AMA: Zuora Former Senior Director, Product Marketing, Natalie Louie on Messaging

We test our messaging various ways: Talk directly to your customers and prospects, interview them, survey them  Test messaging with analysts who cover your space Talk to partners, consultants and subject matter experts  Get feedback from sales Present it to executives and get their feedback Join sales calls with prospects and listen to them deliver the message or deliver the message yourself Make it a part of your executives talk track and get their feedback (our CEO tests our messaging for us b ...Read More

MESSAGING FRAMEWORK Andy Raskin broke down our Zuora messaging framework perfectly: The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen This messaging framework we use has 5 elements:  Name a Big, Relevant Change in the World Show There’ll Be Winners and Losers Tease the Promised Land Introduce Features as “Magic Gifts” for Overcoming Obstacles to the Promised Land Present Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True Another good messaging framework Andy Raskin breaks down well is a keynote by Elon Musk  E ...Read More

I wouldn’t prioritize it and instead focus on iterating on your existing product messaging and positioning. Get clarity on how to message and position your existing products while being mindful of your future product roadmap. Messaging and positioning is something you should always be iterating and updating pending what new products are being released, what your competitors do, what your customers' changing challenges are, what your new business strategy is, etc... So, when you have a real platf ...Read More

We have our brand messaging and corporate messaging which ties to our company purpose and we use it as our north star and map all related messaging to that. It’s important to work in an integrated way so that messaging is consistent and aligned across the company and the products we sell.We spend a lot of time creating our Messaging Template - a source document our PMM team uses and that we send to all cross-functional partners so they can create content and copy aligned with our messaging. Once ...Read More

If you want the highest company valuation possible, you need a recurring stream based on a value-based and/or usage-based pricing model. Investors and Wall Street value recurring revenue streams at a much higher multiple than one-time transactional revenue because they are predictable revenue streams with higher profit margins that build longer customer lifetime value. This is why many companies are moving to subscriptions. There are 4 key levers in determining your recurring pricing strategy fo ...Read More

We are in a constant state of updating various messaging All The Time. In fact, we never feel like we are done.  Our CEO, Tien Tzuo, tells us that the magic to good messaging is in the iteration of it. We are constantly battle testing and iterating on all our messaging. Zuora spent 3 years iterating on "The Subscription Economy" before it stuck and became synonymous with our brand now. Now that this message has been battle tested, we haven't changed it.  But for other messaging, the second we re ...Read More

It starts with the PMM team to come up with messaging that positions the benefits of your solutions/platform. PMM’s own the WHY and not the WHAT. Please refer to my other answers on frameworks and best practices to get to good messaging and positioning here. Once we have your messaging in a good place, our PMM team works very closely with our marketing, sales, sales enablement, product, partners and strategy counterparts to amplify our messaging. Part of the PMM’s job is to make sure our messagi ...Read More

Please look here for my pricing framework on what to think about when coming up with new value-based pricing recommendations.  As a PMM I own pricing strategy and I work close with Product Managers (PM) with their product roadmap. As they are developing their products I meet with them to discuss how we will monetize a new product using my pricing framework. We'll understand how the value of our product is different than competitors, we'll understand what prospects/customers value by talking to t ...Read More

Yes, messaging and positioning should be revisited for every single release. It is something you are constantly battle testing and iterating on. The best messaging is not something you research, create once and then go back to on an annual basis. The magic is in the iteration of messaging and positioning.  Test it with your team, your co-workers, your sales teams, your executives, your partners, analysts, and subject matter experts. Test it on prospects, customers, your friends and family. Have ...Read More