One of the most common mistakes I see in growth-stage businesses is assuming a good product should naturally create strong demand. That is not how markets work. You can have a genuinely valuable offer, a capable team, and a strong delivery engine, then still struggle because your messaging does not connect with the people you are trying to reach.
This is where Message-Market Fit comes in. Product-Market Fit means you have something the market wants. Message-Market Fit means you can communicate the value of that thing in language your market actually understands, believes, and responds to. Most marketing failures are not product failures. They are messaging failures.
This guide will give you the framework I use to diagnose that disconnect and fix it. The goal is simple: find the right message for the right person at the right time.
What You Will Learn
- The difference between Product-Market Fit and Message-Market Fit
- How the 5 levels of market awareness shape the message a buyer needs to hear
- Where to find the customer's real language through Voice of Customer research
- How to test messages quickly using paid media
- How Message-Market Fit connects directly to Profile, Plan, and Perform
The Old Way vs. The 3P Way
| The Old Way (Typical Marketing) | The 3P Way (Strategic Partner) |
|---|---|
| Use one generic message for everyone | Match the message to the buyer's awareness level |
| Write from the business's point of view | Write from the buyer's problem, desire, and language |
| Assume clicks mean the message is working | Validate the message against click quality, engagement, and conversion |
| Change copy based on internal opinion | Build copy from Voice of Customer data and market testing |
| Treat messaging as decoration | Treat messaging as a strategic growth lever |
The 5 Levels of Market Awareness
One of the most useful frameworks in marketing comes from Eugene Schwartz and his work on market awareness in Breakthrough Advertising. The core idea is simple: not every buyer is equally ready to hear the same message.
If you speak to a problem-aware person as if they are already product-aware, you will lose them. If you explain your product to someone who does not even recognise the problem yet, you will also lose them. Message-Market Fit depends on aligning your copy with the prospect's current mental state.
Level 1: Most Unaware
Who they are
These people do not yet know they have a problem, or at least they have not named it in a useful way. They may feel friction, stress, waste, confusion, or pressure, but they are not actively framing that experience in terms of a category problem.
How to talk to them
You cannot begin by selling a product or even by naming the problem too aggressively. You need to enter the conversation already happening in their head. That usually means broad, emotional, pattern-based, or story-driven messaging.
At this level, your goal is not immediate conversion. Your goal is recognition.
Example
A business owner feels overloaded and reactive. They know the business feels messy, but they have not yet connected that stress to inefficient software, process gaps, or weak reporting.
Messaging at this level might focus on:
- the feeling of constant firefighting
- the cost of operational chaos
- the hidden drag caused by unclear systems
The key is to start with lived experience, not solution mechanics.
Level 2: Problem Aware
Who they are
These buyers know something is wrong. They can feel the problem clearly enough to name it, but they do not yet understand what the best solution category is.
How to talk to them
This is where you agitate the pain. You show them that you understand the problem better than they do. You validate the frustration, clarify the stakes, and give them better language for what they are dealing with.
At this stage, good messaging creates the reaction:
"That is exactly what is happening."
Example
The business owner now understands that the software setup is part of the stress. The problem is visible. They are feeling the operational drag, but they do not yet know what should replace it or how urgent the fix is.
Strong problem-aware messaging often focuses on:
- hidden costs
- friction
- waste
- missed opportunities
- recurring symptoms that buyers thought were normal
The job here is to deepen clarity and increase relevance.
Level 3: Solution Aware
Who they are
These buyers know solutions exist. They have moved beyond "something is wrong" into "there must be a way to fix this." They may not know your product or company yet, but they are open to learning.
How to talk to them
Now you can introduce your product or service as the right solution. The message should focus on benefits, outcomes, and transformation. This is where you shift from problem naming into category positioning.
You still do not need to overload the buyer with detail. What they need now is a clear sense of what kind of result your solution creates.
Example
The business owner is searching for project management software, workflow tooling, or operational visibility systems. They understand the problem and are exploring solutions.
Strong solution-aware messaging focuses on:
- the transformation
- the improved state
- commercial and operational benefits
- the reason your approach is more effective than a generic alternative
Level 4: Product Aware
Who they are
These buyers know your specific product or service exists. The challenge is no longer discovery. The challenge is preference.
How to talk to them
This is where proof, differentiation, and credibility matter most. The buyer is comparing options. They are asking:
- why you
- why now
- why not the competitor
Your messaging should address objections, show proof, and clarify the edge.
Example
The business owner is comparing your software or service to multiple alternatives. They are reading landing pages, checking reviews, scanning pricing, and looking for reasons to trust one option over another.
At this stage, strong messaging includes:
- specific proof
- differentiated positioning
- trust signals
- proof-backed claims
- sharper framing around value
This is where related guides like /growth-guides/trust-and-proof-systems become strategically important.
Level 5: Most Aware
Who they are
These buyers know your product, understand the value, and are close to taking action. They do not need broad persuasion anymore. They need the final push that reduces friction and gives them a reason to move now.
How to talk to them
This is where the offer becomes critical. Pricing context, guarantees, urgency, proof, and CTA clarity matter most here. The messaging should not re-open the entire problem. It should make the next step feel obvious and low risk.
Example
The business owner is on your pricing page, your booking page, or a high-intent service page. They are close to the decision point.
Strong most-aware messaging focuses on:
- the offer
- the guarantee
- the low-friction next step
- the reason to act now rather than later
This is one reason Message-Market Fit and Offer Clarity are closely related. Once the buyer is most aware, the wrong CTA or a vague offer can still kill conversion.
For a useful modern discussion of Schwartz's awareness model, see The Five States of Awareness: The Key to Marketing That Actually Works.
The Voice of Customer Method
The best messaging rarely comes from internal brainstorming alone. It comes from the customer.
That is why Voice of Customer, or VoC, research matters. If you want copy that resonates, you need the actual language buyers use to describe their frustrations, goals, objections, and desired outcomes.
Customer Interviews
Direct interviews are one of the highest-value sources of message insight. Ask open questions:
- What problem were you trying to solve?
- What made it difficult?
- What alternatives did you consider?
- What nearly stopped you from buying?
- What changed after you implemented the solution?
The wording people use in those answers is often more valuable than anything written in an internal messaging workshop.
Sales Call Recordings
Sales calls are a goldmine because they reveal raw objections and recurring patterns. You hear how prospects describe pain, how they compare providers, and what language creates tension or interest.
If your copy sounds polished but your sales calls sound completely different, trust the calls.
Online Reviews
Reviews of your business and your competitors are another strong source of VoC. They help you see what buyers value, what disappointed them, and what language keeps repeating.
Social Media and Forums
This is where unscripted language lives. Reddit, Facebook groups, LinkedIn comments, niche communities, and public review platforms can reveal how your market actually talks when nobody is trying to impress anyone.
HubSpot's work on Voice of the Customer methods is a helpful reference point here, especially for interviews, feedback loops, and listening-based research. See 12 Voice of the Customer methodologies to generate a gold mine of customer feedback.
The main lesson is this: the more your copy sounds like the customer's internal dialogue, the more likely it is to convert.
Testing Your Message
One of the fastest ways to validate messaging is through paid media. I particularly like Facebook and LinkedIn ads for this because they let you test message hooks quickly and at relatively low cost compared to making larger brand or website changes first.
Step 1: Develop 3 to 5 Hooks
Use VoC research to create several distinct hooks. These should not be tiny wording variations. They should reflect genuinely different angles:
- problem-first
- outcome-first
- proof-first
- fear-first
- opportunity-first
Step 2: Build Simple Ads
Create clean, controlled ad variations. Keep the visual stable where possible so the messaging hook is the primary variable.
Step 3: Send Traffic to a Simple Landing Page
The page should be focused enough that the message is not diluted by too many competing ideas. The goal is not a perfect funnel yet. The goal is signal.
Step 4: Measure Response
At a minimum, compare:
- click-through rate
- cost per click
- landing page conversion
- lead quality if possible
The winning message is not always the one with the cheapest click. Sometimes the best message produces fewer clicks but stronger downstream quality. That is why message testing must connect back to business outcomes, not just top-of-funnel metrics.
If you need help turning message testing into a proper channel strategy, see /services/paid-media.
The 3P Connection
Message-Market Fit is one of the core outputs of the Plan phase, but it is powered by the intelligence gathered in Profile.
Profile gives us the raw inputs:
- Voice of Customer data
- ICP insight
- category language
- objection patterns
- competitor positioning
- behavioural clues from the funnel
Plan then turns that intelligence into a messaging framework. That means mapping the right message to each level of awareness, each stage of the funnel, and each major audience segment.
By the time we reach Perform, we are not guessing with the message. We are deploying a structured strategy that has already been grounded in research and sharpened through testing.
That is the difference between shouting into the void and having a conversation that converts.
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Map Your Message to Your Market
Use our Message-Market Fit Matrix to craft the right message for every stage of the buyer's journey. This worksheet will guide you through brainstorming hooks and copy for each of the 5 levels of market awareness, ensuring your message always resonates.
Download Your Free Message-Market Fit Matrix ->
FAQ Section
What is the difference between Product-Market Fit and Message-Market Fit?
Product-Market Fit means the market wants what you sell. Message-Market Fit means your market clearly understands why your offer matters and responds to the way you communicate it. You can have one without the other, and many businesses do.
How do I know which level of awareness my customer is at?
Look at behaviour, search intent, objections, and the channel they came through. Someone clicking a broad educational ad is usually at a different awareness level from someone visiting your pricing page or comparing competitors.
Can I use the same messaging on my website and in my ads?
Not always. The core strategic message should stay consistent, but the framing often needs to change based on context, placement, and awareness level. The homepage may need broader trust-building language while an ad for a warm audience can be more direct and commercially specific.
How long does it take to find Message-Market Fit?
It depends on the quality of your research and how quickly you can test. In some cases, a stronger message can emerge in days. In more complex categories, it may take several rounds of VoC analysis and campaign testing to validate the strongest angle.
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Let Us Find Your Winning Message
Our Plan phase is a deep dive into your customer's mind. We conduct the Voice of Customer research and build the messaging framework that will transform your marketing. It is the difference between shouting into the void and having a conversation that converts.
References
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Breakthrough Advertising, The Five States of Awareness: The Key to Marketing That Actually Works
https://breakthroughadvertisingbook.com/the-five-states-of-awareness-the-key-to-marketing-that-actually-works/ -
HubSpot, 12 Voice of the Customer methodologies to generate a gold mine of customer feedback
https://blog.hubspot.com/service/voice-of-the-customer-methodologies
