By: Swati Dayal, CEO and Founder of Eternal Creations

After spending more than 18 years in marketing, working with companies like IBM, Citibank, and Johnson Controls, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand how successful businesses thrive—and the common hiccups that organizations, both big and small, often find themselves facing. As the founder of a Marketing services firm specializing in Market Research and Planning, Go-To-Market and Marketing Strategies, Digital and Content Marketing, I’ve noticed a recurring issue that even the most innovative organizational setups struggle with: they often underestimate a critical piece of their go-to-market strategy—their messaging.

The essence of marketing is more than mere words. It’s about how your brand resonates with your audience, what it communicates, and how it delivers value. In the race to launch, companies often focus on the product portfolio, solutions or services, and their features but overlook how they will communicate that value in a way that sticks. Without clear, consistent, and well-developed messaging, even the most game-changing products and solutions can fail to connect with the market.

In this article, I’ll break down what companies – from startups to Fortune 500 – sometimes overlook when developing their GTM strategy, by diving into three essential elements: Input, Messaging, and Output.

Input: What Goes In, Comes Out

The saying “What goes in comes out” applies perfectly to crafting effective messaging. Before you can develop messaging that resonates, you must have a complete understanding of your market landscape. This means studying market trends, analyzing the economic outlook, and digging into the specific pain points and challenges of your industry. Moreover, it’s essential to understand your buyer personas and behaviors—their needs, desires, and the obstacles they face.

Too often, I see companies skip this crucial step, instead opting for a generic approach that may work temporarily but falters as the market evolves. They’re left scrambling to reassess their strategy, reposition their solutions, and constantly tweak their messaging. By investing the time upfront to thoroughly understand the market and customer landscape, you can develop a solid foundation for messaging that will not only land but endure.

If you don’t grasp the intricacies of your industry and audience, how can you communicate the unique value your solution brings? The answer is, you can’t—not in a way that resonates. Doing the homework on the front end—through thorough market research and planning—ensures that what goes into your messaging process is rooted in insight, and in turn, what comes out is authentic, impactful communication.

Messaging Is More Than Words

Too often, companies and founders assume that messaging is simply about positioning or selecting the right words to describe their products, solutions and services. In reality, messaging is much deeper than that. It’s about defining the personality of your company, products and solutions. Messaging shapes how customers perceive not only what you sell but also who you are as a business.

Successful messaging connects with customers on a deeper level because it speaks to the behaviors your company exhibits—not just in terms of product features but in terms of operations, day-to-day activities, and even employee conduct. It’s what drives your culture and the values that underpin your business operations. Companies cannot afford to neglect the fact that messaging extends beyond product descriptions and into how the company operates, how employees treat each other, and how you interact with partners, suppliers, and clients.

A company’s messaging should not only communicate its value proposition but also reflect its core values and mission in every interaction. When done correctly, messaging aligns the internal culture of your company with external perceptions. This creates a coherent brand experience that customers, partners, and even employees can trust and connect with.

By giving your product or company a defined personality and set of characteristics, you ensure consistency in the way your business is perceived. Whether it’s through a press release, a customer service interaction, or a partnership negotiation, your messaging must reflect who you are as a company.

Output: Delivering on the Promise

Once your input and messaging are aligned, it’s time to focus on output—the delivery of that message across every customer touchpoint. Messaging is not just about creating content or sending out marketing emails. It plays a crucial role in managing the entire customer lifecycle, from the initial content consumption to the digital and in-person journeys.

To effectively manage these touchpoints, businesses must deliver on their messaging in both the pre-and-post-sales processes. This includes everything from nurturing leads to ensuring a smooth customer onboarding process. How well you communicate your value at each stage can be the difference between a one-time buyer and a lifelong customer.

Moreover, messaging lies at the heart of your strategic partnerships. Whether you’re working with analysts, influencers, or B2B partners, consistent messaging ensures your value is understood across the board. This consistency is key to building strong relationships and growing your business through partnerships.

When you take the time to craft your messaging correctly and deliver it consistently, you elevate your go-to-market strategy from good to great. Your messaging becomes not just a tool for attracting customers but a critical component of driving long-term business success.

Messaging Can Make a Big Difference to the End-Game

As founders and agile organizations, it’s easy to get caught up in product development and miss the importance of strong messaging in your go-to-market strategy. But without solid messaging, you risk your product or service becoming another voice lost in the crowd. Companies that take the time to align their input, messaging, and output set themselves up for long-term success. By understanding the market, defining your company’s personality, and delivering consistent messaging, you can ensure your go-to-market strategy is foolproof.

Published by: Josh Tatunay