Messaging Strategy
Opus Training VP of Marketing and Customer Success | Formerly Instawork, Upwork, Apple • 4y
It can be hard to keep messaging simple and poignant. It takes time, revs, and validation. There's pressure to get it perfect right off the bat. Or people sit and forget....
609 Views
UiPath Sr. Director of Product Marketing | Formerly Salesforce, Tableau, Microsoft • May 9
Consensus on messaging is harder than consensus on almost anything else in product marketing because everyone has an opinion and most of those opinions feel legitimate. H...
149 Views
Rimsys Regulatory Management Software VP of Marketing • 5y
This will depend a bit on the specific market or product, but I'd suggest the following:
Your customers
Your product team
Your sales team
Your leadership team
Industry ...
827 Views
What are different messaging processes that you do? And which ones work best to help team/stakeholders come to consensus faster?
A/B testing and spending on messaging research are ways that we can test out messaging, but if we don't have budget to do that, are there other ways to qualify it besides having team members or some stakeholders provide input and attempt to wordsmith until concensus is reached?
OpenTable Director of Product Marketing • 4y
I find it helpful to put together a simple exec-level deck that incapsulates the key messaging, how I got there, and how it'll show up. I use that deck to organize my own...
577 Views
UiPath Sr. Director of Product Marketing | Formerly Salesforce, Tableau, Microsoft • May 9
Twenty-one answers on this question tells you something: everyone has the same problem and no one has fully solved it. Here's what's worked across my time at Microsoft, S...
162 Views
Can you share your tips on making a great analyst briefing deck?
I'm about to make my companies first analyst briefing deck. I've made them in the past but want to make a really kick ass one this time around.
Samsara Vice President, Marketing • 4y
The best analyst briefing decks that I've either seen or helped build are not filled with marketing messaging. They clearly layout what analysts typically care about, whi...
22307 Views
Etsy Senior Director, Seller Growth & Retention • 9mo
This is something that we do a lot at Etsy! We focus all of our launches on how they're solving customer pain points or challenges and it's critical that we consistently ...
594 Views
Gusto Head of Product Marketing, Benefits • 3mo
If everyone’s happy with your messaging, you probably got beige. Stakeholders don’t water messaging down out of malice. They do it because pushing the envelope can feel r...
882 Views
Jellyfish VP of Product Marketing • 3y
Spending more money with analysts won't guarantee a good placement in a Quadrant or Wave. I've seen companies mistakenly spend money on:
- Buying more seats or licenses t...
2194 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
The messaging framework explains the why. Sales tools give reps what to say in the next 10 seconds.What actually gets used:Business outcomes: Speak in the words your cust...
625 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
The assumption: good information wins.The reality: clarity and leading with the "why" wins.What I learned the hard way: even for the most technical products, we're all hu...
594 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Validation shifts as the product matures. What "landing" means at launch isn't what it means at scale.Pre-launch: UX panels with ICP buyers. Internal "explain it back" te...
635 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Two layers: does it convert, and does it travel.Convert: landing page conversion, demo-to-opportunity rate, win rates against named competitors, sales cycle lengthTravel:...
606 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
The ones where buyers actually spend time, not the ones marketers love to optimize:Sales call openings. The first 30 seconds of every demo is messaging real estate most P...
609 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Start with conversations.Talk to 10 customers who recently bought. Ask why they switched, what they almost bought instead, and what they'd tell a peer. Record everything...
637 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Think of it like writing a book, not rewriting one. You're adding new chapters with smooth transitions, not throwing out the manuscript every quarter. Constant rewrites c...
595 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Compelling messaging spreads without you pushing it. Everything else is a leading indicator.Tests my team runs:The Gong parrot test. In your next 10 discovery calls, coun...
633 Views
Okta Senior Manager, Product Marketing & Analyst Relations • 1mo
Frameworks are guides, not scripture. The mistake I see most often is PMMs treating classic frameowrks like a fill-in-the-blank exercise instead of a thinking aid.How I r...
1114 Views
SmithRx VP of Marketing | Formerly HubSpot, LinkedIn, Salesforce • 3y
It's pretty difficult to get a straightforward read on the effectiveness of your messaging and positioning but there are a few things you can do to ensure your messaging ...
27116 Views
How do you approach messaging for things that might not excite the customer?
For example, when needing to communicate a price increase or end-of-life message?
Senior B2B Marketer • 2y
First, is there product market fit? Does the product solve a big enough pain point customers are willing to pay for it? If not sure, it's time to talk to some potential c...
615 Views
Twilio Former Director of Product Management - Pricing & Packaging, CXP | Formerly Narvar, Medallia, Helpshift, Feedzai, Reputation.com • 6y
New messaging for a product is always both challenging and fun. But the obstacles tend to be unique to each situation. Let me explain through a few scenarios.
Evolving p...
553 Views
How do you communicate product marketing achievements upwards and build visibility?
It can sometimes be a struggle for those on the executive team, or in higher leadership roles, to see the value that product marketing is bringing to the business - especially if they do not have regular interaction. How do you build visibility for you and/or your team, and clearly communicate the achievements and activities throughout the year?
Observable VP, Marketing | Formerly Figma, Abstract • 3y
Tying your work to tangible outcomes, specifically those related to product growth and revenue, and socializing it has worked well for me. Here's my approach:
Have a rev...
441 Views
What do you use or do to get people to buy into your positioning plans and consistently using them?
The product marketers job typically revolves around positioning a product. Sometimes, it can be difficult to align sales, marketing, and product teams around your positioning.
Unusual Ventures (former VP PMM @ Okta) Operating Partner • 6y
Ah, a tricky one! There are a few things that you can do, starting with a core team that you trust to participate in the fluidity that is message development. Typically...
1304 Views
Box Head of Product Marketing, AI & Platform | Formerly Google Gemini • 6mo
I talked about this in another answer, but I use the '7 Whys' Technique, but with a specific caveat: The goal isn't to reach the top, its to map the jouney. The goal is t...
644 Views
Netcore Cloud VP - Product and Customer Marketing | Formerly Freshworks,IBM,Wipro • 2mo
Think "revenue-first". If you are thinking about PMM as a messaging and content creation function for the whole company, you would be seen that way. But if you shift your...
192 Views
Self Employed Product Marketing Leadership (Interim & Fractional) | Formerly Xero, Karbon, ApprovalMax • 3mo
One mistake I see a lot is trying to create one messaging document that works equally well for leadership and copy teams. In reality, they are looking for very different ...
149 Views
Shopify Senior Product Marketing Lead • 2y
The most effective approach to rolling out messaging that internal GTM teams will use is to bring them along on the journey with you. It's important to build trust and sh...
6313 Views
Box Vice President Product Marketing | Formerly Splunk, New Relic, Microsoft, Unity, Oracle • 3mo
Volunteer to do all customer interview prep and customer stories for sales events — this gives you direct customer access, builds credibility with sales, and generates th...
403 Views
Box Vice President Product Marketing | Formerly Splunk, New Relic, Microsoft, Unity, Oracle • 3mo
PMMs should own customer interviews and customer stories — this gives you direct access to customer language and pattern recognition without depending on sales to grant a...
419 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Pick something highly visible and cross-functional (like a Gartner report, the website, or a pitch deck) to prove the value of product marketing — and learn to say no to ...
417 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Manage a collection of products by identifying the distinct value props for each, then building an 'Uber value prop' for the collection — and recognize that the buyer and...
397 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Specificity is authentic and demonstrates genuine empathy for the problem — when you can't be flashy, being specific and honest is not just acceptable, it's the right mov...
373 Views
Box Vice President Product Marketing | Formerly Splunk, New Relic, Microsoft, Unity, Oracle • 3mo
Use the product yourself, use competing products, understand the jobs-to-be-done of the actual user (not just the buyer), and read RFPs to hear customers describe their n...
415 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Use Wynter for structured message testing and tap into your existing community for live feedback — both are fast, practical ways to validate messaging before launch.
We ...
399 Views
Zuora VP Product Marketing • 3mo
Identify the best storytellers in your sales team, make them the hero by scaling their approach, and bring data from customer research to create credibility and alignment...
402 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
The top three mistakes are: using too many words, not talking to customers to validate messaging, and spending too much time on the messaging document rather than getting...
381 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Go back to basics: identify the truly unique problem you're solving, then use real customer language (not AI-generated copy) to express it in a way that genuinely resonat...
396 Views
Box Vice President Product Marketing | Formerly Splunk, New Relic, Microsoft, Unity, Oracle • 3mo
Use AI heavily for research (summarization, persona research, Gong call analysis, Gartner chatbots) but do not use it to write messaging — the actual writing is where PMM...
408 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 3mo
Use a message house framework, but shift toward mocking up messaging in real-world formats (webpages, press releases) rather than treating it as a purely abstract documen...
393 Views
Iterable Director, Platform Product Marketing • 3mo
This is such an important question right now. The biggest mistake I see: companies positioning AI as the benefit/ value of a new feature release. It’s not. AI is the mech...
488 Views
Iterable Director, Platform Product Marketing • 3mo
A strong messaging framework should create clarity, force prioritization, and make execution easier across teams. The key elements I always include are:1. Problem stateme...
498 Views
Iterable Director, Platform Product Marketing • 3mo
I always start big. I zoom out and ask: what’s happening in the market right now, and what is the customer actually struggling with today? What pressures are they under? ...
488 Views
Iterable Director, Platform Product Marketing • 3mo
If you have the budget, platforms like Wynter and others make it incredibly easy to pressure test positioning with your target audience and get feedback in 24 hours or le...
595 Views
Iterable Director, Platform Product Marketing • 3mo
My biggest tip: don’t just mash two value props together and call it “better together.” That falls flat every time.Great 'better together' messaging comes from finding wh...
639 Views
Fivetran Director of Product Marketing • 11mo
Consistency in messaging across channels is something we’re still actively working to improve. Right now, we provide detailed messaging resources to our internal marketin...
1675 Views
Gusto Head of Product Marketing, Benefits • 3mo
Treat Sales as a core part of your messaging strategy. They sit on a goldmine of prospect knowledge: the questions buyers ask, the objections that stall deals, the words ...
807 Views
Gusto Head of Product Marketing, Benefits • 3mo
Competitive analysis is like hot sauce (or if you are like me, raw jalapenos) in messaging: a little makes everything better, too much and you can’t taste the actual food...
819 Views
Gusto Head of Product Marketing, Benefits • 3mo
Customer feedback is central to shaping your messaging strategy. Use a combination of signals and explicit tests to hone and strengthen messaging. Start with the pain: An...
807 Views
Box Head of Product Marketing, AI & Platform | Formerly Google Gemini • 6mo
Differentiation isn't about proving your product is 'better.' It’s about proving your understanding of the customer is deeper. You do that by speaking their language and ...
642 Views
Fmr Product Marketing Leader, Cisco | Formerly Twilio, Cisco, Gartner • 3mo
Start with redefining how buyers understand their problem! The most effective approach is to shift the conversation away from existing comparisons and toward a new mental...
391 Views