Turning data centers into a competitive advantage.
Re-positioning a brand to be more competitive.
Services
- Brand Strategy
- Brand Voice
- Positioning
- Messaging Platform
In a category filled with hype and overpromises, Coho Data was being heavily out-marketed by its competitors.
The founders had a compelling vision—to rewrite the rules of storage—but it was ahead of both the market and its current product offering. They were hungry to find the right positioning and messaging that would enable buyers to appreciate their long-term vision while at the same time better articulate today’s value proposition.
Along with a new brand strategy, Coho Data also needed to narrow its focus on who they were selling to. Capturing the essence of the brand meant reframing Coho Data’s technological innovation with a more strategic C-suite point of view. As part of this shift, we aligned the leadership team around a new brand narrative, buyer personas, positioning, and messaging. It was then easier to evaluate their go-to-market strategy and shift to a C-suite sales strategy to drive the business forward.
What We Learned Along the Way
Challenge the status quo.
In a crowded and over-hyped category, whatever you do, don’t join in. Find meaningful and compelling ways to stand out. Disrupt the status quo. Empower prospects to see your brand’s difference(s) as more meaningful, timely, and relevant. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain to capture hearts and minds.
Lead with “why,” not “what.”
As Simon Sinek says “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you matter.” We couldn’t agree more. Knowing why a brand truly matters strengthens the connection it has with people and provides meaningful clarity. Of course, there is still a place for what you do—your products and innovations can be used as proof points for why you matter, but never the core reason for why you matter.
Don’t leave your sales team hanging.
When sales leadership has a beef, it is worth listening to. They have valuable face time with prospects and customers—and a true understanding of what the market is looking for, willing to buy, and what is needed to close a deal. Creating brand communications without involving your sales team would just be shooting in the dark. Include them on the team, and reap the rewards.
Andy Warfield , CTOEmotive Brand put an enormous amount of effort into understanding both our business and the market that we sell in. They worked tightly with our team to hone in on challenges that we were having, and were absolutely instrumental in helping to align and focus our sales and marketing efforts.”
Experience that works
Get smart, together.
The experience of a workshop in which everyone participates, and no one sits back, is transformative and unifying. We created a workshop where the team mapped the key forces shaping the data storage industry, allowing everyone to visualize the current situation, reveal challenges, and explore new opportunities.
Tap the experts.
Getting messaging right is hard work, especially when you have complicated buying personas. We recruited cross-functional teams to get a better analysis of Coho Data’s sales targets. The result? Sharp and actionable persona maps. It’s easier to build powerful messages when you have a crystal clear understanding of what truly matters to your target audience.
Set a vision. Stay grounded.
Spending too much time promoting what the future will offer undermines today’s marketing and sales efforts. We helped the team keep customers’ current needs, challenges, and pain points front of mind. A strong strategy is meaningful to today’s prospects and big enough to support the founders’ long-term vision.
Make it simple.
Complex technology needs a simple way to explain its benefits. Things that are difficult to describe are hard to understand. And things that are hard to understand typically face two outcomes: they are either ignored or devalued. We were able to frame Coho Data’s positioning within a business context while keeping the technological features as proof points.
Recent Work
Bringing a people-centered brand into a digital-first, product-led future.
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