From underdog to market contender

The situation

When I took over product marketing for this SaaS recruitment platform, it was competing in a market dominated by long-established ATS vendors with stronger brand recognition, bigger budgets, and deeper enterprise relationships. The product had genuine capability but the market either did not know it existed or did not take it seriously. There was no structured content engine, no analyst presence, and no clear narrative that differentiated it from the competition.

My role

I led the product marketing function end to end, with ownership across content strategy, SEO, demand generation, sales enablement, analyst relations, and team development. I was not coordinating or advising. I was building and executing.

What I did

• Built a topic cluster content model aligned specifically to recruiter, HR, and staffing personas, replacing a scattered publishing approach with a structured editorial system

• Conducted deep keyword research and competitive analysis to identify content gaps the competition had left open

• Introduced AI-assisted workflows for SERP analysis, content outlining, and on-page optimisation to accelerate output without sacrificing quality

• Developed a full sales enablement library including battlecards, competitive positioning documents, product explainers, and training materials so the sales team could walk into enterprise conversations with confidence

• Worked with Zoho's analyst relations and PR teams to brief leading recruitment technology analysts, prepare positioning documents, and ensure the product's roadmap and differentiators were clearly communicated

• Scaled the marketing team from 3 generalists to 10 specialists across content, SEO, and product marketing, with clear ownership and editorial processes introduced at every level

The results

• 220% revenue growth delivered over three years

• 70% increase in organic search traffic

• 50% improvement in content engagement

• 60% reduction in customer acquisition cost

• 33% year-on-year increase in new revenue

• Featured in the Staffing Industry Analysts report as a recognised ATS vendor for three consecutive years

What it proved

A product with genuine capability but weak market presence does not need a bigger budget. It needs a clearer narrative, a content system that builds over time, and a team that owns its output. Given those three things, credibility follows.