Loved. Martina Lauchengco

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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 line for a product's positioning.

      But positioning happens slowly over time through all marketing actions. Persistence and consistency are key. You hold a market position much longer than any messaging. Its likewise much more challenging to change, so make sure to do this with intention from the start.

      Intentional and accidental evangelists can create either lift or drag on all of this work, and they are the best way to scale go-to-market efforts. It's why enabling evangelism is Fundamental 4 of product marketing.