Product marketing, ironically, has a positioning problem. The job and the craft are disconnected, often at odds with each other.
The job expects messaging to be good – clear, informative, and direct. Follow the formula and fill out the template. In the AI era, good messaging is only a handful of prompts away.
But there's no force in our known universe greater than market forces. The only companies that break through the noise are the ones that hold distinct positions and spread differentiated messaging. Markets demand messaging to be great - inspiring, compelling, and empowering.
Revenue Design isn't a rebrand of the Product Marketing job, rather an elevated perspective towards the messaging craft – the kind that takes you from good to great.
The craft isn't a substitute for the job. And great messaging is built atop good messaging. It's worth the extra effort when you realize what makes a breakout company. Is it luck? Almost always. Perfect timing? Most definitely. A great product that solves real problems? Of course. One consistent thing that every breakout company has in common is their ability to amaze the market.
The art and science of amazing the market
The art is about preserving quality and taste in the face of market forces.
Because when you have market pull, it's the best damn wave you can ride. But when you're faced with market opposition, it's the highest damn wall to climb. Product-market fit isn’t a single milestone where you get handed a plaque - it's a continuous series of waves and walls, pulling at times, opposing at others.
Your message is your riding and climbing style. And style is the difference between good and great. When the market pulls, your message has to move with it or you'll miss the window. When the market pushes back, your message is the only thing keeping you from sliding down.
The science is delivering clear and compelling messaging in tune and in time.
Buying environments are multi-dimensional - there's changing categories, shifting trends, different buyer personas, segmentation considerations, use case criteria, product differences, competitive angles, and more.
Every GTM touchpoint across the buying environment carries a message. And that message must be as dynamic as your business, market, audience, and portfolio to be relevant to the right people at the right time for the right reason.
The revenue design methodology
As a product marketer, I've always lived by the Rule of 3. When formulating this methodology, I went 3-dimensional with it – 3 messaging components, 3 pillars each. And as an old hip hop head, 3 is the magic number.
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Design a Narrative: Everyone loves a good story. Making yours land is what separates good from great. The best narratives don't sound like vendor pitches. They sound like what everyone was already thinking but couldn't articulate.
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Design a Movement: Assume no one cares. That's your baseline. Without a movement, your messaging may inform, but it won't inspire. The path to greatness demands inspiration. It takes guts to start a movement, and discipline to sustain it - but it's worth it.
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Design a Machine: Markets are dynamic. Your messaging must be too. It starts by locking in the people worth reaching, codifying the journey that converts them, and aligning every message with realized business and technical value.
Revenue Design is a fresh look at the messaging craft through this lens. I'm not one for prescriptive frameworks, but I am one for robust systems that are artful in their design.
If you're a founder who cares about the craft – and refuses to settle for 'good enough' – this is for you. Take what's useful and make it yours.