Segmentation by strategic intent, not company size
Two companies may be similar in size and location, but can have entirely different purchasing motivations.
After the split, four mid-size opportunities moved to pilot and one closed at seven figures. The directory was in use by month two of a six-month build.
Once the product and go-to-market teams aligned on customer values, two questions remained: which customers to target and who the decision-makers are within those organizations. This directory addresses both by sorting accounts according to each organization's objectives and identifying key decision-makers.
- Role
- Product Marketing Manager, Platform Solutions
- Timeline
- 6 month build, in use by month 2
- Company
- Enterprise R&D software platform
- Worked with
- Product marketing, sales, customer success
- The problemAccounts were segmented by size and geography, so two companies with identical profiles and opposite goals received the same message.
- The solutionSegmentation shaped by strategic logic, built as a directory with role-based pathways, named owners, and a changelog.
- The resultAfter the split, four mid-size opportunities moved to pilot and one closed at seven figures. The directory was in use by month two of a six-month build.
Challenge
Leadership's priority was entry into new segments. Size and geography describe a company, they don't predict what it will buy or why. That left nothing transferable between customers. What worked in one account taught the team nothing about the next one, and every expansion decision was made without a model for which accounts would convert.
Earlier persona decks were praised, but never opened again.
Strategy
Shape by strategic logic
Segments were defined by what the organization is trying to change, not by size or location. That split the mid-market segment into two distinct profiles, Mid-Size Segment A and Mid-Size Segment B.
Make the distinctions usable
One comparison layer across all four customer profiles, plus a buying committee map showing who signs, who sponsors, and who can veto in each segment.
Ship it as a living product
Named owners, role-based entry points, and a changelog made it safe to cite and use while sections were still being written.
Impact
One segment, two motions
The mid-market split changed how teams sell, not just how they label accounts
5 of 6
Mid-size opportunities that matched the buyer profile the split created
Pulled into 3 asset types
demo scripts, education content, and sales collateral
Mid-Size Segment A accounts got ROI and executive briefings; Mid-Size Segment B accounts got validation-first technical proof.
Field stories
One Segment B account moved to validation-first proof, ran a three-month pilot, and closed. Separately, a persona-tailored one-pager took a new-logo biotech from cold email to an executive meeting and buying committee engagement.
Because it shipped with owners, pathways, and a changelog, teams pulled from it early and their field feedback came back in the same language.
Deliverable
Generalized and cut to the three ideas behind the directory: where the segments split, how a message moves from segment to seat, and what made teams use it.
One question did the splitting: what is the organization trying to change?
Mid-market segment
One label for both. One profile, one message.
Mid-Size Segment A
- R&D profile
- Approach already established; the job is growing the portfolio
- Buying mandate
- Return across the whole R&D portfolio
- First-meeting focus
- ROI and capital-efficiency models
Mid-Size Segment B
- R&D profile
- Narrow focus; the job is proving that one new technology works
- Buying mandate
- Prove the core technology works
- First-meeting focus
- Deep technical demos and data-rich proof
The split came a month after the segment was added, from what sales was hearing in accounts. Downstream, A moved to executive ROI conversations and B to evidence-first proof.