“We have a limited budget,” echoes every B2B SaaS marketing leader we talk to today.
The pressure to maximize capital efficiency in marketing is palpable, with everyone eyeing potential cuts. But the solution isn’t so black and white.
Many tactics still hold value but lose their edge year by year.
Take search engine optimization (SEO) for example. With search results being overshadowed by AI snippets and people increasingly turning to peers and communities for recommendations, lead numbers dwindle annually.
And what about email marketing? Once the cornerstone of short-term lead generation, it now struggles as inboxes overflow and non-essential emails get ruthlessly deleted.
The chance that your message will grab attention is slim. Yet, it’s not because these tactics have failed. The harsh truth is, if your message doesn’t immediately address a pressing problem, it will be overlooked.
Just as selling becomes tougher in a climate demanding capital efficiency, so goes marketing.
Do you have 27 seconds?
The inbound model created by HubSpot was a game-changer, built on generating killer content and spreading it via email and keyword optimization on Google.
This strategy thrived when everyone wasn’t yet overwhelmed by a sea of content, inboxes weren't flooded daily with sales pitches, and most product searches began on Google.
But that was then. Over the last decade, everything has changed.
Buyers are fed up with overstuffed inboxes and constant interruptions from yet another annoying BDR outreach. “Do you have 27 seconds?”
I can’t recall the last decent cold call pitch I received.
Sadly, we’ve trained buyers to ignore and delete our outreach.
Most SaaS marketers and sellers still cling to this old framework—churning out content, blasting it out, and nurturing the clicks.
Sure, it can still work to some extent, especially when targeting higher-level titles, but only if the message is dead-on relevant.
Here’s the harsh reality: it will only work if your message hits a problem they’re facing right now.
The landscape has shifted dramatically, and it’s time to adjust our approach to match these new realities.
When you assume…
Inefficiency in the entire Go-to-market motion boils down to inadequate messaging, weak offers (CTAs), and poor targeting.
And when it comes to messaging, SaaS companies make all kinds of mistakes (and we know because we review hundreds of them every year). For example:
- They don’t make a compelling argument to change (descriptive, but not impactful)
- The language is vague and wishy-washy
- They make bold claims no one believes (First ever, #1, the only XYZ, etc.)
- They try to speak to too many audiences at once
- They use WAY too much marketing jargon (enterprise-wide automation that will supercharge your workflows)
- They push features and benefits before getting agreement on a problem worth solving in the first place.
The root cause may be that most marketers aren’t versed in consultative sales processes. And, the inbound taught some bad habits such as:
- Publishing a volume of content will attract enough qualified buyers.
- All salespeople need to book more appointments is brand awareness.
For today’s buyer, traditional messaging that pushes products based on their features and benefits feels pushy and inauthentic.
And if you haven't done the hard work of interviewing customers and digging for the real reasons they bought from you, the odds of “assuming” your way to the perfect message are slim.
Notice I said, “dig.”
That’s because people buy emotionally and justify rationally. So when you ask them why they bought from you, you’re most likely hearing the rational justifications.
And they likely don’t know the emotional reasons either–which is why you have to dig.
In the book Demand-Side Sales 101, author Bob Moesta talks about how in B2B, everyone is trying to make progress on something and hits a barrier.
Instead, Moesta advocates for a demand-side approach, where the goal is to help customers make progress in their lives by solving their problems.
To achieve this, Moesta recommends conducting deep, empathetic customer interviews to uncover the true motivations and struggles that drive their purchasing decisions. This involves:
Identifying Struggling Moments: Look for the specific moments when customers experience problems or discomfort that push them to seek a solution. Understanding these moments helps in framing the context of their needs.
Understanding Forces of Progress: Recognize the forces that drive customers toward a new solution, including the push of their current situation, the pull of a new solution, the anxiety of change, and the habits of the present. This framework helps in understanding the dynamics that influence their decision-making.
Creating Customer Empathy: Approach interviews with genuine curiosity about the customer’s journey. Ask open-ended questions to uncover the emotional and practical aspects of their struggles and the progress they seek.
Mapping the Customer Timeline: Understand the stages customers go through, from the first thought of having a problem, through passive and active looking for solutions, to deciding, onboarding, and ongoing use. Each stage offers insights into how they perceive value and make decisions.
By focusing on these areas, you can reframe your messaging and sales strategy to align with the customer’s needs, ultimately making your messaging more effective and capital-efficient.
This approach transforms sales from a pushy process into a helpful, customer-centric experience, and it’s where we start the majority of our client engagements.
Why problem agreement is half the battle
Once you uncover the common struggles holding your clients back, you can craft and test messaging.
Cost-effective ways of doing that include developing a blog or social post around the narrative with a headline that provides lead intelligence and see if it gets engagement.
When you attract prospects who agree this problem is worth solving, you’ve already won half the battle.
From there, it’s a cinch to guide them down the path you want.
Start by highlighting the flaws in how companies usually tackle this issue, then hit them with the reframe.
Honestly, this is the best way we’ve found to use content and storytelling to shake prospects out of their status quo.
After all, if they agree the problem is worth solving, you’re less likely to lose to “no decision.”
For a great example of this in action, check out this video from TaylorMade.
Nailing the Narrative: Your Competitive Edge
If your marketing messages aren't stopping readers in their tracks, it's time for a fresh start.
Pinpoint the struggling moments your prospects face, and you’ll increase your chances of hitting the bullseye tenfold. Not only will you connect more effectively, but you'll also create a ready-made narrative for your content strategy moving forward.
The best part?
Execute this well, and you'll lock out your competition as prospects align with your problem-solving methods.
To kickstart your messaging transformation, we offer a free messaging review. We'll dissect your current strategies using this exact framework and suggest actionable changes that deliver immediate impact.
