Case study: JEM Software

Getting the marketing proposition sharp and on-target, to remove the guesswork from lead generation.

Background

JEM develops specialised software for configuring, pricing and quoting complex technology solutions. They were ready to invest in telesales and lead generation, but knew that without a sharp proposition and a well-defined audience, any campaign would be scattergun. So we began by drawing out the real value of their product and the customers it was right for, expressing it so clearly that the founder remarked he had never heard their product explained so well. That clarity gave their telesales effort the focused audience and compelling message that it had been missing.

Creating a sharper customer focus

The directors had spoken to telesales companies but were concerned that they didn’t understand the product’s capabilities well enough to seek out new customers and sell effectively.

We had previously connected on LinkedIn and they contacted me to ask for help with their strategic marketing focus and messaging.

The first step was to understand their customers’ business challenges and why they would chose JEM over competing ERP and CRM packages. I spoke to customers to gather their perspectives and to understand their buying journey, from first awareness through to selecting JEM.

Together we drew out the common themes from these conversations and established the defining characteristics of their ideal customers. I helped them to identify specific niches to target, eliminating any where there were particularly well-embedded competitor products.

As well as considering target companies, we spent time understanding the job roles, aspirations and working styles of their target customers. I prioritised the most compelling challenges that those people were likely to be facing and created marketing messages that matched product capabilities to those needs, while differentiating JEM from alternative solutions.

I prepared a clear and succinct document of the marketing propositions, setting out the target audiences, their needs, the solution and benefits. This provides an effective briefing for any lead generation partner or salespeople.

Developing clear, persuasive marketing messages

I have never heard our product and its benefits explained so clearly
James McArthur, Managing Director, JEM/Stratford Consulting

Planning a lead generation campaign

With the proposition and target audiences set out clearly, they asked me to lead the briefing meeting with their telesales agency.

Because I had defined the audience and the messaging so clearly, the telesales team had something far more effective to work with than a generic script and a broad list. They knew exactly who to approach, why those people would care, and how to open a conversation that resonated. Without that foundation, the campaign would have been scattergun: a poorly defined audience reached with weak messages, taking longer to deliver far less.

The directors didn’t want to limit their website to just those market segments which they were targeting in the campaign, so I created a dedicated landing page which focused specifically on that market. I wrote additional content for the homepage which positioned this and their more established sales messages appropriately.

For the salepeople to follow-up opportunities, I created a two-page solution overview, which captured the challenge and solution in a clear and engaging way.

As it became clear that the campaign was also generating a substantial number of longer-term prospects, I wrote a series of follow-up emails that speak directly to the different problems and opportunities that JEM addresses.

Supporting sales materials and web content

By the time we finished, JEM had something they had never had before: a clear, compelling articulation of what their software does, who it is for, and why those customers choose it over the alternatives. That clarity gave them the confidence to invest in lead generation, knowing their effort and budget were aimed at the right people with the right message, rather than spent on guesswork.

The proposition I created continues to serve them as a foundation: a briefing any salesperson or lead generation partner can pick up and use, and a clear, consistent story for taking JEM to market.