Case study: CI Precision
Capturing the real business value of a growing range of precision machines and niche software, for a demanding, specialised audience.
Background
CI Precision creates specialised weighing machines and software that help pharmaceutical companies avoid the high cost of manufacturing errors. Their value depends on subtle technical strengths that very different buyers need to understand. I was first recommended to them when they needed help rebuilding their website around customer outcomes rather than product features. We have continued to work together over several years to develop clear, persuasive propositions for their niche dispensary software and new generations of precision machines.
Focusing on customer needs and product differentiation
The first step was working with their salespeople and consultants to draw out the challenges that people face within pharmaceutical companies. We considered different roles across R&D, manufacturing and quality control.
We also looked at the unique capabilities of the products, as well as the relative strengths and weaknesses of their competitors. Together we defined the niches in which CI Precision has the greatest advantage and drew out the best ways to communicate the benefits of their products.
Within the business there were numerous ideas about how the website might look. I brought these together by focusing on outcomes: what visitors would want from the experience and what the business wanted to achieve with each visit.
This allowed us to consider different paths through the website, as well as the content, link structures and calls to action that would drive them.
By creating detailed content plans, I gave their team a chance to check the key messages and technical details across each section of each page as early in the process as possible. This enabled the web developers to progress with confidence and allowed me to write texts and enter them into the website for review without delaying the go-live.
Structuring the website around outcomes
Your marketing really captures the value of our precision machines and software for a specialised and demanding audience.
Phillip Ruda, Director of Sales, CI Precision
A partnership that grew with the business
With ambitious international sales targets to meet, CI Precision brought in a specialist agency to drive their growth. They were clear, though, that they wanted me to continue drawing out the propositions and core messaging, which were key to their credibility in this very technical market. So while the agency handled ongoing campaigns, I remained the person who got to the heart of each new product and defined how its value would be expressed.
This arrangement works because the agency’s expertise in creating and running campaigns is complemented by something they are not set up to provide: my ability to properly understand technical products and draw out the value they deliver over and above the competitors.
Much of the work since has been creating propositions for new and developing products. Their dispensary software is a good example: a niche product in a world where buyers increasingly expect a single vendor to cover everything. I drew out exactly which problems it solves, why it outperforms the alternatives, how it is designed to integrate with a customer’s wider systems, and, importantly, how a buyer can justify the investment to their own management despite a single-vendor strategy.
For each new product, I work out the core messaging first, then support its route to market, sometimes writing articles, web content or sales materials, sometimes working alongside their agency, but always starting from a clear, well-defined proposition.
Drawing out the value of new products
The product literature, articles and web pages you have written have been key in our lead generation and sales campaigns.
Phillip Ruda, Director of Sales, CI Precision
A partnership built on understanding
What CI Precision valued from the start, and what has kept us working together ever since, is that I get to the heart of complex products quickly and see them from the customer’s point of view. They bring deep knowledge of their technology and their markets; I bring the ability to turn that into clear, compelling marketing, and the outside perspective to see what matters most to their customers.
Over the years I have brought a valued perspective to their marketing decisions, from launching new products to overhauling the website. I am as comfortable shaping marketing propositions as I am writing the core content that brings them to life, making sure the thinking and the words work together. As they continue to innovate, our partnership means the true value of every new product shines through.
Next steps
If you’d like to discuss how we could help with your marketing, please get in touch.
More customer case studies
Looking for more ideas or inspiration? Here is a selection of my customer case studies from other software, engineering and tech businesses:
Rugosus
Helping a cyber security specialist find the sharp focus and strategic marketing foundations that gave them the confidence to grow. Clear positioning, a new website and a pragmatic marketing plan they can carry out themselves.
Sweetfish
Getting to the heart of what makes a new niche software product compelling, clarifying the proposition and creating the core content to support direct sales and partners internationally.
JEM Software
Drawing out the real strengths of an established software platform and identifying new target markets. Getting the proposition spot-on before investing in a lead generation campaign.