How we launched The Evidence Gap report

✍️ Betting big on original research

I’m a big believer in making early investments in quality content—even when you’re operating as a full-time marketing team of two.

Especially when you’re working in B2B SaaS.

Chelsea Castle said it best recently on LinkedIn, “A lot of the content out there that gets attention isn’t that incredible or mind-blowingly great.”

My interpretation: a low bar makes for plenty of opportunity to step outside the norm—whether big steps or baby—and get peoples’ attention.

So, we’re trying to create good (not just more) content, get noticed, and build trust.

For the sake of focus, our three core content pillars are The Proof Point (our podcast), this newsletter, and something I’m super bullish about—original research.

Why we’re all in on original research

If you’ve ever wondered why original research has been getting more buzz lately, here’s why:

Original research based on unique data that your competition can’t copy or get access to.

Having original insights is one of the few ways to have a differentiated point-of-view and truly stand out in a world flooded with post-filled feeds. True, it may not be the easiest way to stand out (yet) but it’s definitely one of the best. 

And it’s not just about having content that’s different; it’s about owning the conversation in a way that no one else can.

With survey data, we can create narratives and reports that are grounded in reality, backed by evidence, and—most importantly—aligned with what our audience truly cares about.

I want our marketing team to publish one big piece of original research every quarter. That’s how committed I am to it.

Not my first research report rodeo

I’ve worked on original research reports in the past. But the difference this time around—and what I think makes UserEvidence’s new report the stronger of the two—is the POV.

The first report I worked on was dependent on proprietary customer data. In other words, we had to spin a narrative around what the data revealed after mining it.

This time around, it was more like a science experiment.

We came up with a hypothesis beforehand based on what we’ve been seeing in the market, designed surveys, and asked questions that’d help us dig deeper.

For this report, we surveyed three distinct groups: B2B buyers, sellers, and marketers. Some questions were specific to each function, and many were the same across all three groups. This was also by design.

We had a hunch that these three groups, even within the same companies, would not be on the same page when it came to customer evidence and buyer confidence.

Turns out, we were right. And some of the findings even surprised us.

The hypothesis and survey design

The hypothesis was simple (and ultimately confirmed): sales teams don’t have enough customer evidence, and what they need often doesn’t line up with what marketing can provide.

Since our founders, Evan and Ray, have years of experience in this space, I leaned heavily on them in designing the survey experience.

We came up with a list of 15-20 questions with qualifying questions at the beginning around job title, role, annual revenue, etc.

My goal, outside of validating our hypothesis, was to create a report that would get people to see things differently. To think:

Wow. This is a much bigger problem than I realized. Maybe we don’t know our buyers as well as we think.

I didn’t want a bunch of fluff or lackluster data that couldn’t stand on its own once repurposed. I wanted something that could drive inbound. Period.

Our distribution plan

Speaking of repurposing, original research reports can be a meaty undertaking—even more so if you’re working with traditional analysts and agencies.

We relied on UserEvidence Research Content to do most of the legwork. But even still, having a distribution plan for original research is just as important as having a plan for creating the report.

I reached out to industry influencers—trusted names with solid reputations in the B2B space—and asked for their take on our findings.

Their insights added layers to the conversation and gave us the social proof we needed to further validate what we found in the report. It also gave us more to stand on for distribution.

We put together a launch day guide to help our employees, customer advisory board members, and marketing advisors promote the report once it went live. I expect some of the influencers quoted in the report to amplify it as well.

One thing I’ll say about the guide is that I really wanted to avoid giving people cookie-cutter posts to copy and paste on LinkedIn. Instead, I opted to pull stats from the report that might be relevant to each group and provide them with some hooks for inspiration.

Flooding LinkedIn with the same bland post pasted 30 times over is way less valuable to me than having 15 people post original thoughts that actually drive engaging discussions.

What’s next?

You’ll start to see more of this type of content in future editions of Evidently.

We’ll be doubling down on original research moving forward, using our own UserEvidence Research Content product to create reports that educate and inspire. 

If you haven't read the report yet, check it out here.

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Just reply to this email with feedback, and I’ll personally read every response. I promise.

🤓 Stuff I’m learning (and digging) right now

• Exit Five's Drive event—our two-person Marketing team is in Vermont this week for Exit Five's first annual event. We're shooting a ton of video content at this two-day event so come say hey if you see Alex Eaton (the tall guy) or me (the shorter guy).

• Emma Strattons' new book "Make It Punchy"—Emma's an all-around awesome human and someone I truly respect in the world of B2B messaging. I started reading her book last week. It's been money so far.

• Reed Between The Lines season 2 is ON—I'm pumped to see what Devin has up his sleeves for season 2 of his show. He went all in and bet on himself to start and prove out this show with his own $$$.

💰Opinions are cheap and proof is gold

In episode 15 of The Proof Point, Liam Moroney, Sydney Sloan, and Sam Kuehnle drew a line between brand awareness and demand creation.. ‘

Because no, they are NOT the same thing.

My biggest takeaways:

• Brand awareness doesn’t always create demand unless you get these three parts of the equation right with your ICP: they know what you do, why they should choose you, and want to choose you.

• “Don’t work for founders who don’t love the problem more than they love the product.” An absolute money quote from Liam Moroney.

• Hard proof > opinionated fluff. Use data and real-world results to back up your claims and reinforce trust with your audience.

Listen on Spotify, Apple or watch on YouTube.

UserEvidence, who?

UserEvidence is a customer evidence platform that helps B2B marketing teams generate verified proof points that credibly prove the value of your product.

Using custom surveys at key moments throughout the customer journey, you can capture case studies and testimonials, as well as competitive intelligence, product stats, and ROI data.

Turn happy customers into your best sellers with UserEvidence.