You've done the work. The product is polished, the features are innovative, and your team is rightfully proud. You craft a marketing message you believe is powerful, highlighting the incredible technology you've built. You launch.

And then... crickets.

Engagement is low, conversion rates are flat, and the feedback is confusing. It's a frustratingly common scenario. The problem often isn't the product or the quality of the writing; it's the message itself. We get so excited about what we built that we forget to talk about what it fixes.

Table of Contents

• From Features to Frustrations: The Core Shift
• Uncovering the Real Story by Quantifying the Struggle
• Building Your Messaging Hierarchy: A Data-Driven FrameworkTier 1: The HeadlineTier 2: The BulletsTier 3: The Proof Points
• Tier 1: The Headline
• Tier 2: The Bullets
• Tier 3: The Proof Points
• Putting It All Together: A Real-World Example
• Beyond Messaging: Fueling Your Entire Growth Engine
• FAQ: Your Messaging Hierarchy Questions Answered
• From Guesswork to Growth

You've done the work. The product is polished, the features are innovative, and your team is rightfully proud. You craft a marketing message you believe is powerful, highlighting the incredible technology you've built. You launch.

And then... crickets.

Engagement is low, conversion rates are flat, and the feedback is confusing. It's a frustratingly common scenario. The problem often isn't the product or the quality of the writing; it's the message itself. We get so excited about what we built that we forget to talk about what it fixes.

The truth is, customers don't buy features; they hire solutions to get a job done. The key to messaging that resonates isn't to shout louder about your product's capabilities, but to whisper more clearly that you understand your customer's struggle. This is where a data-driven messaging hierarchy, built from the frustrations your customers face every day, can transform your entire go-to-market approach.

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From Features to Frustrations: The Core Shift

For decades, marketing has been feature-obsessed. "Our software has AI-powered analytics!" "This car has a 3.5-liter V6 engine!" We lead with the "what" and hope the customer can figure out the "why."

A more powerful approach is rooted in the Jobs to be Done framework, a concept popularized by the late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. The theory is simple: customers have "jobs" they are trying to accomplish in their lives. They "hire" products or services to help them get these jobs done better.

Your goal isn't just to understand the overall job, but to break it down into the specific steps they take to complete it. For example, a project manager's job isn't just "manage projects." It's a series of steps:

• Define project scope and goals
• Assign tasks to team members
• Monitor progress and deadlines
• Communicate updates to stakeholders
• Resolve roadblocks

It's within these steps that the magic happens. This is where your customers experience friction, frustration, and inefficiency—the very problems your product was designed to solve.

Uncovering the Real Story by Quantifying the Struggle

To build messaging that works, you need to move beyond assumptions and gather real data on your customer's pain points. Which job steps cause the most difficulty? Where do they waste the most time? What creates the most anxiety?

A simple yet powerful way to measure this is with a Customer Effort Score (CES) survey. After identifying the core steps of the job, you can ask customers to rate the difficulty of each step on a scale (e.g., 1 to 7, where 7 is "very difficult").

This process of quantifying customer struggle—which AI can now accelerate from weeks to hours—helps you pinpoint the exact moments where your solution can have the greatest impact. You're no longer guessing what matters; you're seeing a data-backed map of your customer's biggest frustrations, directly tied to the process they go through.

Every job step is a potential source of unmet needs. By identifying which steps cause the most friction, you discover the opportunities where your solution can make the strongest connection with your customers.

Building Your Messaging Hierarchy: A Data-Driven Framework

Once you have data on which job steps are the most frustrating, you can stop guessing what your headline should be. Your customers' biggest struggle is your headline. This data provides the blueprint for a clear, three-tiered messaging hierarchy.

This structure ensures your messaging is organized from your customer's perspective, starting with their biggest pain and progressively revealing how you solve it.

Tier 1: The Headline

What it is: The single, most powerful statement on your landing page, ad, or email.

How to build it: Look at your CES data. The job step with the highest difficulty score is your headline. This is the #1 frustration your target audience faces. Frame your headline as the solution to that specific, intense pain point.

Tier 2: The Bullets

What they are: The 2-4 supporting points that sit directly below your headline.

How to build them: These should address the next most difficult job steps from your CES data. They show the customer that you don't just understand their main problem; you understand the full context of their struggle. This builds immense trust and makes them feel seen.

Tier 3: The Proof Points

What they are: The tangible evidence of how you solve the problems mentioned in the headline and bullets.

How to build them: This is where your features finally come into play. But instead of just listing them, you connect each feature directly to a specific frustration. A proof point can be a feature, a customer testimonial, a data point, or a mini case study that proves you can deliver on your promise.

Putting It All Together: A Real-World Example

Imagine you have a project management tool. Instead of leading with "The Ultimate AI-Powered Project Platform," you first survey your target customers—project managers at software companies.

You ask them to rate the difficulty of various job steps, and the data reveals clear patterns of struggle.

Using this data, you can now construct a powerful, customer-centric messaging hierarchy:

Headline (Based on the #1 struggle): Stop Wasting Hours Chasing Project Status Updates.

This directly addresses the most difficult job step: "Communicating progress to stakeholders." It's specific, empathetic, and promises a clear benefit.

Bullets (Based on the next biggest struggles):

• Instantly see who is working on what, and when it's due. (Solves "Assigning and tracking tasks")
• Keep all your project files, briefs, and feedback in one place. (Solves "Finding key documents")
• Eliminate bottlenecks before they derail your timeline. (Solves "Resolving roadblocks")

Proof Points (The "how" behind the promise):

• Automated Dashboards: See real-time project health without calling a meeting
• Centralized Task Lists: Link tasks directly to team members and deadlines
• Integrated File Storage: Attach documents and assets directly to the relevant task

Notice the difference? The first message was about the company. This one is entirely about the customer. It tells a story of understanding and resolution, guiding the reader from their known pain to your proven solution.

Beyond Messaging: Fueling Your Entire Growth Engine

This data-driven approach does more than just improve your marketing copy. It becomes a unifying force across your organization.

Product Development: The ranked list of customer frustrations is a goldmine for your product team. It provides a clear, prioritized list of what to build next, helping you create powerful, AI-driven product roadmaps that are guaranteed to address real user needs.

Sales Enablement: Your sales team is now equipped with messages that resonate instantly. They can start conversations by addressing known pain points, making their outreach more effective and their demos more compelling.

Strategic Alignment: When product, marketing, and sales all speak the same customer-centric language, the entire organization moves in lockstep. This alignment is critical for building sustainable growth. When we used our JTBD method for Target Registry, we helped reverse declining revenue trends and achieve over 25% top-line growth annually within 12-18 months by focusing teams on solving the customer's true unmet needs.

By building your messaging from customer frustrations, you create a powerful flywheel that informs not just what you say, but what you build and how you sell—the foundation of effective go-to-market strategies.

FAQ: Your Messaging Hierarchy Questions Answered

What's the difference between this and building a customer persona?

Personas often focus on demographic and psychographic traits (e.g., "Marketing Mary, 35, lives in the suburbs"). A JTBD approach focuses on the situation and the outcome the customer is trying to achieve, regardless of who they are. It's about the "job," not the person, which leads to more accurate insights about their core motivations and struggles.

How do I collect Customer Effort Score (CES) data?

You can start simply. If you have a customer base, send a short email survey using tools like SurveyMonkey or Typeform. List 5-10 key steps of the job your product helps with and ask them to rate the difficulty of each. If you don't have customers yet, you can use services to survey people who fit your target audience profile.

Can I do this without a big budget?

Absolutely. The initial process of mapping the job steps is an internal exercise that costs nothing but time. For gathering data, even a small, targeted survey of 20-30 customers or prospects can provide a surprisingly clear signal of where the biggest frustrations lie. The key is to start, learn, and iterate.

How often should I update my messaging?

Customer needs and market dynamics evolve. It's a good practice to revisit your core messaging and the underlying customer data at least once a year or whenever you notice a significant shift in your business metrics. The goal is to keep your finger on the pulse of your customer's struggles.

From Guesswork to Growth

Stop guessing what your customers want to hear. Instead, build a system for listening to their struggles and use that data as the blueprint for your messaging.

When your headline reflects their greatest frustration and your bullet points echo their daily reality, you create an instant connection. You're no longer just another company selling a product; you're a trusted partner who truly understands. That understanding is the foundation of lasting growth.

Ready to Transform Your Messaging Strategy?

Don't let another campaign fall flat because your messaging doesn't resonate with your customers' real struggles. The difference between breakthrough growth and stagnant results often comes down to whether you're speaking to what your customers actually care about.