Strong messaging makes it easier for customers to quickly understand who your product is for, why it matters, and what makes it different.

I recently wrote about seven common messaging mistakes for MKT1. Underneath those mistakes are a few principles I come back to again and again when helping startups sharpen their story.

Here are four of the most important.

1) Lead With the Transformation, Not the Features

Customers care less about what your product does than what it helps them accomplish. Your messaging should make the before-and-after clear and show how your product improves their business or their lives.

As I wrote in the article, your product should be the “bridge out of someone’s current challenges into a much better end state.”

2) Get More Specific About Who You’re Talking To

Trying to speak to every customer often results in messaging that resonates with no one. Your homepage should primarily speak to one clear persona, addressing their specific pain points, desired outcomes, and concerns.

You can develop additional messaging for other members of the buying committee, but specificity should come before breadth. Use this messaging for person-specific landing pages and content.

3) Make Your Value Props Both Valuable and Different

Your strongest value propositions explain the benefits customers care about most. But they also need to differentiate you from alternative solutions. You need to answer “why choose us?”

A simple test I use: “If you could copy and paste your messaging onto a competitor’s website… you’ve missed the mark.”

The goal is to land on a small set of benefits that are distinct, valuable, memorable, and accurate. 

4) Back Up Your Claims With Proof

Strong messaging creates an appealing promise, but prospects also need reasons to believe you can deliver it. You need to be able to prove your product produces these benefits with compelling social proof and product capabilities.

Features, customer stories, testimonials, third-party validation, and data can all make your value propositions more credible. The strongest messaging supports each major benefit with strong proof points.

Better Messaging Starts With a Stronger Foundation

Great messaging comes from clarity around your audience and your positioning. With these insights, you’ll be able to craft a story that helps prospects understand why your product is the best fit for their needs.

With a clear messaging framework in place it becomes much easier to create a consistent message across your website, sales deck, campaigns, and content.

Read the full MKT1 article on “Common and costly product messaging mistakes–and how to avoid them,” a guest post by Allyson Letteri for MKT1