Persona Worksheet: A Systematic Approach
Quickly identify compelling customer unmet needs using our persona worksheet
Messaging and Positioning Template: Five Tips for Success
Discover five expert tips to enhance your Messaging and Positioning Template, ensuring your social impact initiatives resonate effectively with your target audience. Learn how to craft a compelling narrative that drives engagement and achieves your goals
Learn expert tips to use our messaging and positioning template successfully
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This is a series about building and refining your messaging and positioning
#1 - Series Intro: (i) Messaging & Positioning Template & (ii) 5 Expert Tips
#2 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Customer Unmet Needs & (ii) Persona Worksheet
#3 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Ideal Client & (ii) Ideal Client Worksheet
#4 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Differentiators & (ii) Value Proposition Worksheet
#5 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Market Category
#6 - Overcoming Objections to Positioning: (i) Proof; (ii) Workflow Redesign; (iii) Offers
#7 - Messaging & Positioning Process: Testing
#8 - Messaging & Positioning Process: Learning from Data
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Messaging and Positioning Template: Set Yourself Up for Success
Now that you understand the core components of our template, here are five tips to keep in mind before you dive in.
1) Understand the Process
Distill your message and positioning using our linked guides and worksheets (see the bottom or top of this page).
Each piece follows this concise, evidence-based process:
- Generate options. Generate options by answering provided questions, using your existing data. We'll collaborate to address any challenges, fill knowledge gaps, and identify areas needing further research about your target customer.
- Draft language: Craft an initial statement using the provided formula and your top option. Then, refine this "naive" draft into clear, effective language.
- Refine language: Share your draft, worksheet, and rationale. I'll offer targeted feedback for improvement.
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2) Start with a Solid Base & Build Step by Step
If you’re struggling with your positioning, start at the base of the pyramid and move upward step by step.
(Review the prior post if you don’t know what I mean by this:Get Rid of Confusion with This Messaging and Positioning Template)
Build each level carefully to ensure alignment and prevent issues. A weak foundation causes ripple effects that lead to frequent changes and wasted time.
At the same time, be open to revisiting earlier levels. These concepts are intertwined and not strictly linear; new insights can lead to adjustments in your foundational elements.
This focused, yet iterative, step-by-step approach brings clarity, prevents overwhelm, and creates a cohesive strategy. While upper levels can be addressed more quickly if needed, prioritize the base for maximum impact.
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3) Create Minimum Lovable Language
Perfection is the enemy of good.
Remember, the guide is a list of best practices, not a strict checklist you must follow. But, at the same time, please communicate your challenges to me so that I can make immediate changes.
Avoid excessive wordsmithing before solidifying your main concept, as core ideas may change with further reflection. Once key elements are clear and correct, focus on refining for concision and elegance.
For more on how to brainstorm cost-effective solutions, read “5 Key Strategies to Innovate without Scope Creep”
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4) Consider Evidence Quality
As you go through the exercises below, the ideal is to anchor your ideas with real customer data — e.g., customer notes or data from your bright spots we’ll identify in your prior work on How to Find Your Ideal Client
Use an "Evidence Quality Score" when rating options to pinpoint strong hypotheses with weak evidence. This reveals risky assumptions and directs targeted sprints to strengthen your evidence base.
This is a critical concept to a systematic approach to positioning, which I explore further in the link below. I recommend you give it a skim.
For more on the evidence quality quality ladder, examine this pragmatic approach to improve your strategic decision making framework
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5) Use AI to Brainstorm and Refine
Additionally, consider using AI tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT, enabling their search functionality to get to a draft faster.
(Note: Avoid uploading sensitive information unless you are using a local model that does not transmit information to third parties. If you have a bigger team, consider adopting an AI usage policy.)
Below are example prompt types to try. Customize and combine these based on your results:
Goal | Prompt Example Type |
Brainstorm | Give me more 10 more options or variations on XYZ. Use this template [Insert Unmet Needs or Differentiator Template] using this content [Copy/paste existing content about your product] |
Refine | Rate from 1-5 (high) on [key criteria, like cohesion, sounds like how I talk, etc]. Automatically keep revising, sharing, and scoring until you're at a 5 out of 5 WITHOUT asking for my continuous input |
Understand | What are the top 10 [key item in the list below. Example: pain points, like concrete tasks, artifacts, workflows, critical to Dream Outcome]. |
Prioritize & Compare | Create a table comparing XYZ based on [key criteria you’ve entered, such as significance or level of help needed] from 1-5 each and share why for each score. Generate a total score and sort from high to low. |
Validate | For each score above, support each with a quote or citation and give a 1-5 score on “evidence quality”. Identify the top three issues or devil's advocate counter arguments and rate the importance of each. Then score what you shared above on each of those risks. |
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If you have mountains of customer qualitative customer data, consider using NotebookLM to input that data into it and “talk” to and synthesize your data. There are also other paid user research tools that help you do that, such as Dovetail.
👉 If you want a deeper dive on any of these topics, reach out
Next: Core Unmet Needs
Now that we understand the importance of messaging and positioning, I’ll outline the key components of the formula: core unmet need, unique solution, and social proof.
And perhaps even more importantly — I’ll also explain how to gather the insights needed to fill in the details.
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❓ What’s your biggest challenge in this process? Share your feedback here or toggle by clicking.
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See the next article in the series below
This is a series about building and refining your messaging and positioning
#1 - Series Intro: (i) Messaging & Positioning Template & (ii) 5 Expert Tips
#2 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Customer Unmet Needs & (ii) Persona Worksheet
#3 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Ideal Client & (ii) Ideal Client Worksheet
#4 - Messaging & Positioning Template: (i) Differentiators & (ii) Value Proposition Worksheet
#5 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Market Category
#6 - Overcoming Objections to Positioning: (i) Proof; (ii) Workflow Redesign; (iii) Offers
#7 - Messaging & Positioning Process: Testing
#8 - Messaging & Positioning Process: Learning from Data
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