Who is the biggest critique of your messaging (customer success, sales, product) and how do get them on your side?

Sales is definitely the biggest critic of messaging. Getting them involved early and often and treating them as a true partner in the process is fundamental. There are 3 things that I always do when it comes to messaging: Partner with the best sellers of your product area. They are experts in reaching your target audience and executing your pitch. If you know they are happy with the message and actively using it, then you've gone a long way in ensuring the message resonates with the right audien ...Read More

The best feedback we can get as PMMs is critical feedback. I firmly believe that our messaging should constantly be refined based on changing market conditions, competitor releases, or customer needs. If we're getting feedback that our messaging isn't landing, then it's a great opportunity to dig into the "why" it isn't working – but that certainly doesn't mean you have to agree or make changes.  There will always be times when leaders push changes from the top, and we need to respond, but an es ...Read More

Believe it or not, I think that marketing is the biggest critic of messaging. :) That's why I am so adamant about positioning and messaging being considered hollistically. Often times, in positioning review meetings, we'll jump ahead to a place where we are splitting hairs on something as if it were the headline of a campaign. It's important to remember that positioning should be really strong, defensible, and not left open for interpretation. As such, positioning should really not be used verba ...Read More

Non-Marketers often look to us as the team with most insight on customers. The more grounded our messaging is in customer research, the more likely we are to get buy in and alignment. Some tips to practically get alignment Show them data and research on consumer behavior and the effectiveness of the messaging in question. Share success stories from other companies who have used similar messaging and saw positive results. Collaborate and gather feedback early from product managers and engineers t ...Read More