Is your B2B company struggling to create a clear and consistent message about your product or service? Having a messaging and positioning framework (MPF) can make all the difference.
Creating an MPF isn’t easy, but a well-crafted framework will provide you with a structured approach to developing assets that effectively communicate your company's value to your target audience. By aligning talking points for your brand assets across all marketing channels, B2B companies like yours can reinforce your brand voice and increase recognition.
Let’s dive into the step-by-step process of creating an MPF using a template.
Start with a Template To make your job easier, it's helpful to have an MPF template to work from. You can download and customize it to fit your specific needs. Each section of the template provides prompts and guidelines that can be adjusted based on the specific product, service, or audience. That way, you aren’t starting from scratch.
Identify Key Components Before you begin filling out your template, ensure you understand the essential components of an MPF, including the target audience, key messages, and positioning statement. Let’s break that down together. A positioning statement is an internal-facing definition of your strategy about where you fit in the marketplace, what niche you fill, and who your competitors are. Key messages are the main external-facing points you want to communicate about your brand and its offerings. Your target audience is the specific group of people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service; they're the ones you're aiming to attract.
Assemble Your Working Team To ensure that your content accurately reflects your brand's key value props and differentiating features, you'll need input from both an on-the-ground team (such as marketing, product, and sales) and a stakeholder review panel (including higher-level executives and other teams who will use the information).
Gather Customer Reference Materials To create a strategy for messaging and positioning that resonates with your target audience, it’s imperative you understand their needs and preferences. Review any customer journey mapping or persona materials you have to ensure that your messaging is on point.
Determine Internal vs. External Messaging An MPF has multiple functions. It aligns your team internally on things like your company mission and the opportunity for your product in the marketplace. (If you use the MPF template from Wheels Up Collective, you'll see sections labeled as “internal only” when applicable.) An MPF also provides copy-and-paste messaging for teams to use in external, customer-facing materials, so they're sure to highlight your most important key points. If both internal and external functions of an MPF are important to you, great. Fill the whole template out with care. But if only one serves your goals or time is short for this project, it's wise to decide ahead of time where to focus.
Brainstorm Start generating ideas for each section of your template. Remember, there are no bad ideas at this stage – just get everything down on paper.
Write Drafts and Refine Your Inputs Once you've generated a lot of ideas, begin refining them until you have a cohesive and compelling set of entries. Consider how your content will sound when spoken aloud and whether it aligns with your brand's tone and voice.
Review with Stakeholders Once you have a version you like, share your draft with your stakeholders to get their input and make any necessary changes.
Get Final Approval Once your MPF has been refined and reviewed, it's time to get final approval from higher-level executives to ensure that everyone is on board with the messaging and positioning before it’s locked.
Include Examples and Guidelines Provide examples and guidelines for each section of your framework to ensure consistency in messaging across all products, services, or audiences. The best MPFs will include copy-paste content blurbs that can be leveraged for various assets, further increasing your ability to scale.
With the right approach and tools, pre-approved messaging for your brand assets can be a powerful way to align teams and communicate your brand's purpose and priorities. Take a cue from the Wheels Up Collective's MPF template, which provides a comprehensive and customizable framework for identifying your target audience, crafting key messages, and creating a positioning statement that sets you apart from the competition. By following the steps outlined in this post, you'll be well on your way to creating a marketing strategy that helps your brand shine.
