Key Messages Grid Template

What it is

The Key Messages Grid takes your core message and adapts it for different audiences, channels, and contexts. Instead of one-size-fits-all messaging that doesn’t resonate with anyone, the grid allows you to keep the strategic core whilst making the message relevant to each audience.

It answers the question: “How do we say the same thing to investors, customers, employees, and journalists—but in language that matters to each?” The grid ensures every version is consistent with your positioning whilst speaking to what each audience actually cares about.

This is particularly useful when you have a major announcement or positioning shift that needs to land differently across multiple stakeholder groups.

When to use it

Use the Key Messages Grid when:

You have one core message that needs to land with multiple audiences
You’re using different channels (social media, email, web, event presentations, media)
You need to align sales, customer success, marketing, and leadership on message variation
Different personas have genuinely different priorities or pain points
You want to ensure consistency whilst allowing tactical flexibility

Don’t use the Key Messages Grid when:

You only have one audience (simplify with a single message statement)
You need detailed architecture (use Message House instead)
You’re addressing very different topics for different groups (those are separate messaging efforts)
You’re creating Q&A or detailed responses (use FAQ Builder)

Inputs needed

Before you start:

Your core message (from Message House or positioning work)
Primary and secondary audience segments
What each audience cares about most
How each audience will encounter the message (channel/context)
Key values or concerns specific to each audience

The template

Key Messages Grid Structure

Audience/Persona	Core Message	Adapted Message	Lead Hook	Supporting Proof	Call to Action	Channel	Tone
[Persona]	[Your core message]	[Adapted for this persona]	[Opening line for this audience]	[Proof point that matters to them]	[What you want them to do]	[Email/Social/Web/Verbal]	[Tone]

Detailed Message Card Template

Create a card for each audience/context combination:

AUDIENCE/PERSONA: [Who this is for]

CORE MESSAGE: [Your non-negotiable positioning statement]

ADAPTED MESSAGE: [How you say it for this specific audience]

LEAD HOOK: (First sentence to grab attention) [What makes this audience care immediately]

BODY MESSAGE: (2-3 sentences of supporting detail) [What they need to know, in their language]

PROOF POINT: (Evidence that matters to this audience) [The data, story, or fact that builds credibility with them]

CALL TO ACTION: [What you want them to do next]

CHANNEL FIT: [Best channels for reaching this audience with this message]

TONE NOTES: [How this should be delivered—professional, friendly, technical, etc.]

WHAT NOT TO SAY: [Language to avoid with this audience]

AI prompt

Base prompt

I need to adapt a core message for different audiences.

My core message is: [YOUR CORE MESSAGE]

My audiences are:
1. [Audience 1] — they care about [PRIORITIES]
2. [Audience 2] — they care about [PRIORITIES]
3. [Audience 3] — they care about [PRIORITIES]
4. [Audience 4] — they care about [PRIORITIES]

For each audience, please develop:
1. An adapted message (8-15 words) that keeps the strategic core but speaks to their priorities
2. A lead hook—the first sentence designed to grab their attention
3. A 2-3 sentence body message in language they'd use
4. A proof point that matters to this audience specifically
5. A call to action that fits their context
6. Recommended channels and tone

Keep all versions consistent on core positioning, but make each resonate
with its specific audience. None should contradict the others.

Prompt variations

Variation 1: Product Launch—Multiple Audiences

We're launching [PRODUCT] and need messaging that works for:

- Customers (their problem): [CUSTOMER PROBLEM]
- Investors (their question): [INVESTOR QUESTION]
- Employees (their concern): [EMPLOYEE CONCERN]
- Press (their angle): [PRESS ANGLE]

Core positioning: [YOUR POSITIONING]
Key differentiator: [WHAT'S UNIQUE]

For each audience, develop messaging that feels owned and specific
to them, whilst maintaining consistent positioning across all four.

Variation 2: Organisational Change—Internal and External

We're announcing [CHANGE] to both internal and external audiences.

Internal audience priorities:
- Employees: [CONCERN]
- Leadership: [PRIORITY]

External audience priorities:
- Customers: [CONCERN]
- Partners: [PRIORITY]
- Media: [LIKELY ANGLE]

Core truth: [WHAT WE WANT KNOWN]

Develop a Key Messages Grid where internal messages build confidence
and external messages build understanding, without contradicting each other.

Variation 3: Channel-Specific Adaptation

Our core message: [MESSAGE]

We're distributing this via:
- LinkedIn (professional audience)
- Twitter (broad, fast-moving audience)
- Internal email (employees)
- Sales brief (customer-facing)

Adapt the same core message for each channel's norms, character limits,
and audience expectations. All versions should be consistent but locally optimised.

Variation 4: Market Segment Variation

Our product serves multiple markets:
- SMEs (they value): [VALUE 1]
- Enterprise (they value): [VALUE 2]
- Non-profit (they value): [VALUE 3]

Core product benefit: [CORE BENEFIT]

Develop a Key Messages Grid where each market gets messaging that
emphasises the benefits that matter to them, using examples and language
that resonate with their sector.

Variation 5: Persona-Based Sales Messaging

In deals, we talk to multiple personas:
- Economic buyer (cares about): [PRIORITY]
- Technical buyer (cares about): [PRIORITY]
- User/Champion (cares about): [PRIORITY]

Our positioning: [POSITIONING]
Our key differentiator: [DIFFERENTIATOR]

Develop a grid that gives sales language for each persona conversation,
all grounded in the same positioning but emphasising different aspects.

Human review checklist

Example output

CORE MESSAGE: “Advanced analytics that delivers insights, not data”

AUDIENCE: CFO/Finance Leader

Adapted Message: “Turn data into ROI—measurable outcomes from day one”

Lead Hook: “Most analytics implementations take 6-9 months to show ROI. We do it in 8 weeks.”

Body Message: “Our platform eliminates the setup overhead that kills analytics projects. Faster implementation means faster payback. Finance teams are already seeing measurable cost reduction and revenue impact within the first quarter.”

Proof Point: “3 case studies from similar-sized organisations show average 18-month ROI of 340%”

Call to Action: “Schedule a 20-minute cost-benefit analysis with our finance specialist”

Channels: LinkedIn, email, sales meeting

Tone: Numbers-driven, no-nonsense, focused on business outcome

What Not to Say: “Cutting-edge technology” or “Powerful insights”—speak ROI, not features

AUDIENCE: Data Analyst/Technical User

Adapted Message: “Advanced analytics that doesn’t require a PhD to operate”

Lead Hook: “Stop spending 60% of your time on data prep and infrastructure—focus on analysis that matters.”

Body Message: “Our platform handles the heavy lifting: automated data transformation, built-in validation, and 200+ pre-built models you can customise. Write less code, answer more questions. Analysts love us because we give them superpowers without requiring SQL expertise.”

Proof Point: “Users report 4x faster analysis cycles—median time from question to answer drops from 2 weeks to 3 days”

Call to Action: “Try the interactive demo and see how much time you’d save”

Channels: Email, demo webinar, technical blog

Tone: Practical, empowering, speaks their language

What Not to Say: “Simple enough for anyone” (insults their expertise); “No SQL required” (they might prefer SQL)

AUDIENCE: VP of Operations

Adapted Message: “Standardise decisions across teams, reduce variation, improve consistency”

Lead Hook: “Your teams make the same decision 10 different ways. Here’s how to fix that.”

Body Message: “Analytics insights are only valuable if teams actually use them. We embed analytics into your standard workflows so decisions happen faster and more consistently. One company reduced decision-making variance by 40%, cutting rework by 30%.”

Proof Point: “Team adoption rate averages 85% within 3 months—because it fits how they already work”

Call to Action: “Let’s map your decision workflows—we’ll show you where analytics fits”

Channels: Sales meeting, internal presentation, email

Tone: Change-focused, pragmatic, operations-minded

What Not to Say: “Everyone will love analytics” (they care about adoption, not love); technical jargon

Message House — Use the three pillars of your Message House to create audience-specific angles
Positioning Statement Generator — Ensure your adapted messages stay grounded in core positioning
Proof Points Bank — Draw different proof points for different audiences from your centralised bank
FAQ Builder — Use these adapted messages as the basis for audience-specific FAQ
Executive Quote Pack — Create quotes tailored to different audience contexts

Tips for success

Start with genuine audience insights. Don’t guess what different audiences care about. Do the research: talk to them, read what they consume, understand their actual business context. This prevents patronising or missing-the-mark adaptations.

Find the emotional core of each adaptation. Behind every audience’s priorities is an emotion or concern. Finance cares about ROI because they’re accountable for results. Technical teams care about tools because they’re accountable for quality. Find that core and speak to it.

Maintain non-negotiable elements. Certain things can’t change across versions: your brand values, your core positioning, your primary differentiator. Know what’s flexible (language, examples, emphasis) and what’s fixed (strategic claims, brand personality).

Test with actual representatives. Before rolling out a Key Messages Grid, test with someone from each audience. Ask: “Does this feel like it was written for you? What would make it more relevant?” You’ll catch tone-deaf adaptations before they scale.

Keep it short enough to actually use. If your grid is so detailed that sales teams won’t reference it, it’s not serving its purpose. Aim for a one-page version per audience that someone could reference in a 30-second pause during a conversation.

Common pitfalls

Dumbed-down versions of the core message. Adapting for audience doesn’t mean over-simplifying. A CFO is smart; they just want business impact first, technology second. Respect their intelligence whilst reframing priorities.

Contradictory messages across audiences. If your employee version says one thing and your customer version says the opposite, you’re setting yourself up for exposed hypocrisy. Each version should be a true facet of the same core reality.

Forgetting channel norms. A message that works in an email doesn’t work in a tweet; a sales talking point doesn’t work as a LinkedIn article. Consider how each audience consumes messages, not just what they care about.

Too many audience variations. If you’re creating 47 different audience versions, the framework has become unwieldy. Cluster audiences around shared priorities and aim for 4-6 key variations, not dozens.

Missing the audience’s actual question. If you know the finance team will ask “What’s the ROI?” but your adapted message leads with “This is a cutting-edge solution,” you’ve missed the point. Answer the question they’re actually asking.

Key Messages Grid