Category Archives: Dark Path

Five Ways to Keep It Simple

Most engineering minds love to delve into the details. They want specs. They want operating parameters. They want exceptions. In marketing, you need to do the opposite. A positioning statement, a key message, an expression of a benefit — all of those are examples that require you to simplify, simplify, simplify. To discuss details is to waste people’s time. Marketing is about not wasting people’s time. Continue reading

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Getting Your MBA in Naming

Remember my suggestions for coming up with that perfect name? No? That’s because I didn’t do everything I could to make those suggestions as memorable as possible. In this post I detail how I edited my previous two posts to tell a better story, thanks to the use of the “MBA” acronym as a mnemonic. Continue reading

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Practicing How to Come Up with the Perfect Name

In my previous post, I suggested you try and answer the question of how to name a given software feature by using your “MBA.” Message: You needed to figure out for yourself what you’re trying to say about the suggested feature. Brainstorm: come up with a list of words to meet that goal. Assemble: Evaluate and combine words until you pick 3-5 potential names for the feature. Here’s how I followed my own process to come up with my suggestions, and some extra hints about sanity-checking your answer. Continue reading

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Coming Up with the Perfect Name

Names matter. They immediately convey a message, before you even make it to a positioning statement. Even engineers aren’t immune, as they are often responsible for naming features or elements of a product… names in code that may stick in documentation or turn up in the UI somewhere… and before you know it, they’re terms being used by customers. So how does one come up with a name? Here’s how to get your “MBA” in naming. Continue reading

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Practical Examples of a Positioning Statement in Action

Once you have a positioning statement, what good does it do? It’s just a buncha marketing hooey anyways, right? This post takes a closer look at two practical examples of a positioning statement in action. Continue reading

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