How Product Marketers Turn Insight into Strategy with 4 Points Strategy Framework
The 4 Points Strategy Framework is your exit ramp from the 'feature-factory' hellscape. It stops you from hiding behind 40-slide decks and forces you to find the one sharp truth that actually makes a human being care. If you can't articulate why your product matters in four boxes, you don't have a strategy; you have a expensive hobby.
The TL;DR
Stop acting like a feature-list stenographer. Use this framework to kill the fluff, find the actual human friction, and build a strategy that isn't just a collection of hopeful adjectives.
Why This Stops Your PMM Strategy From Being Total Garbage
Product marketing is plagued by the 'curse of knowledge.' You know too much about the product and too little about why people actually buy it. This framework fixes that by being intentionally brutal.
PROBLEM
Not 'low efficiency.' That's a corporate hallucination. Is the user scared of looking dumb in front of their boss? Are they tired of manual data entry that eats their lunch break? Find the friction that makes them swear at their screen. No friction, no sale.
INSIGHT
This is the Insight. It’s the secret reason they do things the hard way. Maybe they keep using spreadsheets because it makes them feel indispensable. If your insight doesn't make you feel like you're eavesdropping on a therapy session, it’s just a data point.
ADVANTAGE
Be honest. Is your product actually faster, or just differently colored? Your advantage must be the specific tool that kills the Problem. If you say 'our people,' I'm closing the tab. Give me a hard, technical, or structural edge.
STRATEGY
This is the Strategy. It’s the 'how.' It’s a single, aggressive sentence that connects the mess (Problem) to the secret (Insight) using your weapon (Advantage). If it sounds like a slogan, it's wrong. It should sound like a battle plan.
PROBLEM
Not 'low efficiency.' That's a corporate hallucination. Is the user scared of looking dumb in front of their boss? Are they tired of manual data entry that eats their lunch break? Find the friction that makes them swear at their screen. No friction, no sale.
INSIGHT
This is the Insight. It’s the secret reason they do things the hard way. Maybe they keep using spreadsheets because it makes them feel indispensable. If your insight doesn't make you feel like you're eavesdropping on a therapy session, it’s just a data point.
ADVANTAGE
Be honest. Is your product actually faster, or just differently colored? Your advantage must be the specific tool that kills the Problem. If you say 'our people,' I'm closing the tab. Give me a hard, technical, or structural edge.
STRATEGY
This is the Strategy. It’s the 'how.' It’s a single, aggressive sentence that connects the mess (Problem) to the secret (Insight) using your weapon (Advantage). If it sounds like a slogan, it's wrong. It should sound like a battle plan.
Ways Product Marketers Usually Screw This Up
(And why your GTM plan will fail)
- ×Defining the 'Problem' as 'they don't have our software yet' (narcissistic and lazy)
- ×Confusing a 'Feature' with an 'Advantage' (a feature is what it is; an advantage is why it wins)
- ×Writing 'Insights' that are just boring demographic facts like 'they are aged 25-40'
- ×Trying to solve five different problems with one strategy (you'll solve zero)
- ×Using 'Strategy' to list five different marketing tactics like 'run LinkedIn ads'
- ×Ignoring the competitive reality because your internal product roadmap is 'so exciting'
- ×Making the Strategy so vague that it could apply to your competitor's product too
- ×Refusing to pick a side because you're afraid of alienating a tiny segment of users
Strategy is about sacrifice. If you aren't willing to say 'we are NOT for these people,' you don't have a strategy.
Real Examples
Enterprise AI Tooling
Selling AI coding assistants to cynical engineering managers.
PROBLEM
Managers are terrified that AI-generated code is a ticking time bomb of technical debt.
INSIGHT
They don't actually care about developer 'velocity' as much as they care about not being the one blamed for a massive security breach.
ADVANTAGE
An 'Audit-First' architecture that logs every AI suggestion back to a verified security protocol.
STRATEGY
Position the tool as the 'Insurance Policy for AI' rather than a 'Coding Accelerator.'
PROBLEM
Managers are terrified that AI-generated code is a ticking time bomb of technical debt.
INSIGHT
They don't actually care about developer 'velocity' as much as they care about not being the one blamed for a massive security breach.
ADVANTAGE
An 'Audit-First' architecture that logs every AI suggestion back to a verified security protocol.
STRATEGY
Position the tool as the 'Insurance Policy for AI' rather than a 'Coding Accelerator.'
B2B HR Tech
Launching a new performance review platform in a crowded market.
PROBLEM
Employees and managers both view performance reviews as a performative, soul-sucking waste of time.
INSIGHT
People don't want 'feedback'; they want a paper trail that justifies their next raise or promotion with zero effort.
ADVANTAGE
A 'Passive Capture' system that builds the review automatically from Slack and Jira activity.
STRATEGY
Kill the 'Review' entirely and replace it with an 'Automated Career Receipt.'
PROBLEM
Employees and managers both view performance reviews as a performative, soul-sucking waste of time.
INSIGHT
People don't want 'feedback'; they want a paper trail that justifies their next raise or promotion with zero effort.
ADVANTAGE
A 'Passive Capture' system that builds the review automatically from Slack and Jira activity.
STRATEGY
Kill the 'Review' entirely and replace it with an 'Automated Career Receipt.'
Cybersecurity for SMBs
Selling complex security suites to small business owners who aren't tech-savvy.
PROBLEM
Owners feel like security is a bottomless money pit they don't understand until something breaks.
INSIGHT
They don't want to be 'secure'; they want to stop feeling like an idiot when their IT consultant talks to them.
ADVANTAGE
A 'Single-Score' dashboard that translates 500 threats into one 'Business Health' number.
STRATEGY
Translate 'Security' into 'Business Continuity' for people who don't speak 'Vulnerability Management.'
PROBLEM
Owners feel like security is a bottomless money pit they don't understand until something breaks.
INSIGHT
They don't want to be 'secure'; they want to stop feeling like an idiot when their IT consultant talks to them.
ADVANTAGE
A 'Single-Score' dashboard that translates 500 threats into one 'Business Health' number.
STRATEGY
Translate 'Security' into 'Business Continuity' for people who don't speak 'Vulnerability Management.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have two Problems if we have two different buyer personas?
No. Pick the one that’s the biggest barrier to entry. If you try to solve both, your messaging will be a lukewarm soup that tastes like nothing.
What if my product literally has no Advantage over the market leader?
Then you're doomed. Or, more likely, you're just not looking hard enough. Your advantage might be 'we're the only ones who don't require a 12-month contract.' That's a real advantage. Use it.
Is the 'Insight' the same as a 'Customer Quote'?
Rarely. Customers usually lie or don't know why they do things. The insight is what you realize *after* you hear the quote and see the contradictory behavior.
How do I know if my Strategy is 'sharp' enough?
If your main competitor could use the same sentence to describe their business, your strategy is as sharp as a marshmallow. Throw it out and start over.
Why shouldn't I include my marketing tactics in the Strategy box?
Because tactics are 'how you execute' and strategy is 'how you win.' If you confuse the two, you'll spend your whole budget running in the wrong direction very efficiently.
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