going from messaging nightmare to messaging delight: how to create a powerful messaging platform
TRANSCRIPT
Going from Messaging Nightmare to Messaging Delight - How to Create a
Powerful Messaging Platform
Tom Evans
CompellingPM
@compellingpm
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 1
DFW Product Group
• DFW Product Group is the premier product management and marketing association in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex
• 300+ active members
• 2013 - 2015 roadmap includes webinar series, networking mixers, and ProductCamp DFW
• Website: http://dfwproductgroup.org/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2796125
• Twitter: @DFWProductGroup
• Email: [email protected]
• Actively seeking new members, volunteers, and sponsors
Copyright 2013 - 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 2
Special offer from CompellingPM at the end of the webinar.
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Going from Messaging Nightmare to Messaging Delight - How to Create a
Powerful Messaging Platform
Tom Evans
CompellingPM
@compellingpm
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 4
Poll Question 1
Does your company have a standard/structured approach to creating a marketing messages?
a) Yes, all new product marketing initiatives start with a standard messaging platform.
b) Sometimes we create a messaging platform, but this is not a standard.
c) No, we never create a messaging platform.
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Without a Messaging Platform
• Market facing personnel each have their unique set of messages they use
• Product marketing is constantly putting out fires and rushing to create messages on short notice
• Marketing creates messages with no input from the product team
• Marketing and sales tools fail to motivate target buyers
Confusion in the market place!
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What is a Messaging Platform?
A Messaging Platform serves as a reference to all “market-facing” personnel in your organization to ensure consistency & accuracy of messaging for your product (or company).
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PM2 Levers of Control™
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Executional LeversProduct
•Define Whole Product
•Effective Requirements
Price
•Value-Based Pricing
Place (Channel)
•Sales Tools
•Sales Enablement
•Channel Programs
Promotions
•Product Marketing Tools & Content
•Product Marketing Programs
Go-to-Market Strategy
Target Markets PositioningCompetitive
StrategiesMessaging Platform
Alignment to Business Drivers
Market Analysis
VOC Competitive Analysis Ecosystem Analysis
PM2 Levers of Control™
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Executional LeversProduct
•Define Whole Product
•Effective Requirements
Price
•Value-Based Pricing
Place (Channel)
•Sales Tools
•Sales Enablement
•Channel Programs
Promotions
•Product Marketing Tools & Content
•Product Marketing Programs
Go-to-Market Strategy
Target Markets PositioningCompetitive
StrategiesMessaging Platform
Alignment to Business Drivers
Market Analysis
VOC Competitive Analysis Ecosystem Analysis
Poll Question 2
What is the most important starting point for a messaging platform ?
a) Selecting the most critical product features to communicate
b) Feedback from the sales team on what messages work the best
c) Product positioning
d) Alignment with senior executives
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PM2 Levers of Control™
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Executional LeversProduct
•Define Whole Product
•Effective Requirements
Price
•Value-Based Pricing
Place (Channel)
•Sales Tools
•Sales Enablement
•Channel Programs
Promotions
•Product Marketing Tools & Content
•Product Marketing Programs
Go-to-Market Strategy
Target Markets PositioningCompetitive
StrategiesMessaging Platform
Alignment to Business Drivers
Market Analysis
VOC Competitive Analysis Ecosystem Analysis
PM2 Levers of Control™
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Executional LeversProduct
•Define Whole Product
•Effective Requirements
Price
•Value-Based Pricing
Place (Channel)
•Sales Tools
•Sales Enablement
•Channel Programs
Promotions
•Product Marketing Tools & Content
•Product Marketing Programs
Go-to-Market Strategy
Target Markets PositioningCompetitive
StrategiesMessaging Platform
Alignment to Business Drivers
Market Analysis
VOC Competitive Analysis Ecosystem Analysis
Messaging Platform Structure
Positioning
Key Messages / w Evidence
Tagline Talk TrackProduct
DescriptionsFAQs
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Guides All Other Tools & Programs
Mes
sagi
ng
Pla
tfo
rm Marketing & Sales Tools
Marketing Campaigns
Public Relations
Product Demos
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Messaging Platform Structure
Positioning
Key Messages / w Evidence
Tagline Talk TrackProduct
DescriptionsFAQs
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Positioning Decisions
1. Target Market(s)
2. Key Problems Solved
3. Most Important Value Proposition
– What we do for our customers
4. Key Points of Differentiation
– Why us
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Target Markets
• Messages must resonate with target audience
– Corollary: it will not (& shouldn’t) resonate with all
• Key Personas – Buyers, Influencers, Users
– What do they care about
– What language do they use
– Typical profile/characteristics
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Key Problems Solved
• What are the buyers motivations (per buyer persona)?
– Need, pain, goal, challenge, ideals
– Personal & business
– Articulated & unarticulated
– What do they need to know to make a decision
– How will they evaluate & use your product?
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Value Proposition
• What we do for you!
• Benefits & value your customer will realize from purchase and use of your product
• Relative to customer’s other viable alternatives
• Sources of value:– Reference customers, industry expertise, internal processes,
partnerships, innovation, IP, delivery methods, geography, social, business model, personnel, features, guarantees, brand promise, core competencies, etc.
– Speaking to your customers
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Differentiation
• Why us!
• What makes your product stand out
• Meaningful value to the customer
• Sources of differentiation:– Reference customers, industry expertise, internal processes, partnerships,
innovation, IP, delivery methods, geography, social, business model, personnel, features, guarantees, brand promise, core competencies, etc.
– Speaking to your customers
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Positioning Statement
• For [target end user]
• Who wants/needs [compelling reason to buy]
• The [product name] is a [product category]
• That provides [key benefit].
• Unlike [main competitor (s)],
• The [product name] [key differentiation]
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Adapted from: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm
Messaging Platform Structure
Positioning
Key Messages / w Evidence
Tagline Talk TrackProduct
DescriptionsFAQs
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Key Messages
• Per target buyer persona
• 2 to 4 messages per persona
• In customer’s language
– Avoid meaningless words
– Not advertising language
• Support positioning
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Messages Are Benefit Statements
• Too many market messages are about features or technology
• Changing to benefits– Why is a feature important (so what?)
– What does it mean to the customer
– Use “So That”
• Example– 4 inch Retina display
– “So that” you can view photo quality images and still use it effectively with one hand
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Supporting Evidence
• You stated a message, but why should someone believe the message?
– Reason to believe
• 2 to 4 points of evidence per message
• Sources
– Customer testimonials, unbiased testing, distinguishing features, third party validation, facts & statistics, etc.
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Message Alignment
Strategic Increase plant profitability
Get new customers / Gain market share
Increase customer loyalty
Managerial Reduce maintenance costs
Responsive to customer orders
Focus staff on higher value activities
Reduce staffing costs
Operational Reduce Process Upsets
Reduce Time to handle process upsets
Faster transitions between grades
More time for process improvement
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Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 27
Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 28
Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 29
Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 30
Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 31
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 32
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 33
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Benefits Map
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 34
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Copyright 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 35
Reduce Process
Variability
Reduced Plant Upsets
Less Off-Spec Product
Less Stress, Great Job
Satisfaction
Less Wear & Tear on Plant
Reduced Maintenance
Costs
Increased Production
Lowered Costs of
Operations
Increased Revenue
Sell More Product
Functional Benefits
Plant Operators
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Sales
Plant Manager
Greater Customer
Satisfaction
Reduce Transition
Time Between Products
Shorter Product Runs
Gain Market Share
Faster Delivery on Important
Orders
Win New Orders
Increased Profitability
Predictive Models
Real-time Optimization
Features
Exercise
Product Name: SmartCredit
Target Market
Small to Medium Size Credit Card Issuers
VP of Cards
Must grow total outstanding balances from a reduced number of prospects
Looking for promotion to top executive in cards or other line of business
Wants to avoid all potential confrontation with Feds over marketing tactics
Middle age, male, MBA, full career in credit card services
Key Problems Solved
Risk management platform
Must grow portfolio size while maintaining portfolio risk.
Must profitably compete against the top 10 card issuers for new cardholders.
Low capital investment (can’t afford multi-million dollar investment)
Value Proposition
• Compete cost effectively and take market share from top 10 competitors
• Profitably grow outstanding balances without increasing delinquencies and write-offs
Differentiation
• No capital investment and quick implementation (less than 3 months).
Key Messages
• Achieves the same risk management power that the large competitors have.
• Delivered as a service with no custom development and capital investment.
• Allows you to quickly adapt new risk management strategies as market conditions change
Evidence
• Bank X increased portfolio size by 25% while reducing delinquencies by 10%
• No software to install, monthly subscription fees
• Bank Y was able to create and test new risk management strategies in less than a week (v. 3 months with
traditional systems)
• Bank Z was operational within 4 months of contract (v 18 months with major competitor)Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc.
Poll Question 3
Who in your organization is responsible for defining the market messages?
a) Marketing Communications
b) Executive Management
c) Product Management
d) Product Marketing
e) Everyone
f) No One
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 37
Messaging Platform Structure
Positioning
Key Messages
Tagline Talk TrackProduct
DescriptionsFAQs
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 38
Tagline
• Succinctly communicates the essence of your brand promise in a memorable way
• Creates a first impression
• No Tagline versus a bad Tagline
• Memorable taglines
– Just Do It
– Because so much is riding on your tires
– 1000 songs in your pocket
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 39
Talk Track
• Guides the initial conversation
• Leads to a longer conversation (sales call/presentation)
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Developing Talk Track
1. Sales Opener (Elevator Speech) - 30 seconds to get attention– What your company/product does– Key problem addressed for that target market– Key benefits received
2. Talking Points - another 2 minutes to lead to longer discussion– Brief statement on how you do that– Communicate key benefits (aligned with key messages)– Provide evidence (case study, testimonial)– Create a vision of success for them– Ask for longer conversation
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Product Description
• Boiler plate product description
• Various lengths
– 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 words
• Use in press releases, news articles, SEO, tradeshows, etc.
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FAQS
• Answers most common questions from prospects/customers/press
• Can address questions on competition
• Keeps “market facing” personnel on message
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Summary
• Messaging platform ensures consistency of message.
• Must be owned by Product Marketing (or Product Management)
• Key element to feed all other marketing facing tools and programs
• Validate with your target markets
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 44
Go-to-Market Webinar Serieshttp://compellingpm.com/go-to-market-webinar-series-with-dfw-product-group/
Webinar Title Date
The Strategic Role of Product Management & Product Marketing in Driving Product Revenue & Success
Apr 23
Developing a Deep Understanding of Your Target Markets – The Starting Point for Great Product Marketing
June 11
Define a Powerful Go-to-Market Strategy That Sets Your Product Apart June 25
Great Requirements Form the Foundation for Successful Products July 16
Profitable Products Sell Value: Why Value-Based Pricing Wins August 13
From Messaging Nightmare to Messaging Delight: How to Create a Powerful Messaging Platform
Sept 17
Create Effective Sales & Marketing Tools That Actually Get Used By Sales & Prospects Oct 15
Nothing Happens Until Someone Sells Something: Enabling Your Sales Channel to Success Nov
Driving the Marketing and Sales Funnel to Close Deals: What Product Marketers Must Know and Do
Dec
Copyright 2013 - 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 45
Next Webinar
Create Effective Sales & Marketing Tools That Actually Get Used By Sales
& Prospects
Oct 15, 2015
Copyright 2013 - 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 46
http://compellingpm.com/go-to-market-webinar-series-with-dfw-product-group/
Upcoming Austin PM2 Training
• Optimal Product Management & Product Marketing
– Sep 21 – 23
– Dec 7- 9
• AIPMM Certifications – Certified Product Manager (CPM)
– Feb 16 – 17
More dates/locations - www.280group.com
Copyright 2013 - 2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 47
Free 1 Hour PM/PMM Consult
• First ten to submit information on form
• http://compellingpm.com/freeonehour/
• Please include background on topic or issue
• Must include company info (no Gmail)
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 48
Thank You!
Tom Evans
CompellingPM
@compellingpm
www.compellingpm.com
Copyright 2013-2015. The Lûcrum Group, Inc. 49