Why I Ditched the $15K Messaging Framework Tool

"Our messaging is inconsistent across channels," my CMO said. "Sales says one thing, marketing says another, product says something else entirely. We need a single source of truth."

I nodded. This was a real problem. I'd created messaging frameworks in Google Docs, but they lived there—disconnected from where people actually worked.

"What if we got a messaging framework platform?" she asked. "Something that enforces consistency and makes messaging accessible everywhere?"

That sounded promising. I evaluated three messaging framework platforms over 4 weeks.

Platform A ($18K): Comprehensive messaging management with templates, versioning, distribution Platform B ($15K): Focused on messaging hierarchy with Salesforce integration Platform C ($12K): Simpler tool, less features, faster setup

I chose Platform B for $15,000 annually.

Three months later, I cancelled it and went back to Google Docs.

The platform had every feature I thought I needed. It just made messaging more complicated instead of simpler.

The Promise: Centralized Messaging Management

Platform B's demo showed exactly what I wanted:

Problem: Messaging scattered across documents Solution: "Single source of truth for all messaging, accessible everywhere"

Problem: Inconsistent positioning Solution: "Enforce messaging hierarchy, ensure consistency"

Problem: Sales using outdated messaging Solution: "Auto-sync to Salesforce, sales always sees latest messaging"

Problem: Time-consuming updates Solution: "Update once, changes propagate everywhere"

Cost: $15,000 annually

ROI pitch: Save 10+ hours weekly on messaging management and updates

I signed the contract.

Month 1: The Setup Nightmare

The platform's onboarding doc said "30-minute setup."

Actual setup time: 18 hours over 2 weeks

Why it took so long:

Week 1: Building the messaging hierarchy (8 hours)

The platform required setting up a complete messaging hierarchy before you could do anything:

1. Company positioning statement (Level 1)
2. Value propositions (Level 2)
3. Pillars (Level 3)
4. Product messaging (Level 4)
5. Feature messaging (Level 5)
6. Use case messaging (Level 6)

This 6-level hierarchy was "best practice for enterprise messaging architecture."

My Google Doc had 3 levels:

• Positioning
• Key messages (5 bullet points)
• Product-specific talking points

To use the platform, I had to expand my simple 3-level framework into their complex 6-level structure.

I spent 8 hours:

• Breaking "key messages" into "pillars" and "value propositions"
• Creating "use case messaging" layer that didn't exist before
• Defining relationships between levels
• Learning their terminology (what's the difference between a pillar and a value prop?)

Week 2: Importing content (6 hours)

Once the hierarchy was set up, I imported our existing messaging.

Problems:

• Had to manually copy-paste into each field (no bulk import)
• Character limits on fields (positioning statement max 250 characters—mine was 320)
• Required fields I didn't have content for
• Had to rewrite messaging to fit their structure

After 6 hours, I had our messaging in the platform.

Week 2: Configuring integrations (4 hours)

Set up Salesforce integration:

• Connected accounts (30 min)
• Mapped fields (2 hours—their fields didn't match our Salesforce setup)
• Tested sync (90 min of troubleshooting)

Total setup: 18 hours (vs. promised "30 minutes")

Month 2: The Complexity Tax

With messaging in the platform, I started using it daily.

Scenario: Minor messaging update

Competitor launched new feature, needed to update competitive positioning.

Old workflow (Google Doc):

1. Open doc (5 seconds)
2. Update positioning bullet (2 minutes)
3. Notify sales in Slack (1 minute) Total: 3 minutes

New workflow (Platform B):

1. Log into platform (20 seconds—had to remember yet another password)
2. Navigate to positioning section (30 seconds)
3. Click edit (10 seconds)
4. Update Level 1 positioning (2 minutes)
5. Update Level 3 pillar that references positioning (5 minutes—had to find which pillar)
6. Update Level 5 feature messaging affected by change (8 minutes—had to update 3 features)
7. Publish changes (20 seconds)
8. Wait for Salesforce sync (5 minutes)
9. Verify sync worked (3 minutes—had to check Salesforce)
10. Notify sales anyway in Slack (1 minute—sync didn't notify them)

Total: 25 minutes

The platform made simple updates 8x slower because changes had to cascade through 6 hierarchy levels.

Month 2: The Distribution Illusion

The platform's biggest promise was "automatic distribution" to sales via Salesforce integration.

The promise: Update messaging once, sales sees it everywhere they work.

The reality:

The Salesforce integration pushed messaging to custom fields in Salesforce.

But sales didn't look at custom fields during calls. They looked at:

• Battle cards (stored in Highspot)
• Sales decks (stored in Google Slides)
• Email templates (stored in Outreach)
• Quick reference docs (stored in Google Drive)

The platform "distributed" messaging to Salesforce. But sales didn't work in those Salesforce fields.

I still had to manually update:

• Battle cards in Highspot
• Sales decks in Google Slides
• Email templates in Outreach
• Quick reference docs in Drive

The platform's "automatic distribution" didn't actually reach where sales consumed messaging.

Month 3: The Adoption Problem

I wasn't the only one who found the platform complicated.

I asked sales to use it for messaging reference:

Rep 1: "It's too complicated. I can't find what I need quickly. Can you just send me the one-pager?"

Rep 2: "I tried using it but the hierarchy is confusing. Which level has the elevator pitch?"

Rep 3: "It takes too long to navigate. I'll just ask you in Slack."

Rep 4: "The Salesforce fields show messaging but it's not formatted for calls. I need quick talking points, not paragraph descriptions."

Nobody was using it except me.

Sales wanted simple reference docs they could scan in 30 seconds. The platform gave them comprehensive messaging hierarchies they'd study for 10 minutes.

Marketing team tried using it:

Demand gen: "I need messaging for an email campaign. Do I use Level 3 or Level 5 messaging?"

Content: "I'm writing a blog post. Should I pull from value propositions or use case messaging?"

Everyone kept coming to me to interpret the platform's messaging instead of using it directly.

The Real Costs

After 3 months, I calculated actual costs:

Platform B investment:

• License: $15,000/year
• Setup time: 18 hours × $80/hr = $1,440
• Time managing complex hierarchy: 6 hrs/week × 12 weeks × $80/hr = $5,760
• Time training team: 8 hours × $80/hr = $640
• Total 3-month cost: $4,590 + $3,750 license = $8,340

What we got:

• Messaging in complex 6-level hierarchy nobody used
• Salesforce integration nobody looked at
• 8x slower updates
• Team still coming to me for messaging instead of self-serving from platform

Google Docs approach:

• License: $0 (had Google Workspace)
• Time managing simple doc: 1 hr/week × 12 weeks × $80/hr = $960
• Time sharing and updating: Built into workflow
• Total 3-month cost: $960

What we got:

• Simple messaging doc everyone could access
• Fast updates (3 minutes)
• Team could find what they needed
• Still manual distribution, but that was fast anyway

The platform cost 8.5x more and made messaging harder to use.

Why I Cancelled

At the renewal decision point, I asked: "What problem does this platform actually solve?"

Problems it solved:

• Centralized storage (Google Docs also did this)
• Version control (Google Docs also did this)
• Salesforce integration (but sales didn't use those fields)

Problems it created:

• Over-complicated simple messaging
• Slower updates (8x slower)
• Adoption barrier (nobody wanted to learn complex hierarchy)
• Expensive ($15K vs. $0)

Problems it didn't solve:

• Actual distribution to where sales worked (still manual)
• Making messaging easier to find (actually harder)
• Enforcing consistency (people bypassed platform and asked me directly)

I cancelled the platform and migrated back to Google Docs.

New workflow:

1. Simple 3-level messaging framework in Google Doc
2. Shared with sales, marketing, product
3. Updated as needed (3-minute edits)
4. Distributed to battle cards, decks, templates manually (but this was fast)

Sales feedback after going back:

"Thank you for simplifying this. The platform was way too complicated."

"I can actually find what I need now."

"Just keep the one-page messaging doc. That's all I need."

What I Should Have Done Differently

Looking back, here's what I'd change:

Mistake 1: Assuming more structure = better messaging

The 6-level hierarchy seemed "professional" and "comprehensive."

Reality: Sales needed 5 bullet points they could remember, not 6 levels they'd have to navigate.

Mistake 2: Confusing distribution with access

The platform "distributed" to Salesforce. But distribution means delivering to where people actually work.

Sales worked in battle cards and decks, not Salesforce fields.

Mistake 3: Optimizing for my workflow instead of consumer workflow

The platform made it easier for me to organize messaging comprehensively.

But sales didn't need comprehensive organization. They needed fast access to simple talking points.

The Alternative: Integrated Platforms

After cancelling the standalone messaging tool, I recognized that integrated PMM platforms offer a different approach by connecting messaging to actual sales workflow.

The key difference:

Standalone messaging platform:

• Comprehensive messaging hierarchy
• Centralized storage
• "Distribution" to Salesforce fields
• Sales has to come to platform to find messaging

Integrated approach:

• Simple messaging framework
• Connected to battle cards, enablement, launches
• Distribution to tools sales actually uses (Slack, decks, emails)
• Sales gets messaging where they already work

For teams seeking simpler alternatives, platforms like Segment8 show how messaging can auto-populate battle cards and sales materials in integrated systems, eliminating manual distribution work.

Example workflow:

1. Update competitive positioning (3 min)
2. Battle cards auto-update with new positioning (automatic)
3. Sales enablement materials auto-update (automatic)
4. Sales gets notified in Slack with summary (automatic)

This solves actual distribution by pushing messaging to where sales consumes it, not to a separate platform they'd have to check.

The Uncomfortable Truth

After spending $15K on a messaging framework platform, here's what I learned:

Most teams don't need specialized messaging management platforms. They need simple messaging documents connected to actual workflow.

The problem isn't storing messaging. Google Docs does that fine.

The problem isn't version control. Google Docs does that fine too.

The real problem is: Getting messaging to where people actually use it (battle cards, sales decks, email templates, Slack).

Standalone messaging platforms optimize for comprehensive storage. What teams need is simple messaging with actual distribution to workflow.

That's why I went back to Google Docs. Not because the platform wasn't sophisticated—it was incredibly sophisticated. But it made simple messaging complicated instead of making complicated distribution simple.

The right tool solves your actual problem. For most teams, the problem isn't messaging storage—it's messaging distribution and adoption.