Positioning versus messaging
We get frequent questions on the difference between positioning and messaging. Let’s explore.
What is brand messaging?
Brand messaging is how your company positioning gets translated into your website copy, pitch decks, sales collateral, etc.
Let’s take Salesforce as an example and look at their ’What is Salesforce’ landing page. Here is how Salesforce messages itself as a brand and company:
Salesforce is a customer relationship management solution that brings companies and customers together. It’s one integrated CRM platform that gives all your departments - including marketing, sales, commerce, and service - a single, shared view of every customer.
In this example, Salesforce is highlighting why they exist, how they do it, and where they’re heading as a company through messaging. It's their positioning translated into word-form, or what we call copy. They aren’t getting into the nitty-gritty of product features or benefits here. They’re staying high-level enough in their messaging to convey to any potential customer what they are about as a company, along with their value and mission.
With clear and pointed positioning, messaging your brand becomes a lot easier. Let's look at Salesforce's product overview section on its homepage (as of April, 2020). See how the messaging is in-line with their positioning?
What is product positioning and messaging?
We've established brand positioning and messaging, but there is also product positioning and messaging. Your product positioning is positioning that is focused on - you guessed it - your actual product or platform offering. This is where you define not only what your product does, but its benefits and features.
Product messaging is how you translate this positioning in your product landing pages, your product announcements, your press releases when you launch a new product, etc using copy.
Let’s have a look at one of Salesforce’s product landing pages to see how they jump right into sharing the benefits of the product in a tangible way:
In this example, the messaging and copy on the page is focused on converting the potential customer to click the button to learn more. It's clear in the benefit statements and it's not talking about Salesforce as a company, but rather this specific product and the value it provides. If we can use a metaphor for a moment, you can think of your brand positioning as the forest, your brand messaging as the trees that make up the forest, and your product positioning as the branches on each tree. As we zoom in further, we get more specific and targeted.
Common messaging pitfalls
We see a lot of founders, particularly technical founders, focus their website messaging solely on product positioning and messaging. They’re so wrapped up in sharing what their product does, they forget to talk about the bigger picture, i.e. what their company is all about, what it solves at a high-level and where they’re headed.
Alternatively, some companies get so wrapped up in talking about their vision for how they will change the market (or the world), they forget to tell their target users what they actually do. The goal is to strike the right balance between the two so your messaging is both aspirational and visionary, while still staying grounded and clear in the value you deliver today.
