On Messaging
On Messaging
Podcast Description
The word on messaging from fellow product marketers. Dig into the stories, skills, and advice from the top voices who craft messaging that resonates every day.
Hosted and written by Josh Chronister. onmessaging.substack.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The show explores key messaging principles, product marketing insights, and storytelling techniques. For example, episodes examine topics like translating complex product features into clear messaging, the importance of customer insights, and avoiding jargon in communication. Notable themes include execution strategies in messaging, utilizing customer evidence effectively, and adapting messaging to different business sizes.
The word on messaging from fellow product marketers. Dig into the stories, skills, and advice from the top voices who craft messaging that resonates every day.
Hosted and written by Josh Chronister.
Like this episode? Clicking Like and Subscribe go further than you know. Thank you 💛
Episode 11: Emily Pick, Lead Product Marketing Manager at Clari (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilypick/) joins me (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-chronister/) to dive into platform messaging, tailoring narratives for different buyer personas, and how to create a unified message across multiple products. We also unpack the balance of feature-level messaging, brand consistency, and customer words.
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💡 During our conversation, you’ll learn:
Influencing the product roadmap as a product marketer
Why most B2B messaging gets stuck in feature-function battles
How to create messaging for buying committees without losing clarity
How to transition from single-product messaging to platform-level narratives
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🎙️ In our conversation, we cover:
00:00 – Nobody’s buying a product—they’re buying a solution to their pain
00:29 – Intro to the episode and what you’ll learn from Emily
01:23 – Emily joins the show and shares her love for messaging
02:26 – Why Emily stepped away from business books and back into travel stories
03:17 – Backpacking, Rick Steves, and what travel taught Emily
06:26 – Travelers, chaos, and the joy of unpredictable experiences
07:20 – Introduction to platform vs. product messaging
07:56 – The history of Clari and their transition to a revenue platform
09:18 – Defining your category: what Clari wants to be known for
12:02 – Using positioning as the North Star for platform messaging
12:42 – Positioning vs. branding: how Emily differentiates the two
13:37 – Platform-first vs. product-level messaging strategy
14:08 – Moving from product features to solution-based messaging
16:01 – When product-specific messaging becomes important
16:54 – Mapping solutions to pains and personas before products
17:47 – Aligning product launches to the company narrative
18:36 – Crafting baseline and higher-order product messaging
19:37 – How Clari avoids building “off-strategy” features
19:48 – How product marketers can earn influence on the roadmap
21:29 – Bringing market research and analyst feedback to PMs
22:57 – Owning collateral and influencing alpha/beta feedback loops
23:12 – Building trust with PMs by being useful and aligned
24:02 – When Emily starts messaging and enablement for new features
24:32 – Using launch tiers and customer impact scores
25:56 – Examples: low impact vs. high impact, and how timing shifts
28:08 – Why Clari focuses on retention as much as acquisition
29:32 – The cost of new customers vs. caring for existing ones
30:30 – A call for PMMs to think beyond net-new revenue
31:00 – Tailoring messaging for the full buying committee
32:22 – Adoption depends on frontline users, not just executives
33:18 – Mapping personas to solutions and jobs-to-be-done
34:17 – Pre- and post-sale assets for each user type
36:45 – Collaborating with customer education to drive product adoption
38:39 – Clari’s position in a competitive space—and how to stay ahead
39:39 – Winning with relevance when features are at parity
40:57 – Creating preference without getting stuck in feature wars
42:49 – Signs you’re losing a deal: when the buyer uses your competitor’s language
44:34 – Selling against pain instead of relying on features
45:55 – How Emily and team enable sales with messaging that resonates
48:38 – Why customer words and Q&A insights power better messaging
49:41 – Tools Emily loves: Laudable and UserEvidence
50:49 – Letting Q&A fuel your copy and message refinement
52:04 – Emily’s #1 messaging tip: replace jargon with customer language
53:06 – What is living all about? Emily’s personal perspective
55:22 – Where to connect with Emily online
56:20 – Closing thanks and wrap-up
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🔦 Where to Find Emily:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilypick/
🔦 Where to Find Josh:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-chronister/
Newsletter: https://onmessaging.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3E1gduFoKQYHiLNmNLzeF4?si=c3e2bc4bd362490f
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/on-messaging/id1787098696
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