# Feature-to-value messaging map

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/feature-to-value-messaging-map
- Hub: Branding & Creative Strategy

One row per feature: the job it helps, the proof you may claim, the words customers use, and the words to avoid. Print it next to your spec sheet.

List every feature first. Do not rank until the job and proof columns are filled.
Copy customer words exactly, with the source in brackets. Polish comes last and it is subtraction only.
Keep three to five headline rows. Everything else is supporting evidence, not an equal.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    F["Feature"] --> J["Job it helps"]
    J --> P["Proof you may claim"]
    P --> W["Customer words"]
    W --> H["Headline or cut"]
```
*A feature earns a headline only after it points at a job and carries proof you can show.*

## The map

Copy this table into a doc or sheet. Add one row per feature. Leave proof empty rather than invent it.

| Feature | Job it helps | Proof you may claim | Words customers use | Words to avoid |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |

- [ ] Example row to copy the style from
  Example: Hypothetical. Feature: monthly update checklist. Job: stop wondering whether the site quietly broke. Proof: our own checklist and monitoring screenshot. Customer words: “I do not want to hear it from a customer first.” Avoid: peace of mind, industry-leading.

## Before you fill it

- [ ] One primary buyer named (role and situation)
- [ ] Customer words gathered from calls, tickets, reviews, or first emails
- [ ] Features pulled from product, pricing page, proposal, and onboarding email
- [ ] Each job written as a verb phrase, not “improve” or “optimize”

## Proof check

- [ ] Every proof cell is something you can show today (screenshot, process, public page)
- [ ] Any client fact has written permission and a stated scope
- [ ] Hypothetical examples are labeled as hypothetical in the sentence
- [ ] Rows with no proof carry a plain statement, not a superlative or a number

## Decide

| If the row has | Then | Where it lives |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary job, proof, customer words | Headline candidate | Hero, proposal cover, pitch opener |
| Primary job, no proof yet | Plain statement | Body copy only |
| Secondary buyer job | Supporting line | Lower on the page or its own page |
| No job anyone mentioned | Cut or demote | Spec page |
| Internal term only | Rename first | Nowhere until renamed |

- [ ] Three to five headline rows chosen
- [ ] Sheet handed to whoever writes the homepage, proposal, and sales deck
- [ ] Review date set (new feature, new buyer, or six months, whichever comes first)

## Related guides

- [Feature-to-value messaging map: turn specs into customer language](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/feature-to-value-messaging-map)
- [Brand positioning framework](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/brand-positioning-framework)
- [Architecting brand voice and messaging](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/architecting-brand-voice-messaging)
- [Positioning worksheet](https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/positioning-worksheet)