Beyond features: the three Ds of product marketing

Recently, I have been spending time with B2B tech startups and early-stage companies looking to move their content, particularly their product content, beyond a list of features, functions, and the services offered to developing something more compelling and differentiated.

The late Steve Jobs is often quoted as saying, people don’t care about your product; they care about their problem. And, when solving that problem, they also care about themselves, their reputation, and the risks inherent in making a decision.

A B2B purchase is as emotional as any considered purchase, whether for business or pleasure, and a buyer needs to be reassured that you understand that and that they can trust you through an emotional connection that a list of features and functions cannot offer.

On the flip side, a knowledgeable buyer, practitioner, or subject-matter expert needs to know what it does, often to a reasonably technical level.

This is always the tension in product marketing, whatever size of business you work in, how do you satisfy these two buyer needs to be inspired and informed, and how do you do this coherently, in a narrative that flows?

My suggestion is that we need a balance of three types of content: Default, Distinctive, and Direction. Each, as we’ll explore, serves a different buyer need, at a different moment, for a different purpose.

Default

If buyers can’t place you mentally in a category, they can’t buy you, so this is the “table stakes” content that a buyer would expect of someone providing a product or service in this category.

This content describes a familiar problem; it uses the language of the category (acronyms and buzzwords), lists the expected features, and provides basic reassurance that you can be trusted and supported with customer logos, integrations, and the security and compliance expected of a solution in this category.

Cast your eye over the sea of B2B tech websites, as I have been doing recently, and you could conclude that most vendors have stopped there, as this describes most of what you find. It’s really just a basic product brochure.

This content answers the question “Can you solve my problem?”

Distinctive

It seems every vendor in B2B tech claims to be leading, innovative, and in some way different. You could argue that this type of copy is so ubiquitous as to fall under Default, as these claims, often unsubstantiated, are where many vendors overdo it.

But, and I might be splitting grammar hairs here, I think this is the difference between different and distinct, you don’t just want to win a feature/function tick box challenge, you want to be memorable, to start to build that emotional connection that could mean that a buyer trusts you and might overlook a missing doohickey that a competitor has.

In product terms, this could be the defendable moat you have around your product; in credibility terms, this could be a landmark client with a frank, compelling use case, or this is your story, how you’ve interpreted solving the problem, why it’s important, and what drove these decisions.

This content answers “why you”.

Direction

You could argue that Default + Distinctive is a winner, so why not stop there? If you get these two right, you’ll certainly stand out in the sea of B2Boring beige content (OK, it’s normally blue) that your buyer will be exposed to.

The opportunity here is that buyers and influencers are often looking for direction, which guides and reassures them that they are making a smart, long-term decision, opening the door for you to redefine what’s important rather than a competitor.

This is the bold idea that changes how the buyer sees their problem, the category, and perhaps their own role in solving it. It won’t be for everyone; it could spark debate and will certainly help identify your kind of buyers. To be distinct, we need to be something to someone, not everyone.

To be credible, it must be supported by research that substantiates the hypothesis. Ideally, this would be owned quantitative and qualitative research into the behaviour of the market, your customers, ICP, or target buyers, but if this is not in the budget, it could also be carefully curated publicly available research that supports the big, bold idea.

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This is, of course, referred to as “thought leadership”, and there is plenty of “thought” flowing through our social feeds right now, but here the emphasis is on “leadership.” A bold position supported by data, providing direction and leadership that may involve a frisson of risk.

This content answers “why should I follow you?”

For the journey

It’s important that you have a spread of content across these three buckets, as it will not only appeal to different buyers in your buying group but also resonate at different points in the buyer’s journey and keep you top of mind.

You’ve probably seen the 95-5 rule research from the LinkedIn B2B Institute, which shows that only 5% of your potential buyers are in-market at any given time.

It’s only this 5% that need the Default content, as they are actively selecting and need to understand your product’s features and benefits at this level of detail.

The rest of the market, the 95%, need to be inspired to change, to act, recognise they have a problem to be solved, or to recall you when they do. Which is where your Distinctive and Direction content does its work.

Next steps

So take a look at your website, LinkedIn company page, posts, and marketing emails, and do a quick audit of how much Default, Distinctive, and Direction content you are producing.

Who it’s for, how useful it is, and ask if it’s addressing the needs of not just today’s buyer, but your future buyer that’s currently hiding in the 95%.