Messaging & positioning insights & exercises
5 ways you can refine B2B tech messaging
5 ways you can refine B2B tech messagingIt might sound easy to refine B2B tech messaging, but creating a clear message can be tougher than you think. It’s your company – your baby – and you’re ready to tell everyone everything about it. But to reach busy B2B buyers,...
3 simple exercises to strengthen B2B messaging
3 simple exercises to strengthen B2B messagingWhen you want to strengthen B2B messaging, you might sit your whole team down and start throwing out your best features and benefits. You get them all on the whiteboard and start throwing them on your website and in your...
5 tips to unscramble your B2B tech messaging
Blog post title goes hereWhen you know your company better than anyone, it’s hard to explain what you do in a way that truly matters to someone else. It’s called the curse of knowledge – and it totally kills your message. The problem is rampant in B2B tech messaging....
Why your company needs Meaningful Messaging
Why your company needs Meaningful Messaging“How do we differentiate our messaging when everyone in our space says the same thing?” It’s a question that every product marketer has asked at some point. And with good reason. There’s so much competition. So much noise. It...
The secret to great B2B messaging? Customer interviews!
The secret to great B2B messaging? Customer interviews!I recently helped a startup in the HR tech space with their B2B messaging strategy. In our strategy session, the team told me that “ease” was the core value of their product. They had built the platform to be...
How to write B2B messaging that connects with customers
How to write B2B messaging that connects with customersThere are only two types of messaging: the kind that gets read and the kind that gets ignored. There’s really no in-between. That’s why it’s critical to create a messaging strategy that resonates with your target...
How to simplify your B2B product messaging
How to simplify your B2B product messagingHow do you simplify complex technology, so anyone can understand it? You may think it’s about dumbing down your technology so a 4th grader could grasp it. Or finding the perfect 3 words that sum up everything. You can spend...
Does simplifying your tech feel scary?
Does simplifying your tech feel scary?I work with tech founders launching brilliant products into the world. They all struggle with one thing: simplifying tech messaging. We all know simple is better. Apple effectively taught that to the entire world through their...
Forget about explaining the tech…it can wait
Simple tech messaging secret: The tech can wait I met a founder who told me prospects didn’t understand how his product could help their business until the third meeting, at best. Needless to say, he didn’t get to the third meeting very often. Most founders tell me...
Good intentions holding back your startup story
Storytelling mistakes to avoid: Good intentions holding back your startup story“Storytelling” may sound fluffy, but it’s a cunning tool for startups. We humans have been telling them since our knuckles dragged along the cave floor. Our brains are hardwired for them....
Please don’t be “the Uber of” anything
Get your B2B startup positioning strategy rightWhen you’re creating something new that didn’t exist before, it’s tough finding the right words for your startup positioning strategy. If you’re a founder of an innovative product or business, you’ve probably explained it...
Scrap the pitch deck template
Scrap the pitch deck templateI recently met a founder who was tearing his hair out after a string of unsuccessful meetings with investors. For privacy, I’ll call him Jim. “They’re not getting it,” he told me. “The opportunity is so [bleep]-ing obvious and I can’t make...
Even robo-investing can be human with a good story
Even robo-investing can be human with a good storyI’ll admit it: every now and then, I come across messaging on a website that makes me jealous I didn’t write it myself. Like this about page from Wealthfront, a leader in robo-investing and financial planning. Despite...
A fast & simple product positioning exercise
A fast & simple product positioning exerciseSimplicity is the key to effective messaging. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to achieve. Especially when your product has so many direct competitors breathing down your neck. The natural impulse is to quickly talk about as...
5 ways to differentiate your SaaS product messaging
5 ways to differentiate your SaaS product messagingYou know exactly how your product features stack up to the competition. But do you have a clear read on how your competitors are positioning their solution through messaging? If you want to differentiate SaaS product...
6 fun brand workshop exercises that deliver the goods
6 fun brand workshop exercises that deliver the goodsA crucial element to any brand workshop is fun. (Twizzlers are a close second.) The goal of a brand workshop is to get under the hood of your company’s beliefs, purpose, vision, values and personality. And that’s...
A messaging cheat sheet to make your brand more consistent
A brand messaging cheat sheet for more consistencyThe secret to effective brand messaging is simple: consistency. That’s hard to pull off with so many channels and marketing initiatives out there. When business is growing fast, you’re just trying to get stuff out and...
5 common naming mistakes (& how to avoid them)
5 common naming mistakes (& how to avoid them)Coming up with your next great company or product name can be hard. Especially when you embark on the journey with a group of colleagues who care deeply about it. That’s because the naming process is only partly about...
3 essential ingredients of a punchy brand message
3 essential ingredients of a punchy brand messageThere’s nothing deadlier to your marketing than a weak brand message. Product features all over the place, no clear customer benefit, buzz words a-go-go…this is the recipe for disappearing in a crowded market. Yet so...