Resonate, Educate, Motivate (MMF)
#EdTech startups work towards PMF, which is a point at which users and buyers user and recommend a product in sufficient quantity to drive growth. The current buying motions in #B2B require a greater investment in achieving message-market fit (MMF). If there is no MMF, then there will probably never be PMF. The MMF connects with customers and aligns the product with the market. Said differently, it expresses the uniqueness of your product in ways that resonate with the persona(s).
Dana Tamir explains Message-Market-Fit as “the process of finding the right messaging or communication strategy that effectively resonates with your target audience. It involves understanding the needs, wants, and pain points of your potential customers and crafting messaging that speaks directly to them. The right messaging will not only effectively communicate the value of your product(s) or service(s) to potential customers, it will also inspire potential customers to take action: spend more time learning about the product or service, sign up for a free trial, or even make a purchase.” The process for MMF is as follows with key pitfalls bolded.
- Identifying the target market and ICP
- Developing a unique selling proposition (USP) helps to establish a clear and compelling reason why customers should choose this product or service over others.
- Test your message: Once you have developed a USP, you need to test it with your target market to see if it resonates with them. A/B testing shows relative effectiveness, but doesn’t provide why it resonates. Your messaging should also include a brand personality (see green dashed line on brand archetype wheel)
- Refine your message: Based on the feedback you receive, refine your value proposition to better resonate with your target market. It is important to probe that ICPs are properly comprehending your message. Ensure consistency of messaging.
- Prepare your marketing channels: Once you have a refined value proposition, you need to prepare content for your different marketing channels: social media, email marketing, content marketing, or other channels.
- Test and optimize your message and marketing channels: Test the results of different marketing campaigns and channels to see which ones are most effective in reaching your target market. Find the verbs that customers use to describe your product.
- Continuously monitor and adapt
The goal of MMF is to engage target personas, who may interact with online resources in two different ways. There are goal-oriented users and stimulus-drive (aka surfers). Goal-oriented users generally do a methodical search that involves resources on your website but also other resources, such as blog posts, product comparisons, and product reviews. Gaining the attention of goal-oriented users requires high-quality and specific content. Surfers generally review lots of web resources without a research plan. Gaining the attention of a surfer requires creative content (animated GIFs, humor, etc.) that will cause them to pause their surfing.
