This article is based on Emma Stratton’s brilliant presentation at the Product Marketing Summit in San Francisco. As a PMA member, you can enjoy the complete recording here.

Back in 2013, I worked with a biotech startup founded by three machine learning prodigies – still in college – who had built a groundbreaking platform to transform cancer diagnostics. The CTO was just 19 years old. While most college kids were out partying or sleeping through classes, these three were revolutionizing how doctors analyzed biopsy specimens.

As impressive as their platform was, their messaging was a mess. I sat through a whiteboard session where they passionately touted features like “cloud storage of digital files” and “big data analytics.” They’d look at me expectantly, waiting for me to share their enthusiasm, but all I could think was Meh. 

Granted, I wasn’t an expert in cloud storage or big data analytics, but I knew their target buyers – clinicians and pathologists – weren’t either. These were people who spent their days peering through microscopes at tiny little specimens on glass slides. For decades, they’d been doing just fine without cloud storage, thank you very much.

It wasn’t until I started grilling them with questions like, “Why does this matter to clinicians?” and “What does this help them achieve?” that the magic began to surface. 

Their platform enabled doctors to collaborate in real time, leading to faster, more accurate cancer diagnoses. And that “big data analytics” they kept talking about? It could detect patterns in specimens the human eye couldn’t see, helping doctors catch cancers earlier.

The founders’ work was incredible. They were transforming cancer diagnostics, but it had taken me 45 minutes of interrogation to uncover that story. Why? Because they were so bogged down in the technical details that they couldn’t see the bigger picture.

As a PMM, you’ve probably faced this challenge too – working with CEOs, founders, and product teams who are obsessed with the technical details. They live and breathe the inner workings of the product, and their excitement is contagious but often misplaced. 

That’s where your role becomes tricky: transforming all those technical details into messaging that highlights what matters most and resonates with buyers.

So, in this article, I’ll share how you can overcome this challenge by flipping your approach and focusing on the things your audience cares about.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • Why inside-out messaging fails and how outside-in thinking connects with buyers
  • The VBF rule: a simple framework to structure your messaging effectively
  • How to adjust the “altitude” of your message to resonate with your audience
  • A three-step process to create clear, compelling product messaging

Let’s dive in!