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Welcome to this week's issue of Unpacking Meaning. If you received this from a friend and enjoy it, ​subscribe here.

Are you working on an art project or building a commodity?

A lot of SaaS companies struggle when it comes to finding that perfect balance between showcasing their unique vision and connecting with what the market actually needs.

It’s something I see all the time with the founders and marketing teams I work with. There's this constant tension between two approaches to messaging:

The deeply personal, vision-driven messaging that perfectly captures the founder's unique perspective but leaves potential customers scratching their heads.

The market-mimicking approach that checks all the conventional boxes but ends up sounding exactly like everyone else in the space.

And I’m not discounting the problem. It is hard. Especially when starting out and building is all you can think of.

I was listening to the founder of Notion discuss this recently. He framed it as a spectrum, saying:

What struck me is how many companies get stuck oscillating between these extremes, never finding stable ground.

But it’s more than a spectrum

Here's what's interesting about this concept: I don't see it as simply a linear spectrum. In my experience working with dozens of SaaS companies, it's actually more like a 2×2 matrix.

Let me show you what I mean:

• Quadrant 1 (low personal POV, low market alignment): Confusing messaging that neither expresses a unique vision nor meets market needs. This is the "wandering in the desert" quadrant.
• Quadrant 2 (high personal POV, low market alignment): The "vision without audience" problem. The messaging perfectly captures the founder's brilliance but fails to translate it into value customers understand.
• Quadrant 3 (low personal POV, high market alignment): The "commodity trap." The messaging checks all the market boxes but lacks any distinctive point of view, making the company sound just like everyone else.
• Quadrant 4 (high personal POV, high market alignment): The sweet spot. Messaging that authentically captures the company's unique perspective while translating it into terms that resonate with the market's actual needs.

So if we're looking at this as a matrix rather than a spectrum, our job as messaging strategists, copywriters, and product marketers becomes clearer: We need to reach that upper-right quadrant where our distinctive point of view intersects with genuine market needs.

This isn't just for startups

What's fascinating to me is how this challenge persists regardless of company stage. I've worked with:

• Early-stage startups whose founders are so deep in their own vision they can't translate it for the market
• Growth-stage companies who've drifted toward market-mimicking messaging as they've scaled
• Established players who need to reposition themselves but have lost touch with their original differentiating perspective

At each stage, the matrix stays relevant, but the path to the sweet spot changes.

How to find your sweet spot

So how do you actually move your messaging toward that ideal quadrant? Here are some practical approaches I've found effective:

1. Start with separation: Document your unique perspective and market research separately before trying to integrate them (ask: What are customers/competitors doing wrong? What are common myths in the industry?)
2. Find the bridges: Look for places where your distinctive approach naturally solves problems the market already recognizes.
3. Test the translation: See if you can express your unique approach in terms the market already uses, without diluting what makes you different.
4. Refine through dialogue: Use customer conversations to iterate on how you express your POV, paying attention to which aspects resonate.

The most effective messaging doesn't compromise between founder vision and market reality—it finds the powerful intersection between them.

I'd love to hear where your company falls on this matrix. Are you struggling with too much internal perspective? Have you drifted into commodity territory? Or have you found that sweet spot?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.

DISCOVERY

Research, getting lost in the crowd and AI for copy ✨

I just had the pleasure of joining Mark Evans on the Marketing Spark podcast to discuss how B2B SaaS companies can craft messaging that truly resonates and converts.

On this episode, I break down the challenges even passionate founders face with messaging (hint: it's not lack of enthusiasm!) and share why 70% of effective messaging work happens beneath the surface during research.

We explore:

• Why so many companies fall into the trap of sounding exactly like their competitors
• My three-layer research approach to understand what users say, what they do, and why they act
• How to reduce "switching anxiety" for potential customers
• The balance between AI tools and human creativity in copyrighting

If you're struggling with message-market fit or trying to stand out in a crowded marketplace, this is for you. Listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or Youtube.

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Sales, messaging and UX 🧪

I also had a great chat with Nicholas Flamini on the Sales Architecture podcast recently!

We explored my journey from software engineering to conversion copywriting and unpacked how the technical and psychological sides of messaging work together.

What I loved about our conversation was connecting the dots between positioning, narrative, and user experience - showing how these elements create messaging that actually converts.

If you're interested in seeing how these concepts work from different angles, both conversations offer complementary perspectives on finding that elusive message-market fit.

RESONANCE

Sam Carpenter, Work the System

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Chris

Chris Silvestri Founder & conversion alchemist

🙌🏻 Let’s be friends (unless you’re a stalker)​

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