When do you decide messaging is ready to ship?

Messaging perfection is a myth that I had to unlearn (and TBH it is a daily practice). What I've discovered is that strong messaging emerges through a balance of rigorous preparation and market validation. While we should always strive for excellence, the reality is that business milestones – whether a major keynote, sales conference or product launch – often set our ship date for us. And that's actually a good thing.

Here's my evolved perspective: Rather than viewing messaging as a fixed destination, I treat it as a living framework that launches when it meets three critical criteria:

• It resonates clearly with our core customer segments, validated through direct feedback and real-world testing

• Our sales and customer-facing teams can confidently articulate it and connect it to specific customer challenges

• We have compelling data points and customer proof to support our key claims

The breakthrough came when I stopped seeing "ship" as the final destination and started treating it as a launch point. Yes, major events require us to lock in our narrative. But post-launch, we maintain a continuous feedback loop with sales and customers, using market response to guide meaningful iterations. Each refinement needs to clear a higher bar than the last – so that we evolve thoughtfully, not reactively.