How to Improve Messaging for SaaS Startups

The brutal truth about why most founder-led marketing fails: Founders, we need to talk. You're brilliant at building products. You know your solution inside and out. You're passionate about what you've created. And that's exactly why your marketing sucks. After talking to 100+ founders this year, here's what I've noticed: You're making these 5 deadly mistakes: 1. The Echo Chamber Effect → You're so deep in your product that you've forgotten how to talk like a customer → Your marketing sounds like a technical manual → No one outside your bubble understands your message 2. The "If You Build It" Delusion → You think great products sell themselves → You treat marketing as an afterthought → You expect instant results with minimal investment 3. The Feature Obsession → Your content reads like a spec sheet → You focus on what it does, not why it matters → You forget people buy outcomes, not features 4. The Perfectionism Trap → You overthink every marketing move → You wait for "perfect" timing → Your competitors are moving while you're planning 5. The DIY Disease → You try to do everything yourself → You refuse to delegate → You don't trust marketing experts Here's the truth: The same conviction that made you a great founder is killing your marketing. The fix? Step 1: Admit you're too close to your product Step 2: Talk to customers (not just about your product) Step 3: Document their exact words Step 4: Use THEIR language in your marketing Real example: A startup's website messaging was all over the place. They were struggling to convert traffic. I helped them update their website messaging based on customer interviews. Conversion rate improved 113% in the next few months. (That wasn't even the goal. Clarity was.) Simple shift, massive impact. Remember: Your customers don't care about your product. They care about their problems. Start there. #StartupMarketing #B2BMarketing #GTMStrategy

For the past 4 months I've worked with SaaS VPs/CMOs to "fix" their messaging. They know it's not converting. But they don't always know WHY. (Sometimes it helps to have an 'outsider' perspective.) So I audit their messaging and content to figure it out. And it's almost always one of these things (sometimes more). Here are the 3 Messaging Mistakes Plaguing B2B right now: 1. Messaging is WAY too academic. 🚫 Don't try to be the smartest in the room. ✅ Instead, use "street level" language to resonate. Better to be approachable than intellectual. Write at a 7th grade reading level. 2. Their TONE is boring and forgettable 🚫 Resist blending in because it's safe. ✅ You can differentiate yourself by using a distinct tone. It's all about mirroring your audience. You can't afford to play it safe anymore. Better to challenge the status quo and be memorable - even if 10% don't love it. 3. Too much focus on Product > Problems 🚫 Most companies still lead with features instead of helping their market solve real-world problems. ✅ You want your audience to see themselves in your content and your stories because that's what they'll identify with. Lead with features and they mentally unsubscribe. Lead with problems and they'll race to buy. Avoid these 3 mistakes and you'll *attract* the right buyers. And that'll grow your brand and conversion rates. ✔️ This mini-lesson is from my chat with Rowan Noronha Morgan J Ingram on the Marchitect Podcast, hosted by Klue. #content #marketing #messaging

Three common words make your product message weak. Thankfully, once you see them, you can't unsee them. 👀 ❌ 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘈𝘕, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘋𝘖𝘌𝘚. The use of "can" likely stems from Legal teams back in SaaS' early days, wanting to protect their companies. I remember being told, "you can't say that" back in the day. One thing always allowed? You guessed it, "Can." Why? It's safe. It's meaningless. It's risk-free. It puts the onus on your customers, not your company. ✅𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗫: 𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼. • NOT "X can reduce the costs of..." INSTEAD: "X lowers costs" • NOT "X can automate..." INSTEAD: X automates..." • NOT "X can..." INSTEAD: "X [WHAT IT DOES]"   ❌ 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗗 (𝗧𝗢) 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯. Designed (to) is perhaps the weakest statement you can make. If it's designed to do X, does it actually do that? Who knows?! Do I trust your development team? Your product managers? Your word? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing's certain. When you say it's designed to do something instead of what it actually does, you create subliminal doubt. ✅ THE FIX: Say what it does, not what it's designed to do, and, say what it is, not what it's designed to be. • NOT "X is designed to be easy-to-use" INSTEAD, "is easy-to-use." • NOT "X is designed for [AUDIENCE]." INSTEAD, "is for [AUDIENCE]" • NOT "X is designed to improve speed to market." INSTEAD "improves speed to market." ❌ 𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. Technology is - by definition - enabling. That means if you're using "enable" as a root verb in your messaging, you're stating the obvious. It's like saying a plane gets me from DC to SF faster than walking. OF COURSE your tech is enabling! ✅ THE FIX: Say what it does, not what it enables me to do. • NOT "X enables you to automate" INSTEAD, "X automates..." • NOT "X enables your team to collaborate..." INSTEAD, "With X, your team collaborates..." • NOT: X enables cost savings." INSTEAD, "X reduces costs." 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗: 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 "𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗦" 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 "𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦." 𝘋𝘖𝘕'𝘛 𝘉𝘌 𝘓𝘐𝘒𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘔! These words are not the same. Allows might just be the worst word you can use in your messaging unless you sell security services to a bank. WHY? It has an underlyling connotation of permission. Hate to break it, no one needs your permission. Your platform doesn't allow me to automate tasks. It automates tasks. BIG DIFFERENCE. The habit of using these weak words is tough to crack. Get aware of why they're weak, and you'll start to strengthen your messaging chops. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝘆! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹? #BOOMshockalocka 🤘👊💥😎