How to Message and Position Products
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the difference between messaging and positioning.
- Identify the components of good messaging and positioning.
What Is Messaging and Positioning?
Often people use these two terms interchangeably but they’re actually two different things. Messaging refers to the words or copy that you share externally via channels like your website or emails you send. Positioning is an internal framework you use to set your strategy and shape your message. This is how you intend to position your product for your buyer based on their pain points.
Here at Salesforce we believe that positioning comes before messaging. Messaging can—and oftentimes does—change based on current trends and other factors, while positioning should stay the same. Messaging and positioning are important because together they help to set your company apart from your competition and boost your bottom line.
What Makes Messaging and Positioning Good?
Good Positioning
Good positioning requires a deep knowledge of your customer, the market, and competitors. That means understanding what your customers want and need—even before they do. To successfully position yourself in the market it’s critical to stay current on the latest trends, regulations, and everything else about the industry. And, of course, you’ve got to know your competitors. Know what they are doing, their pricing, and how they are positioning themselves to help you differentiate your own positioning.
Good Messaging
Good messaging is simple, memorable, different, and incites action. It makes you perk up and click the link or purchase a product. It can even stir up powerful emotions—that’s right, good messaging can bring you to tears!
So what is Salesforce doing to set our brand apart? Two words: customer focus. We’ve focused on our customers since day one by connecting them with their customers in new and different ways. We know things change quickly for our customers, so we never stop listening. Listening and understanding our customers’ always-changing needs means we can quickly adapt how we talk about our company and our products.
How Salesforce Does Messaging and Positioning
At Salesforce we like to keep it simple when working on our messaging and positioning. So there are just a few things that guide us in our work. Let's look at what we focus on when building out a messaging and positioning strategy.
We Listen to the Voice of the Customer
Understanding our customers’ pain points and listening to them—really listening—is key to how we approach messaging and positioning. That means:
- We listen to our customers. (Did we say that already?)
- We research the market and immerse ourselves in our customers’ world.
- We know our competitors just as well as our customers.
We Know Our Stakeholders
Messaging and positioning affects every role at Salesforce. So we keep in mind who our work impacts and how to include stakeholders in the process. That means:
- We’re open and collaborative.
- We understand who should be involved.
- We communicate clearly and regularly.
We Tailor Our Message
Once you begin crafting your message, be sure to adjust according to your audience and channel. What we say and how we say it is different for every customer because every customer is unique. That means:
- We tailor our message to the customer.
- We constantly adapt our message to our audience.
We Know We Are Never Done
The market is always changing and we must adjust our message and position accordingly. That means:
- We are always testing.
- We are always gathering feedback
- We are always listening to our customers.