It’s human nature to listen to our own perceptions, but doing this exclusively can spell trouble for corporate or product messaging. I always try to get as much information as possible about how my company (my client) and its solutions are perceived by others. After all, the whole point of messaging is to establish a positive, differentiated position in readers’ minds, and it’s hard to do that if you don’t know what readers are thinking.

So, I do some research before I begin a messaging plan: 

1. I read analyst blogs and reports to see how they perceive the market and potential competitors. 
2. I look at competitors’ websites to see how they position themselves. I talk to customers and prospects to learn what competitors say about my client. 
3. I contact my company’s salespeople to hear about the feedback (good and bad) they get from prospects.

All of this feeds into effective, well-rounded messaging. Your client will tell you the positives about their solution, but you can’t address the negatives if you don’t know about them. Make sure you’re doing the research you need to get a 360-degree view.