AMA: ClickUp Former Vice President Product Marketing, Mike Berger on Messaging

You can create a category either way, but either way it isn't easy! Gainsight is a great example of a company that created a category by building a platform for, and championing, a new role that had emerged - the Customer Success leader. This was fueled by a shift to subscription-based billing, where retention became a primary growth lever for SaaS companies, and the Customer Success leader the person responsible for driving it. But you can also look at the creation of the Marketing Automation c ...Read More

First thing I do is determine how much a buyer cares about individual features. There is a saying that we go to Home Depot to buy a hole (benefit), not a shovel (feature). But sometimes people go to Home Depot already knowing they need a shovel, so they want to know which shovel is best (features).  The other thing to consider is that as you move upmarket, the separation between user and buyer is often vast, while downmarket the user and buyer is often one in the same. It's likely that users are ...Read More

I would say there are 5 tips I'd have for getting buy-in from cross-functional partners on messaging and positioning: Before presenting the messaging, be clear with the cross-functional partner as to who the intended audience is. Explain the goal of the messaging. Is it to raise awareness, convince them to see a demo, etc. Tell a story, as a story is more memorable, and is more likely to be well received.  If you use a slide deck, which I recommend, don't let design distract from the story. Few ...Read More

Experimentation is a key driver of messaging improvement. It's relatively inexpensive to test messaging through ads, which can get you a quick read on which messages resonate most strongly with the audiences you're targeting. This is a fairly scientific method, but you can also experiment with messaging through a sales team, assuming there is one. More qualitative than quantitative, you can test different messages through different flavors of pitch decks that reps deliver. With tools like Gong a ...Read More

The short answer here is that surveys are probably the most efficient way to validate messaging with customers. It's quick and inexpensive, and can get you a quick read on how well your messaging resonates. I've even run simple polls on LinkedIn to validate messaging, and it was very fast and effective.  That said, I would recommend combining the survey-based validation with some interviews where you can peel back the onion a bit and get deeper insights. Ideally, run the interviews first, then f ...Read More

The ultimate goal of marketing is to influence a purchase decision, or decisions. Most purchases are emotional in nature, and many people think about B2C when they think about emotional purchases. And this can certainly be true, but in fact B2B purchases are even more emotional, because they are usually associated with greater risk.  So regardless whether it's a B2B or B2C purchase, you are dealing with people, who are making decisions that are often emotional in nature. Think buying a car or a ...Read More