Davidson College

I don't think you ever stop iterating on messaging as long as you're developing new aspects of your product. For a product launch, again, I would make sure that you've tested your messaging with somewhere between 5-20 clients and non-clients and then ship what comes out of those tests. Product ma...more

What has been challenging for me in the past is not having a ton of reference customers and/or data to back up messaging for a new product launch. This is a delicate balance between making sure that you have product-market fit before a major launch, having those reference customers with some data...more

I'm a fan of the highlighter test method. We generally will take advantage of being present at an event (know this is challenging in today's environment) and take about 20 copies of two versions of our messaging, then sit down with clients/non-clients and ask them to highlight words that resonate...more

This is all dependent on the personas you're trying to target. In my opinion, your positioning should not change, but you should have messaging specific to your buyer and/or user personas, or those who will be influencing the purchase in a B2B context. For example, when we're talking about the br...more

Urgency is relative. You have to deeply understand your target audience(s) and the market conditions under which they're operating. Urgency isn't manufactured, it's reflected in what you understand to be the current condition of your target audience and their environment; it shouldn't be a reflec...more

Stakeholder communications and management can vary widely in my experience working at start ups to some of the largest enterprises in the world (Disney). When you're working with a founder CEO who has a very specific vision for positioning and messaging, you want to make sure that you know all th...more

* Not leading with empathy – shouting about what your product is/does without putting it in the context of the users’/buyers’ actual problems and stating what business value/impact your product/solution will have for them. * Using jargon or hollow words/phrases like: integrates/integratio...more

Hi all - great to be with you here today live from my home office and spinning vinyl on my turn table as I answer your questions! In terms of sweet messaging templates, I generally go back to the Crossing the Chasm standard mad libs version: * For __________________________________________...more

I’ve always found that telling people what you’re signing up for then overachieving those goals with clear data will cut through any gender biases. I’ve been the only woman in the room many times, but I’ve also not been afraid to pull in closer to the table and speak up. I’ve also learned that in...more