As B2B marketers, we’re storytellers, strategists, and synthesizers. But even the best-crafted marketing strategy is only as strong as the insights it’s built on. And often, those insights live in the minds of subject matter experts (SMEs)—engineers, product managers, data scientists, professional services leads—who may not speak “marketing.”
Translating technical depth into market-ready value props, benefit statements, or campaign ideas requires close collaboration with these internal partners. Yet many marketers find themselves struggling to get more than vague descriptions, overly technical language, or skepticism about the value of marketing at all.
So how can marketers effectively engage internal SMEs to surface the inputs needed to fuel effective outputs?
Let’s look at key SME types, how they think, and how to work with them more effectively.
Engineers: The Builders
Mindset: Logical, precise, systems-focused. They value accuracy, efficiency, and elegant solutions, often viewing marketing as “spin” unless proven otherwise.
Challenges:
• May default to technical specs over user-friendly benefits
• Skeptical of simplification or emotional framing
• Communicate in engineering shorthand
3 Tips for Working with Engineers:
1. Start with use cases. Ask, “What problem does this solve for the end user?” This grounds the conversation in context and helps them move from internal workings to external impact.
2. Acknowledge their rigor. Respect the complexity of what they do. Preface questions with, “I know this is nuanced, but to market it effectively I need to understand…”
3. Translate, don’t transpose. Don’t just quote their words verbatim. Instead, dig into why each feature exists, then turn that into benefit-driven language they can agree with.
Data Scientists & Analysts: The Pattern-Finders
Mindset: Curious, cautious, data-obsessed. They love nuance, hate oversimplification, and may feel that marketing overpromises.
Challenges:
• Focused on statistical accuracy, not narrative clarity
• May struggle to prioritize which insights are most valuable externally
• Distrust anecdotal claims or qualitative framing
3 Tips for Working with Data Experts:
1. Speak their language, but simplify the ask. Don’t ask for “interesting stats.” Ask, “What trends or behaviors do you see that would surprise a customer or change how they view us?”
2. Co-create confidence. If you’re using data in messaging, review it with them early to build mutual trust and reduce back-and-forth.
3. Make it collaborative, not extractive. Instead of just “pulling numbers,” ask their opinion: “What’s the story you see in the data?”
Product Managers: The Translators
Mindset: Strategically technical. They balance engineering feasibility with market needs and often have the clearest view of how product features map to customer value.
Challenges:
• Jargon-heavy communication
• Stretched across competing priorities
• May already think they’re doing the messaging job
3 Tips for Working with Product Managers:
1. Anchor in the roadmap. Frame marketing as helping accelerate product adoption and build anticipation, not just promoting what already exists.
2. Be clear about roles. Let them know you’re not redoing their work. You’re refining it for external clarity, reach, and engagement.
3. Use tiered messaging. Ask them to describe a feature in “three levels”: first for internal teams, then for customers, then for prospects. This can surface valuable language.
Customer-Facing Teams (Sales, Success, Support): The Front Line
Mindset: Outcome-driven. These folks hear customer needs and objections firsthand, and they’re laser-focused on what moves the needle.
Challenges:
• Tend to focus on anecdotes over strategy
• May view marketing as disconnected from real-world conversations
• Can be transactional in their collaboration
3 Tips for Working with Front-Line Teams:
1. Ask for stories, not just insights. “Tell me about a customer win/loss you remember” can unearth more color than a spreadsheet.
2. Build quick wins. Turn their input into assets they can use, like sales decks, objection-handling scripts, email copy and they’ll come back with more.
3. Respect their time. Keep interviews focused. Share outlines in advance, follow up with transcripts or summaries for validation, and show them where their input shows up.
Professional Services Experts (Accounting, Tax, Legal, Consulting): The Guardians
Mindset: Detail-oriented, compliance-driven, and risk-conscious. These SMEs often see themselves as protectors of accuracy, reputation, and regulatory alignment. Their default mode is to scrutinize everything, especially messaging.
Challenges:
• Reluctant to simplify technical language for fear of being “wrong” or misleading
• Wary of marketing overreach, particularly in regulated industries
• Slow approval cycles due to precision standards and layered review
3 Tips for Working with Professional Services SMEs:
1. Position marketing as a reputation amplifier. Emphasize how their expertise strengthens the brand’s credibility and trust. Framing them as thought leaders or strategic advisors can build buy-in.
2. Use guardrails, not guesswork. When drafting messaging, provide parameters: “Here’s how we might phrase this. Can you help refine it for accuracy?” This opens the door without making them from scratch.
3. Start with shared intent. Make it clear you have a mutual goal—educating the client, not embellishing reality. Acknowledge their need for precision, and they’re more likely to partner on shaping nuanced content.
Subject Matter Does Not Equal Marketing Fluency
It’s not your SME’s job to think like a marketer. It’s your job to connect the dots between their technical expertise and the emotional drivers of your audience. That requires curiosity, empathy, and sometimes, a little detective work.
The best marketers don’t just ask for information, they facilitate clarity. They create space for experts to share what they know in their language, then shape that into stories the market can understand, trust, and act on.
Struggling to bridge the gap between technical experts and your marketing team? Let’s talk about how Mower helps B2B marketers build stronger SME collaboration—and turn expertise into impact.