Why Do I Need to Develop Key Messages For My Product or Service?

You’ve developed your product, the sales channels have been determined, and it’s ready to go to market. Now what?

First and foremost, you need key messages to launch your product efficiently and successfully. These messages will be used internally for your Sales team, Marketing team, and executives, and externally for sales pitches, speaking engagements, networking events, and press.

When to create key messaging

Messaging should be developed for the company itself, a product, or software feature that is launching, or the service your company provides. In creating these key messages, you’re highlighting the importance and credibility of WHY this product or service exists and WHY your company created it. 

Why key messaging is important

Key messages are critical to any communication plan because they convey the important points of information that you want your audience to retain. They should also connect to your company’s goals, strategy, and values. After all, when you talk about your product or service, you’re representing the company and explaining it’s value to the customer. 

How to write key messages

Key messages should clearly communicate information about the product without excess jargon or buzzwords. If you do not prepare key messages beforehand, there is a natural tendency to elaborate, over explain, or ramble about your product. This can confuse your audience and cause them to miss the main attributes about the product and your company that matter. 

Tips for the perfect key message:

• Short and to the point: You only need 2–3 messages per product or service. Your product should be easy to understand. If it's not or you feel like the need to over explain, with with your product team to simplify it for your customers and employees.
• Be clear and concise: Each key message should be 1–2 sentences long. This ensures the message is focused for you, your team, and the audience.
• Write it down: According to a Harvard Business School study, participants who wrote down their goals were three times more likely to succeed than the group who had some plan in mind. 
• Say them out loud: Seriously. Practice saying the messages out loud with a colleague or friend to identify any bumps in a sentence or hard to pronounce words. Your confidence in your product will shine through in your delivery.

Your products’ key messages should be easy to remember and to the point. Any statements you make publicly or internally should include strong, active language and avoid jargon, taglines, or company mottos.

The best presentations, interviews, or sales pitches sound natural and organized. You may think it’s just the way the person speaks or their presence on stage. In reality, there was a lot of preparation, research, and practice that went into it. You may take away something different than the person next to you. Unique interpretations are to be expected, but if the messages and key information are too long, confusing, or repetitive, the entire audience may miss the main point. That means the message is messy.