This article is based on a presentation from the Masters of Product Marketing event in October 2022.

One of the most frequently asked questions I hear from fellow product marketers is, "Who has a messaging framework that I can use?" Messaging and positioning are some of the core activities of product marketing, yet many people still struggle with how to get them done and make sure that their organizations adopt them.

Even experienced product marketers sometimes get stumped when it comes to messaging and positioning, as most of us develop product marketing skills through trial and error. My early career would’ve been so much easier if PMA had been around with all their content and templates and frameworks.

Throughout this article, I'd like to provide you with some best practices and a process that you can adopt, adapt, and use in your own company the next time you're faced with the challenge of crafting positioning and messaging for the products that you sell.

In this article, I’ll be exploring:

  • Product positioning
  • Positioning templates
  • Context
  • Data collection
  • The positioning process
  • What messaging is, and why it’s important
  • The messaging test
  • Messaging deployment

What is product positioning?

Let’s start with positioning, which is all about where you want to play and where you choose not to play.