What do you see when you zoom out?

This question changed the way I think about SaaS messaging. It showed me the things I can mess up when communicating a SaaS product.

Quick story

A year ago, I discovered system thinking. I stacked up on the books I can learn from and dove into the theory.

Then, I started applying system thinking to everything. SaaS messaging included.

That’s the moment I realized that product messaging is an entire ecosystem.

And its impact doesn’t depend on skillful copywriting. But on all the intricate connections between the ecosystem components.

Why I wrote this post

I want to invite you to think differently about your SaaS messaging. You’ll see how different components shape how you communicate your SaaS product.

I want you to apply system thinking to SaaS messaging for understanding its complexity.

What’s system thinking

System thinking is seeing how different parts of a whole connect and influence each other.

Imagine a black Toyota Hilux is a whole. A whole built upon multiple mechanical, electrical, and electronic parts.

System thinking shows you how each part interacts with the others to make the car function.

Why apply system thinking to SaaS messaging

• See hidden connection between different areas that may impact messaging.
• Stop treating messaging issues as isolated problems and solve root causes.
• Understand how changes in one area can affect product messaging.
• Transform siloed thinking and action into ecosystem awareness.
• Identify leverage points that create system-wide improvements.

The components of the messaging ecosystem

At the moment, I built my framework on 6 mega components.

Quick note: This may change in the future as I dive deeper into exploring and working on SaaS messaging.

• Stakeholders mapping: How you identify and analyze key target groups.
• User research: how you investigate & gather intel on user behavior & needs.
• Software taxonomy: how you organize & name platform capabilities.
• Info architecture: how you prioritize & structure product info.
• Knowledge management: how you store & retrieve business / ops knowledge.
• Team communication: how you coordinate info sharing and collaboration.

How the components’ interconnectedness affect SaaS messaging?

Each component interacts with another based on different functions.

In the graphic below you can see some of these functions. This interconnectedness results in a dynamic network that shapes messaging.

Here are some examples:‍

→ Stakeholder Mapping (SM) → [informs] → User Research (UR)

SM provides a clear outline of target audiences. This helps prioritizing user research. User research, guided by stakeholder mapping, shapes messaging according to specific needs.

→ Software Taxonomy (ST) → [structures] → Info Architecture (IA)

ST provides the core term vocabulary and relationships for organizing the product capabilities. This capability hierarchy and naming conventions helps structuring IA.

A well-structured IA, guided by taxonomy, aligns messaging with the users’ mental maps.‍‍

→ Knowledge Management (KM) → [enables] → Team Comms (TC)

KM provides a centralized knowledge base. This makes shared info accessible to all teams. The shared repository enables alignment between team members.

This alignment creates a unified vision, approach, and voice which can shape messaging.

[the list continues …]

Finally, each component impacts SaaS messaging in unique ways.

• SM: Targets the message to the right audience.
• UR: Backs the message with data and insights.
• ST: Structures and labels software capabilities for consistency.
• IA: Prioritizes and organizes the messaging for ease of understanding.
• KM: Allows for truth to move fast and keep messages up to date.
• TC: Good internal practices help with alignment in external messaging.

This is not a set-in-stone framework. The components shaping messaging and their interconnections may vary.

What’s important though is to acknowledge that messaging is not a siloed element.

How you communicate with target audiences depends on … everything you do within your company.