Corporate group achieves strategic clarity with OSP
Discover how OSP helped Cellar Door, Source, and Lockr clarify their value propositions, reach both technical and executive decision-makers, and create an extensive library of high-quality marketing content.
OSP strategic marketing and Value Mapping transform Cellar Door, Source, and Lockr
Creating market-ready messaging out of technical complexity
Cellar Door and its subsidiaries, Source and Lockr, offer a range of technical products and services, including complex security and content management solutions. The companies struggled with conveying the value propositions of their innovative offerings clearly to decision-makers in potential client organizations. Open Strategy Partners (OSP) stepped in as an expert strategic marketing partner, refining the strategy, helping the leadership team clarify the fundamental value they provide to their clients, and delivering the necessary marketing content.
On OSP's role in clarifying Cellar Door's value proposition: “OSP has been instrumental in helping us clarify our understanding of our own products and services … we had a better understanding of our company and how to communicate what it is that we do.”
We needed tech marketers who get us and our customers
As a technical company, Cellar Door faced the challenge of explaining the complex, technical aspects of its products—especially Lockr—to budget holders who would benefit from their adoption but don't always have a technical background. Lockr, for example, a security product, requires a deep understanding of its technical value, but the final purchase decision often rests with non-technical executives.
Additionally, Cellar Door, Source, and Lockr were looking for a partner who could help them build internal advocates within potential client organizations—those developers and engineers who could understand and support the products but who needed help convincing the higher-ups. With a lean team focused on product development, they had limited capacity to execute an ongoing marketing strategy.
On OSP's ability to translate complex technical concepts: "We needed to show our technical bona fides to win over the deep nerd security guy, and OSP has the technical acumen to translate that into effective marketing." — Dan Otto, Cellar Door
Bridging the tech/business gap
Cellar Door partnered with OSP to address these mission-critical sales issues—that we often call the “tech/biz gap.” We applied our methodological approach with our experience and understanding of the intersection of open source software, business, and technical products:
- Value Mapping and clear value propositions: We conducted the OSP Value Mapping exercise twice—once for Lockr and once for Source. Following this strategic work, the leadership team at Cellar Door had a much clearer understanding of their products and how to articulate their value—simplifying complex technical features into clear, relatable messages—leading to robust, more effective messaging across all channels.
- Translating the technical into dual messaging: OSP's unique ability to translate technical features into marketing language was pivotal. The content we produced helped Cellar Door reach both technical stakeholders and higher-level decision-makers. This two-layered messaging equipped internal technical advocates with the right tools to successfully push for product adoption by explaining its benefits in a way that resonated with executives.
Efficient, comprehensive content execution: By partnering with us, Cellar Door could focus on its core operations while we handled content creation. OSP created a stream of high-quality content—including blog posts, web copy, and technical documentation—building a rich library of relevant marketing assets for Cellar Door.
On the efficiency and quality of OSP's content production: "OSP is extremely effective, generating content almost faster than we can digest it … but it's all high-quality."
— Dan Otto, Cellar Door
An evolving partnership
As the relationship with OSP evolved, Cellar Door found increasing value in OSP as a flexible, versatile marketing partner.OSP provided both strategic guidance and practical content execution, allowing the Cellar Door team to focus on their core business while trusting OSP to handle the nuances of communication.
On OSP's value as a trusted marketing partner: "OSP feels like an endlessly extensible arm of Cellar Door … we can say, 'Here's what we're thinking,' and trust that it's going to be executed well without needing to micromanage." — Dan Otto, Cellar Door
Cellar Door’s leadership team can envision OSP taking on even greater responsibilities, such as managing entire marketing campaigns from strategy through execution. They value OSP's ability to create content and execute campaigns that test and refine the performance of that content.
Your tech is complex, your message shouldn't be
OSP has become an indispensable partner for Cellar Door, Source, and Lockr, helping them clarify their value propositions, streamline communication, and support technical advocates within client organizations. By simplifying complex technical messages and crafting effective marketing strategies, OSP has empowered Cellar Door to reach a wider audience and position its products for long-term success. Cellar Door looks forward to leveraging OSP's expertise even more as their relationship continues to grow.
Ready to clarify your value proposition and reach both technical and executive decision-makers? Contact OSP today to learn how we can help you streamline your marketing efforts and grow your business.