Matt Hodges

I'm out of time, but real quick, Patagonia and Apple are favorites of mine. They both have brands that stand for something, and they continually demonstrate their commitment to their vision in their actions. On top of that, they both have high-quality products.   I  believe that product and mar...more

What's the saying, "imitation is the best form of flattery"? It's impossible to prevent competitors from copying your messaging (and product to some extent even).   Instead of worrying about those that are copying you, I'd instead encourage you to focus on building the best product to best solv...more

Tell a compelling story. A story that resonates with your target audience. Something that speaks directly to the pain they are experiencing and/or describes a future state they want to be in.   You should aim for the right balance of cleverness, clarity, and cheekiness. That balance all depends...more

I can’t think of any one example I have received recently, but here’s my advice on what I think makes a good feature launch email:   * It’s thoughtfully targeted and relevant: A poorly targeted email is about as effective as a love letter addressed “To whom it may concern” (credit: Des T...more

For guidance on how to build messaging, see my answer to, What are good messaging framework resources that you use?. In terms of how to validate it, I’d recommend a combination of the following tactics:   * Talk to your customers: Invest time talking to and learning from your prospective an...more

Great question–tough to answer without getting too specific about Intercom and what works for us based on our own situation and approach in general. But, here goes. :)   For us, a product is a container for a set of mutually exclusive features that enable specific workflows to be completed. For...more

We’ve developed a few of our own frameworks over the years based on jobs-to-be-done. It’s an approach that runs counterintuitive to classic, persona-based marketing, and does so purposefully. Focusing on customer attributes really means focusing on what you want to sell, rather than what your cus...more