How would you recommend Product Marketing Managers improve their messaging skills?

I would suggest practicing by creating your own messaging frameworks for some of your favorite products or companies be they B2C or B2B. This should help you to start to think through the different proof points and differentiators because you’ll already be aware of the competitive landscape and how they’re message.  Another approach is to try to reverse engineer the messaging for a company you’re already following. Take their current messaging and put it into your messaging framework to see 1) i ...Read More

I'd recommend making sure to spend enough time on the planning and information gathering phase that is necessary prior to creating messaging. The most common issue I've seen with messaging is PMMs jumping straight into creating a framework before they truly take the time to understand their target audience's pain points, and how the product solves those pain points. As a result, the messaging turns into that individual's view of why they think the product is great. In an ideal world you would be ...Read More

2 pieces of advice here: 1) Take a look at the messaging from other companies (even outside of your market or industry). Who is really nailing it and what do you like about it? And who are the players that you still can't figure out what they do? See if you can start to incorporate some of the aspects you like into your message, or prune out some of what you didn't like. One thing I love doing here is seeing if there are ways to be more colloquial in your messaging. Especially if you work in B2B ...Read More

Research, and come with a growth mindset! Look and listen to what competitors in your market are doing. How does their messaging make you feel, how does it relate to your own organisation's. Why do customer go with them versus you?  Also, and something that often goes overlooked; we're all consumers. So, what brand do you admire, what messaging makes you stop and think about the product/solution/service. Messaging can only resonate when you have the right alignment of the customer, knowing their ...Read More

This is mostly just practice, start writing, and keep writing. However, some specific things you could do include: Actively consume other marketing content. For example subscribe to your favorite brand's emails, competitor emais. Read the content and think about why it is effective/not effective.  Before you start writing anything work with product to really understand why you are building a product or feature. Understand the audience and the problem you are trying to solve. Get involved in user ...Read More

Start with a template: This may include... Define who your audience is and what their pain points are What the key message pillars are (i.e. innovation, reliability, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, etc.), A concise and compelling value proposition statement that communicates the unique benefits of your offering that answers the question: "Why should customers choose your product or service over competitors?" Use clear and straightforward language that highlights the value your offering provides ...Read More

Messaging is a skill that takes time and effort to improve. And not everyone intuitively "gets it" when it comes to crafting great messaging. Here are 8 ways I'd recommend PMMs improve their messaging skills: Talk to your customers: Get their lingo down. Talk to them in the same way they talk about themselves & their needs. The more you talk to customers, the more you'll be able to echo them in your messaging. Consult the competition: competitive websites can be a great place to understand h ...Read More

Create messaging that is compelling to your customers, differentiated than your competitors, and articulates a clear advantage for your customers. You have to have a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile, and also the various personas in your target audience. Messaging pillars need to convey the primary benefits of your product/solutions for the specific audience. This is done through an integrated and iterative analysis of market trends, customer needs, competitive options, and pro ...Read More

Great messaging isn't as easy as people think! Two things come to mind. First, learn the art of writing a single minded proposition, aka "SMP." If you aren't crystal clear on the benefit you're selling and why a customer should believe in the benefit (RTB or reason to believe) your messaging just won't make sense. CPG marketers have been doing this for years; it requires you to be disciplined and to make tradeoffs otherwise your message will be muddy. Second, remember that less is always more, a ...Read More

Messaging is so important, not only when conveying new features, updates, and opportunities to your customers, but also when getting internal buy-in and gathering resources for a go-to-market plan. Start by putting together your message, focusing most importantly on the value, as well as the must-knows and how-tos. What are you providing to the user (or colleague), or trying to get them to do, and why does it benefit them? And see how other companies approach similar topics. Just because a compe ...Read More

Always always always bring it back to the perspective of the prospect / customer. Your super power as a PMM is reading people to understand what's most important to them. One of my favourite ways to get good at this is tons of research calls. Here's my most successful way to do this: if accessible, obtain a list of your target accounts -- these are now your target companies find the title within these companies that you want to learn more about -- this will usually be the buyer vs. end user if y ...Read More

Great Product Marketers are made, not born. While some may have innate talents suited to the role, Product Marketing is a craft that must be honed over time. Here are some ways to continually improve your skills: Pay Attention to Marketing Around You: We’re surrounded by marketing every day. Most of it is forgettable, but some stands out—it might change your perspective, evoke emotion, surprise you, or make something complicated feel simple. When you notice great marketing, ask yourself: What ma ...Read More