How Strategic Marketing Saved a Multi-Million-Dollar Customer
The Challenge
A B2B tech startup was about to lose its largest customer, which accounted for the majority of its revenue. The customer believed they could get a cheaper version of the technology overseas and were ready to cut ties. Losing them would have been a major financial hit and a credibility blow for the brand.
The company didn’t need more sales decks or marketing collateral. They needed a stronger story — one that proved their product was worth the premium.
The Strategy
My focus as marketing lead was to rebuild the value narrative and show both our team and the customer that the issue wasn’t price, it was proof.
I built a plan around two goals:
Quantify the business and consumer benefits of the technology in measurable ways.
Create credible, evidence-based messaging that the customer could confidently use in their own product marketing.
To make this happen, I commissioned independent research with SleepScore Labs, a trusted leader in sleep science, to measure real consumer outcomes. We turned those findings into clear, data-backed proof points that the customer could use to drive credibility with consumers.
The research earned the SleepScore Seal of Approval, a science-backed badge that elevated both our brand and the customer’s products.
The Results
The customer not only renewed their contract, but also signed a three-year extension. Their products gained stronger positioning as a wellness product, and the partnership deepened into a collaborative relationship.
More importantly, the process became a repeatable framework for future deals and strengthened the company’s value story.
The Results
What started as a near-loss turned into a long-term win. The company protected its largest revenue source, increased customer trust, and built a marketing system that could scale.
This project proved that when marketing leads with data, credibility, and clear messaging tied to ROI, it doesn’t just save accounts — it grows them.
Elishaa Batdorf is a fractional CMO and marketing strategist who helps growth-stage startups scale by providing leadership, strategy and focus. With 20 years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies and startups, she builds scalable, AI-enabled marketing functions that connect content and campaigns directly to pipeline.
