You spent all that time and money creating a powerful marketing messaging framework, marketing collateral and sales enablement content, and you can’t wait to see how they move the needle for your sales team.

After a satisfying launch, you sit back and wait for leads and closed-wons to come rolling in. But after a few months of radio silence, you swallow your pride and check in with sales:

“Hey there. Just wanted to see if you’re hearing any feedback from prospects on the new collateral…”

After an awkward and uncommonly long wait, the reply arrives:

“Thanks for checking in. It looks great, but we’re not really using it.”

Sound familiar? It’s an all-too-common problem for revenue teams in almost every industry. Fortunately, your Emissaries can help with your marketing messaging framework.

From DOA to A-OK

There’s often a pretty wide gap between the info prospects actually need and what marketing thinks they need. That’s because marketing typically bases the collateral they create off of user personas that combine typical prospect behaviors with a variety of data points from a range of sources. And while personas are cornerstones of any marketing operation, there’s something even better than a persona: a person.

That’s because your sellers’ prospects are individuals with individual needs, and while your personas are probably pretty accurate, they’re also, by definition, generic. They can’t account for internal struggles, complex rules, and regulations, or emerging needs unique to your prospects’ organizations. But yet another actual person can—your Emissary.

Recently, an IT vendor came to Emissary for help penetrating their top accounts. Chief among them was a large telecom provider. The vendor’s ABM team wanted to plan a campaign to raise awareness and interest within the prospect organization, so we paired them with an Emissary who had insider knowledge to help them succeed.

The value of that pairing was obvious almost immediately. Right away, our Emissary was able to prevent them from launching a campaign that would have been completely dead in the water.

How? The vendor’s ABM campaign centered on targeted ads that drove users to a landing page. There, they were prompted to start a free trial. But there was an unforeseen kink in this plan: If any of the telecom’s employees actually started the trial, they’d likely have been fired, since starting the trial would have violated regulations governing data security. Oops.

That’s something the sellers couldn’t have known otherwise. Fortunately, thank to their Emissary’s guidance, they refocused their ABM efforts and landed on a winning strategy—all thanks to real insights from an actual person.

Messaging that Misses the Mark

Even the most seasoned marketers sometimes shoot wide of the mark when it comes reaching their target audience. That’s because market research, digital tools, and all the data-driven insights your budget can only get you so close to the target. Ultimately, there’s nothing quite like vetting your messaging with a real decision-maker—which is exactly what a leading software development firm recently did.

The firm was struggling with a not-so-great trickle of inbound leads, despite having a slick website and a polished digital presence. To address the problem—and turn that trickle into a torrent—they came to Emissary for expert advice on their messaging.

Their Emissary, a veteran CMO/CDO, knew more than a thing or two about messaging that resonates with enterprise buyers. So he conducted a thorough audit of the firm’s site, visuals, and the language they were using. While there was nothing definitively “wrong” with their site, there was a lot of room for nuanced improvement.

Their Emissary provided direct, actionable feedback, suggesting key changes to everything from their homepage to their “About Us” page, their contact form (spoiler: he’s not a fan of contact forms), and more. This is exactly the kind of intel a marketing team can use to improve messaging, and see an impact, quickly. Now, the firm is looking forward to a much-improved inbound game in the near future.

Need Help Developing a Marketing Messaging Framework?

Selling to enterprise and having the right marketing messaging framework can be a struggle. Emissary’s advisor network can help you gain valuable insights into your target accounts and develop the right strategy. Contact us today to get started or call us at (646) 776-0510 to discuss your business needs.

Your Emissaries can help at every stage of the sales and marketing process. From refining your messaging to optimizing your ABM campaigns all the way through navigating procurement, these expert partners have the experience, access, and insight you need to hit your numbers—this quarter and next. No matter what obstacle your team is facing, our Emissaries are here to help.