There are a few different messaging and persona frameworks I have used for different purposes. Here are a few of my favorites.
Positioning Statement - this is typically the foundation of any product/GTM positioning.
- [Target Customer] For: describe who you're targeting your product at
- [Statement of need or opportunity] Who: describe the pain or opportunity you're offering the target market
- [Product name is a product category] List your product name and the product category it belongs to
- [Statement of key benefit] That: describe the benefits of your product for the target customer
- [Competiting Alternative] Unlike: describe how your product differentiates from the primary competition (this doesn't necessarily have to only include other vendors but it could be differentiating from the status quo)
First Round had a solid blog on crafting positioning statements a while back- https://review.firstround.com/three-moves-every-startup-founder-must-make-to-build-a-brand-that-matters
The other framework we're using is around product/company positioning with a 3rd party consultant which is organized in the following way
- Market Category
- Statement of Differentiation
-
Message Pillars 1, 2, 3, etc. - supports the statement of differentiation and should have mulitple levels of detail depending upon the context...mapping to product/company capabilities
-
Big Idea - "No Software" from Salesforce is the canonical example here
For personas, it's key to map out the personas that are involved in your deals..typically this will look something like this:
- Buyer/decision maker
- User (if not buyer)
- Admin (if not user)
- Technical evaluator
- Champion (if not buyer)
Obviously, this is for more of an enterprise sale vs. a PLG model where buyer is user, tech evaluator, champion, etc. I also recently read the Challenger Customer (same authors of the Challenger Sale) and that book has an interesting view of personas.
Once you define personas, I would map out the following for each:
- Description of persona
- Titles that map to the persona (persona & title should be different)
- Role in buying process (listed above)
- Skill set mapping as it relates to your product (business & tech acumen, etc.)
- Goals
- Pain points
- Success measures or motivation
- Real life examples of the persona (can be linkedin profile)