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April Rassa

AMA: HackerOne Vice President of Product Marketing, April Rassa on Messaging

September 29 @ 10:00AM PST
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HackerOne Vice President of Product Marketing, April Rassa on Messaging
Top Questions
How do you test messaging before launching a new product? What are different approaches that would help us be confident about the message that would result in better conversion?
I took a survey and in person interviews with customers and did different exercises but I am wondering what would make me more confident about the message
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
My short answer is to be scrappy and test with customers. Make sure your messaging can answer these questions: - Does your message focus on one main point? People will remember if your message is concise, clear and consistent. - Does the message include “what’s in it for me”? Tell customers wh......Read More
952 Views
1 request
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
I think I addressed this above.  It's vital for you to get objective opinions about your idea. Chances are you've been exposed to your concept for so long that you've lost the ability to be unbiased. Talk to customers! Get feedback from your sales team. Develop regular cadences where you can g......Read More
565 Views
1 request
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
In the Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, he says "comapnies that don't have a clearly articulated story don't have a well-thought-out strategy. The company story is the company strategy." With that said, that is a good starting point to consider. Your story must explain at a fundament......Read More
785 Views
1 request
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 28
The biggest thing I see when companies develop a product, service or build a brand, is they get stuck on the “what” of the thing. What the product does? What the company does? This thing. And this thing. And this. And that’s great, but the bigger question is why? Savvy consumers/customers look pa......Read More
1093 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
When you think about your product messaging, you may start with the features and benefits the product provides. While those things do need to be defined, they should not be where you start developing your product messaging from. Instead, your product messaging should lead with the intangible val......Read More
860 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
I think some of the work April Dunford has done in terms of the framework she lays out in her book is super practical and easy to use. There are some good examples you can find here.   I'm a big fan of the Content Marketing Institute and they have some great content around messaging framewo......Read More
2245 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
Every company wants to be the #1 in their field. I would argue that if your company is undeniably #1 in its market, you don’t often make this proclamation. People already know it. It’s very similar to the notion that “nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” Companies believe that by saying they’re......Read More
793 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
Your messaging should ultimately map to the key buyer personas you've identified. Your messaging then needs to be developed to go a level deeper into the value statements for different buyer personas and these can range from business to technical. You need to cater the messaging based on those bu......Read More
813 Views
1 request
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 28
Most often when you're launching the company's first product, you're most likely launching the company as well. The challenge there is its the first for everything. So, make sure you have a comprehensive launch plan as there are a lot of moving parts. Plus, make sure you define the key metrics......Read More
614 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 28
Messaging is the ability to communicate pains and solutions for a specific persona using the written word. PMM writing is unique because it’s all about distilling a message down to it’s essence and packaging words in a way that will be accepted by a specific group of people. A PMM should write wi......Read More
1368 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 28
It's key to align around a high-level story that powers success—in sales, marketing, fundraising, product development and recruiting—by getting everyone on the same page about strategy and differentiation. Alignment is difficult. If you can start with your CEO, that is key. Ultimately, your CE......Read More
1370 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 28
Even if you’re selling a commodity—stop selling it like a commodity! This means that the most important part of knowing how to sell commodity products is to stop focusing on price as the primary determinant for why a prospect should buy from you. Reflect on the value that you create in the li......Read More
932 Views
2 requests
April Rassa
April Rassa
Aventi Group Product Marketing ConsultantSeptember 29
Developers don't want to be marketed to. Developers are a sharp, no-nonsense group. They work under deadlines and stress that comes from being asked to deliver on the (next to) impossible. They can smell jargon and insincere messaging from a mile away. Since they play a critical role in choosing ......Read More
954 Views
1 request