Messaging framework

What a messaging framework is

A messaging framework is a written list of the claims your business makes about itself, in order of importance, with the evidence for each and the buyer each one is aimed at. It is the document a writer, a designer or a new salesperson reads so that they say the right things in the right order without asking you.

It is not a brand voice guidelines document, which covers how things are said rather than what is said. The two are often bought together and they are written separately, because a business can have a clear message in a muddled voice, or a lovely voice saying nothing in particular.

Who this is for

A business where more than one person writes or sells. The moment a second person describes the company, the descriptions diverge, and by the fifth person the website, the proposals and the trade-show banner are making different claims. It also suits a business about to brief a web designer, an agency or a freelance writer, because the framework is the brief.

A sole operator who writes everything personally and has a clear value proposition may not need a framework yet. A page of key messages covers the same ground at a third of the length.

What it contains

Five parts, each as short as it can be.

1. The lead claim. The value proposition, or the sentence that does its job, at the top of page one. Everything below supports it.
2. The buyers. Two to four buyer types, each described by situation and by the question they ask first. A framework aimed at everyone is aimed at nobody.
3. The messages, ranked. Six to twelve claims. For each one: the claim in a sentence, the proof point behind it, which buyer it is for, and where in the buying process it belongs. The ranking is the part people argue about and the part that is worth the money.
4. The proof bank. The facts that make the claims true: numbers you can stand behind, named methods, guarantees, credentials, quotes from customers with their permission. Each message points to at least one.
5. What we do not say. Claims that are tempting, common in your trade, and either untrue for you or impossible to prove. This section prevents more damage than any other.

The framework is built from your existing material, your competitors' material, and conversations with you and, where you allow it, two or three recent customers. The customers matter most: the claim you are proudest of is rarely the one they hired you for.

What you get

The framework. Eight to twelve pages, with the one-page summary at the front that most people will actually use: lead claim, buyers, top three messages, top three proofs.

The message grid. One spreadsheet, one row per message, with columns for buyer, stage, proof point and the channels where it belongs. Sortable by buyer, so a salesperson can pull the three messages for the person in front of them.

Worked applications. The framework applied to three real pieces of yours: usually a home page opening, a proposal introduction and an email, rewritten to show what it looks like in use.

A one-hour walkthrough. On video, for everyone who writes or sells. It ends with each person knowing which three messages they are responsible for saying.

A worked example

An illustration. A structural engineering firm of nine people sells to architects, to developers and to homeowners doing renovations. Its website leads with "innovative engineering solutions" and lists services. Reading its proposals shows that the two principals write completely different introductions, and that the homeowner inquiries mostly ask one question: will this get through the permit process without delay.

The framework ranks three buyers and gives each a lead message. For homeowners: drawings that pass the municipal review the first time, with the firm's record of first-pass approvals as the proof. For architects: a named response time on markups. For developers: a fixed-fee schedule per building type. The "innovative solutions" line goes into the do-not-say section, along with two safety claims that every competitor also makes. The proposal template gets three introductions, one per buyer, and both principals use them.

How it runs

1. A half-hour call. What you sell, who buys it, and who writes and sells for you now. No charge.
2. A fixed price in writing. Scope, number of buyer types, and the price agreed before anything starts.
3. Reading and listening. Your site, proposals, sales emails and social posts; your competitors' equivalents; a recorded hour with you; and short calls with two or three customers. Two weeks.
4. The draft. You and anyone who sells read it. Every ranking you disagree with gets argued out on a call. Rankings change; proofs do not, unless you have a better one.
5. The final framework, the grid and the applications. Delivered with the walkthrough.

Four to five weeks from first call to final document is typical.

What it costs

Quoted as a fixed price in CAD after the half-hour call, agreed in writing, and not changed without your agreement. The price depends on the number of buyer types, whether customer calls are possible, and how much existing material there is to read. A framework that follows a finished value proposition is faster and costs less. The pricing page explains how fixed pricing works.

What happens next

Most businesses take the framework straight to the website, starting with service pages, because that is where the old claims are most visible. Sales teams turn the message grid into objection handling documents. And if the framework is clear but the writing still does not sound like you, brand voice guidelines are the other half.