Do you focus your messaging on capabilities or benefits and why?

Maybe a cop out answer but - I think it has to be both!

Prior to Vanta, I worked at Google where the adage for good marketing was: "Know the user, know the magic, connect the two." I use this line of thinking all the time in my messaging work:

Know the user: what are their challenges (really, not just in general terms like "they are busy!")? What are their ambitions and goals? What would motivate them to evaluate a solution in your space?

Know the magic: What are the key capabilities that your offering provides? How are they unique to anything else on the market?

Connect the two: Why do these unique capabilities help solve the uniques challenges your customer faces? The goal is to get specific and actionable, so you are not landing on messaging that says "Our customers are busy, so our product does [x] to save them time".

Good messaging will explore the link between what only your product can do with what your customer truly needs. It should make your reader feel like "wow, these people get me. I want to learn more."