The roles on this page represent the perspectives that expose those assumptions before the market does. Use internal roles to build and refine your model. Use outside perspectives to find the gaps your optimism is covering.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesYour core business is working and you're ready to grow but you're unsure whether to go deeper with existing customers, expand to new markets, launch new products, or do something entirely new. Every direction feels possible and none feels obvious.
How the framework works
From the printed pageDeveloped by Igor Ansoff and published in Harvard Business Review in 1957, the Ansoff Matrix maps four growth strategies against two dimensions: existing vs new products, and existing vs new markets. Market Penetration (existing product, existing market) is lowest risk. Market Development (existing product, new market) and Product Development (new product, existing market) are medium risk. Diversification (new product, new market) is highest risk. Most businesses underinvest in penetration and over-invest in diversification.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderMap your current position on the matrix honestly.
For each quadrant, estimate the level of investment and risk required.
Start with Market Penetration most businesses have not fully captured their existing market.
Only move to Diversification after the other three quadrants are saturated. Amazon spent seven years dominating book retail before expanding to electronics, then all products, then cloud services. Each move followed the Ansoff sequence penetrate first, develop markets second, diversify last. The discipline of exhausting one quadrant before entering the next is what made each expansion defensible. IN PRACTICE
Where the framework comes from
Igor Ansoff, Harvard Business Review — Strategies for Diversification, 1957
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 02 — Design Your Business
Shape what you're building so it deserves to exist.
10 frameworks, printed on pages 49–68.
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