more analytical than most—understand how better results are achieved. It doesn't say anything that might make an analyst more curious to learn more.
Company B chose to be longer and more concrete—a good choice for this audience. They are specific about what was different and say so upfront: “Our modern data discovery platform takes a markedly different approach.” Then, how it “operates in-database” and what you can do better as a result: “data is…drillable and explorable.”
Even if you don't know what this means from a technical perspective, you do know what they're claiming is unique. Note how it includes elements from the positioning formula but doesn't present them in a formulaic way. Instead, they provide concrete examples of what a data analyst could do differently. It's helpful information for an analyst deciding if they want to learn more.
Company B's messaging is better for its audience for all these reasons. It belonged to Looker, who built a fantastic product customers loved and had good messaging to go along with it. Company A was RJMetrics; their messaging and eventual outcome was average.
Modern teams test messaging, but that's not enough to guarantee a good result. It's easy for teams to test variations on a theme and not probe the landscape of possibility enough. Testing should reveal outer bounds of what might work as well as tradeoffs in approaches.
Let me be clear: messaging isn't what makes a product good. But a good product can't succeed in the market without good messaging. It won't come from a formula; it comes from knowing what your audience needs to hear. A product marketer needs to know that to be good at their job.
A Better Process
Good messaging is honed and chiseled by multiple teams. It is never an instant masterpiece created by one team in a room. Messaging is revised numerous times with input from tests on a variety of platforms (web, in app, email, ads, and sales conversations) before it's done.
I don't advocate a formula, but offer CAST as a guide to check if your messaging is grounded in what customers want to hear. The concepts are:
1 Clear. Is what you do clear and is there a reason to be curious? Is being comprehensive getting in the way of clarity?
2 Authentic. Is the language evocative and meaningful to your customer? Is it said in a way makes them feel known?
3 Simple. Is it easy to understand what's compelling or different? Will customers know what's better?
4 Tested. Has it been tested and iterated in the context customers will experience it?
Teams often iterate messaging in documents, assuming it's honed because product, sales, and marketing all got input. That is only a starting point. When messaging is tested in a web page or email, not only do you get better customer input, it's easier to see unnecessary or confusing phrasing.
Beware: simple and compelling often get confused with jargony and promotional, even among experienced product marketers. Imagine if Looker's “Because it operates in-database, all your data is inherently drillable and explorable” was “Because it's a collaborative data platform, there are no limits to what you can explore!” The original doesn't have trendy buzzwords, but it is much clearer for a data analyst.
I go into significant depth on this process and many more examples of great messaging in part 4.
The Tendency to Be Overly Precise
One of the biggest challenges in technical product marketing is being technical enough at the right times versus technically precise all the time.
It is particularly challenging for more technical products, like those in infrastructure or for developer audiences. This is where Fundamental 1 of product marketing comes into play: What does your target market most need to hear?
Messaging should be concrete enough to be credible to the technically savvy. But that doesn't mean say everything with technical precision right out of the starting gate. The job of messaging is to create a connection. This may mean messaging works best when accompanied by a product trial, videos, or customer testimonials.
Don't expect messaging to do all the heavy lifting.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the many actions you take to improve discoverability by search engines. It applies anywhere search is used to discover something, including app stores, marketplaces, or Internet content. It is its own dedicated specialty that is constantly evolving.
Since ∼70% of people's buying decisions happen online in some form, the keyword phrase ecosystem surrounding you and your competitors must be considered in how you position and message.
SEO can anchor much of your digital strategy, including content, ad buys, and even email subject lines. Keyword audits show what words others are likely to associate with your product.
Watching users search for your product in a journey test is also a quick and easy way to see how users think about your product, the language they use, and which competitors they associated with you.
Here again, SEO is all an important input, not the sole driver of the output. It guides which words to consider including in messaging. Beware the temptation to chase keyword phrases that get clicks. It can be at odds with your longer-term positioning.
The product marketer maintains a clear line of sight to the product's positioning and considers the many variables impacting it. Good judgment must always be exercised.
Positioning = Your Actions + Others'
Messaging is the most obvious artifact of positioning work, but every activity in a product go-to-market plan can reinforce positioning in some way.
If a company does a proof-of-concept during its sales process, it should direct the assessment criteria toward its strengths. For a product demo, how features are shown should reinforce the positioning. When deciding if something is worth a press release, assess if it is a good proof-point for the desired positioning. Even in very structured analyst reviews, positioning can be demonstrated with strong evidence—such as customers solving problems a particular way or repeatable tests that validate a claim.
That's the positioning work within your control.
But an equal if not more powerful force influencing a product's perception is the 70% of decision-making that happens beyond a company's control. Some aspects of this are referred to as dark funnel or dark social—engagement, buying processes, or sharing of content and points-of-view that impact adoption but aren't possible to see or track.
Comparison sites, reviews, ratings, social postings, shares, online forums, other people's content, and even employee buzz are just a search away. They collectively form a digital footprint that has enormous impact and quietly positions a product and the brand reputation of a company. Pay attention to the power of word-of-mouth and what people are saying. It can become your de facto positioning, even if your messaging and “official” marketing channels say something else.
The Long Game
I've zoomed in a lot on messaging in this chapter because it anchors how a product gets perceived. It's the starting
