# Merchandising blueprint Human Guide

## What This Is For
When to Use Building seasonal or always-on merchandising strategies. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for merchandising blueprint: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Merchandising blueprint agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for merchandising blueprint.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Merchandising blueprint guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Building seasonal or always-on merchandising strategies.
- Coordinating cross-channel launches (onsite, email, paid, affiliates).
- Auditing current site experience for gaps or inconsistencies.
- **Calendar & Objectives** – map themes, KPIs, and inventory constraints.
- **Offer Architecture** – hero promos, bundles, cross-sell ladders, loyalty tie-ins.
- **Experience System** – PDP optimizations, navigation, content modules, personalization rules.
- **Channel Alignment** – asset requirements, copy variations, QA checklists.
- **Measurement Loop** – KPI dashboards, readout cadence, learning archive.
- Promo calendar spreadsheet with dependencies + owner columns.
- Merchandising layout guide (homepage, PLP, PDP modules).
- QA + launch checklist across CMS, analytics, and marketing tools.
- Always link offers to inventory + margin guardrails to avoid over-discounting.

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: When to Use, Framework, Templates, Tips.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Always link offers to inventory + margin guardrails to avoid over-discounting.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Merchandising blueprint human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the gtmagents/gtm-agents skill entry for `merchandising-blueprint`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Merchandising Blueprint Skill

## When to Use
- Building seasonal or always-on merchandising strategies.
- Coordinating cross-channel launches (onsite, email, paid, affiliates).
- Auditing current site experience for gaps or inconsistencies.

## Framework
1. **Calendar & Objectives** – map themes, KPIs, and inventory constraints.
2. **Offer Architecture** – hero promos, bundles, cross-sell ladders, loyalty tie-ins.
3. **Experience System** – PDP optimizations, navigation, content modules, personalization rules.
4. **Channel Alignment** – asset requirements, copy variations, QA checklists.
5. **Measurement Loop** – KPI dashboards, readout cadence, learning archive.

## Templates
- Promo calendar spreadsheet with dependencies + owner columns.
- Merchandising layout guide (homepage, PLP, PDP modules).
- QA + launch checklist across CMS, analytics, and marketing tools.

## Tips
- Always link offers to inventory + margin guardrails to avoid over-discounting.
- Coordinate creative refreshes with experiment timelines to isolate impact.
- Pair with `plan-merchandising-campaign` for automation and tracking.

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