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Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
Actionable
Takeaways
Create Comprehensive Messaging Guidelines Before Rolling Out New Positioning:
Ben developed a detailed messaging guidelines document spanning multiple pages that included core positioning statements, messaging pillars, target persona variations, and explicit do's and don'ts. This became the single source of truth for sales teams, customer-facing employees, and all marketing materials. The guidelines prevented the common problem of teams mixing old and new messaging by providing specific alternatives to legacy language.
Execute Strategic Platform Shifts Using the Tesla Analogy:
Instead of talking about chip specifications and technical features, Ben repositioned Axiado's messaging to focus on platform capabilities and business outcomes. He uses Tesla's approach as a framework - Tesla doesn't sell or market their self-driving AI chip, they market autonomous driving capabilities. This shift from "what it is" to "what it enables" resonates more effectively with C-level buyers who care about business impact over technical specs.
Structure Small Teams for Maximum Impact Across Multiple Functions:
Ben's four-person team covers technical marketing, graphic design, social media/content, and events/product management. Having an in-house graphic designer ensures consistent, professional presentation across all touchpoints. The technical marketing manager handles customer presentations and product briefs, bridging the gap between complex technology and customer needs. This structure maximizes output while maintaining quality and consistency.
Prioritize Depth Over Volume in Technical Content Marketing:
Ben advocates for creating substantial white papers and thought leadership pieces that can be repurposed across multiple channels rather than churning out daily social posts. This approach prevents audience fatigue while building genuine authority. Technical buyers prefer in-depth, accurate content they can trust over frequent but shallow updates. Quality content creates lasting engagement and positions the company as a trusted advisor.
Leverage Multiple Executive Voices for Thought Leadership:
Rather than centering all thought leadership around the CEO, Ben distributes content creation across the CEO, CTO, and himself. This approach provides different perspectives on security, technology, and market dynamics while increasing content volume without sacrificing quality. Multiple voices also create more networking opportunities and expand the company's reach within target communities.
Build Marketing Around Indirect Sales Channels and Pull-Through Demand:
Axiado often sells through server manufacturers to end customers (CISOs, CTOs), requiring a sophisticated approach to creating demand. Ben focuses on educating end customers who then request the technology from their vendors, creating pull-through demand. This requires content that speaks to both technical integrators and business decision-makers, with clear value propositions for each stakeholder in the buying chain.
Use Technical Background as a Trust-Building Differentiator:
Ben leverages his engineering and academic background to ensure all marketing content maintains technical accuracy. In B2B tech sales, technical buyers quickly identify and dismiss inaccurate claims, making credibility essential for long-term relationships. Technical marketers can serve as translators, explaining complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders while maintaining the depth that technical evaluators require.
Conversation
Highlights
In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Ben Levine, Senior Director of Product Management and Marketing at Axiado Corporation. Axiado delivers AI-driven hardware anchored platform security and system management for enterprise data centers and cloud infrastructure. Ben brings a unique perspective to B2B tech marketing, having transitioned from academia to engineering to product management before landing in marketing. His technical background shapes his approach to building trust with highly technical buyers while executing sophisticated messaging pivots and go-to-market strategies.
Topics Discussed:
- Executing company-wide messaging pivots from product features to platform benefits
- Building comprehensive messaging guidelines and rollout frameworks
- Balancing technical accuracy with compelling value propositions
- Structuring small, high-impact marketing teams for B2B tech companies
- Creating depth-over-volume content strategies for technical audiences
- Managing indirect sales channels and creating pull-through demand
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