How to Craft a New Message
Getting started with a new messaging strategy
A few weeks ago, I was asked by the lovely people at Wynter to give my tips on how to craft a new message.
I had a lot of follow up questions about it, so I figured I’d also share my thoughts about messaging with you lovely readers of The Product Marketer too. But if you don’t feel like reading, you can always watch the full video here.
How to Craft a New Message
I was initially going to speak about ‘positioning’ for the Wynter Games. And then realised it’d be much more useful to talk about messaging instead.
Because the thing is… positioning is a bit of a mythical creature. It can sometimes feel like an abstract being that none of us quite understand. It sounds clever to say - for sure - but I’m not sure how many people actually get it.
The Trouble with Positioning…
There are a few challenges with positioning.
Firstly, shifting or affecting your positioning can take a long, long time. And you can’t really shift it with any one single campaign or project.
It also gets complicated very quickly. Your positioning likely differs depending on the country you’re going to market in, which segment of the market you’re addressing, and various other factors.
There’s also the hard reality that positioning isn’t fully in your control. There’s the positioning you want to have, and then there’s the positioning you actually have based on external factors, such as the market landscape, your competitors, as well as your own product or service’s limitations.
Plus, positioning is one of these areas that isn’t owned by any one team. Everyone in the business - especially leadership - has an opinion on it.
It’s much easier - and more realistic - to take control of your message.
Thoughts on Messaging
I agree with what many people have said on this topic in the past (April Dunford is especially good.) Messaging is not the same thing as positioning.
But I think your message can be an extension of your positioning, and a lot of the process for how you get to it might be the same.
What I like about messaging is that it can be agile. It’s not a permanent decision. If it isn’t working, you can change it quickly. Or pull the plug on it altogether.
That’s why I talk and think about messaging as if it’s a campaign. I see new messaging as having a launch date, being something your company can rally around, and something that has an end date, to reassure anyone internally that this doesn’t have to be permanent.
Timing
But how do you know when it’s a good time for a new message?
A good example that I’ve seen at many companies is when you go from an Old World vs New World product category, to being an established competitive market.
By Old World vs New World, I mean when you’re introducing new technology that is replacing something archaic or non existent. At some point, things in your category will change (hopefully!) and there’s a need to differentiate. And this will require a new message.
There’s other reasons for shifting your message, though.
You might see a sudden shift in the competitive landscape. An emerging player might become more dominant. Or you could even find yourself moving from being a challenger brand to the incumbent.
Then there’s the market itself. Economic changes or industry trends can affect the needs of your target customer, and thus change the value drivers you want to talk about.
Or you might see your message simply isn’t performing anymore on your key distribution channels.
And then there’s our old friend, positioning. You can use messaging as a powerful tactic for moving your positioning along in the direction you want.
Where to start with a new message
The first place you always have to start when crafting a new message is with… insights! Everything you do has to be grounded in them. Whether you’re a small or large company, the essential starting point is to pull together every single piece of insight you can get your hands on, to inform your messaging strategy.
If you’re stuck for where to start, these are some of my go-tos.
Survey your customers. I’ve written before about my love for Superhuman’s PMF-focused survey, which can inform way more than just your product. But you may also want to tailor something special for your campaign.
Interviews. You can extend this research to actually meeting with your users or conducting market research with people who aren’t your customers.
Review sites. These are a goldmine. If you’re tight on budget or time, then use review sites to find tons of feedback on your product and company, from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, to the likes of G2, Trustpilot or specialist industry sites.
The Competition. Make sure you’re looking at the competition too to understand how you are special. Check out their websites, read their customer reviews, and even speak to their users!
Social listening. This can also be useful for seeing what people are really saying about you and your competitors.
Develop a theory
When you’ve gone and collected all those great insights, it’s time to develop some theories for what your new message could be. Using the info you’ve gathered, try to answer these questions when developing your theory.
Who are you talking to with this new message?
What are the main value drivers you’re trying to communicate?
What tone or style of message do you want to focus on?
And what is the point of this new message in general? What does success look like for this project?
Testing
Before you go about perfecting that message, try testing out some of your theories.
Take rough message ideas and test them on performance marketing channels, A/B test on your website, or use specialist sites like Wynter or usertesting.com for qualitative feedback.
You can even get feedback from colleagues or customers.
But I must stress… Sometimes messaging has to come down to a bit of gut instinct. Data can only get you so far. And you need to balance the needs of performance versus what you’re trying to project about yourself from a brand (or positioning) perspective.
Get creative
After whatever testing process you’ve gone for, it’s time to get creative, using all the insights and data points you have from your testing phase. You can work on this internally, or with a specialist agency, to come up with a message or set of messages you’re truly happy with.
Make sure it’s something you’re personally passionate about and can champion to the rest of the business.
Launch time
As mentioned, I like to treat new messaging as a kind of launch.
It doesn't have to be on any one specific channel. Choose the ones that work for you and your product.
If you want to be sure of the effectiveness of your message, you can run early tests by showing it to small cohorts, or staggering the rollout per country.
You’ll also want a supporting content plan that brings your new message to life. To help do this, I suggest creating a simple message framework to share with your wider team. (Email me if you’d like a template!)
Top Messaging Tips
Finally I thought I'd share some tips for how I think about messaging.
Show. Don’t tell. Find creative ways to get your message across, rather than being too literal with your point.
Talk about outcomes, not features. Try to avoid talking about features. Instead, focus on the benefits people will get from using your product.
The right message for the right user at the right time in the right place. This is a mantra that has been beaten into me over the years. Not every message will work in every channel. And that’s totally fine.
Launch + iterate. Always be ready to quickly adapt your message post-launch, based on feedback and results.
Stay open-minded. Your new message might not work full stop so you may have to revert, but that’s all part of the process.
Ok, that’s a lot of advice for one blog post! Let me know how it goes the next time you try to update your messaging.
Catch you soon. 👋