AMA: Zscaler Director of Product and Solutions Marketing, Christopher C. Hines on Messaging

This is a GREAT question. Messaging is one of those things that everyone wants to influence too so that can be a challenge. We try not to update our messaging too often, or it can impact the Sales team's ability to accurately tell the story to customers. We tend to develop a foundational message for the platform about once a year, and throughout the year make enhancements based on feedback from key stakeholders like: Customers, Sales leads, PM, and analysts. I can't stress enough the importance of getting the customers feedback when possible. It's proven to be very helpful for me. If you sell a platform, consider your platform story you're telling first, vs. the individual product pieces of it. A single cohesive story always beats piecemeal. It will also allow your sales team to sell more easily, since they can sell the platform vs. products. Product discussions too early in the Sales process can sometimes up rattholing into conversations about what features are included, how does this compare to competitors only relevant to that specific product etc. Your biggest value is the overall platform. FOCUS THERE! One other important consideration - make sure you go through a target segmentation process. Not all segments are equally important to your business. Focus on the segments where there is relevant size, you are differentiated, your lifetime value to customers is high and whose problems you actually solve.

Love this question. You want to make sure that you are always telling a story. Storybrand is a great template that I often use. It has 7 elements A hero Has a challenge They meet a guide Who gives them a plan Calls them to action Helps the avoid failure They succeed in the end Your overall product or platform should be telling this story above. Any new product launches should map back to this story, but add additional value to customers. You can use the "Three Whys" to help guide you too. Why anything, Why your platform, Why now. Your goal as a PMM is not to sell product, it's to help customers solve problems better than other solutions. The product is just the means to an end :)

One really interesting technique I have used is to start by writing a press release for any new major message update. Or for a major launch. This puts the brand/PR team in an arena they feel comfortable in, and forces you to really refine the message for this audience. Once you have a draft PR, get feedback from a few respected Sales leaders, and relevant PM leads. Use this to develop a short message deck, and do messaging testing with some analysts in your space. They'll help you refine the message even further!

IMO I am a firm believe that positioning should not change, it should simply be enhanced. Define your foundational messaging for your product or service first. Once you have that, from release to release you'll continue to build on that message and show how this release is driving additional value for customers You dont want to confuse your customers too much either, so changing too often may not be the best idea. I will say that there are some MAJOR releases your product may go through that may even impact some of your foundational message. The way to rectify that though is to always thinnk about "Is this adding a new solution that customers value?" is this a unique differentiator from competition??

This one is always an interesting piece. Our team developed persona profiles in house, but used some cool templates we found available on Google. We developed a persona profile template that includes the below: - Summary of the role - Responsibilities - Goals - Challenges - Relevant asset types - Information resources - Similar titles to consider - Who this persona reports into

Make sure you use your company's revenue and customer base as your sounding board here. If your revenues are suffering, and your current customers aren't purchasing more of your product this is a sign you may want to change the messaging. If you have a Sales enablement team, use them to make sure your global sales team is aware of changes in messaging. PMM shoudl host trainings on the updated message. NOTE: Not from a product standpoint, but from a "Why this makes life easier for customers" point of view. Of course there will be a million opinions on your message updates. Focus on your key stakeholders only :)

One of the best ways to actually test your message is to speak with analysts. They speak with other vendors in your space, and take inquiries from customers all the time! Another great external resource is your customer base. Select 2-3 customers that you think would offer some strong advice and ask them how they feel about your messaging. Is it unique? Would it capture the attention of their peers? Is it even relevant to the challenges their peers are dealing with each day? Is it any different from the other vendors vying for the customer's time and attention?