In conducting a competitive analysis of peer procurement platforms — including Made in NYC, BuyDetroit, Diverse Procurement Collaborative Network, and ConnectIND — I identified opportunities for SupplySTL to differentiate its value proposition. While these platforms excelled in consistent branding, active social media presence, and clear CTAs, most lacked hyper-localized storytelling and segmented communication tailored to different stakeholder groups.

Synthesizing these insights, I mapped each competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, marketing channels, and audience engagement strategies. This analysis informed SupplySTL’s positioning by highlighting the need for more visible in-platform updates, stronger success-story marketing, and targeted outreach through email, LinkedIn, and local publications — all designed to increase awareness and perceived value among small business owners, BSOs, and anchor institutions.

Through stakeholder interviews with small business owners, business support organizations, and institutional buyers, I found that the primary barrier to engagement was lack of awareness and perceived value. Many participants admitted they often forgot about SupplySTL’s existence and were unclear on “what’s in it for me,” which limited their motivation to explore procurement opportunities.

To address this, I developed three detailed user personas capturing demographics, pain points, and media habits, then used them to craft messaging that emphasized tangible benefits — from contract wins to visibility with major buyers — while reinforcing SupplySTL’s role as a trusted, go-to resource. This persona-driven positioning became the basis for the platform’s multi-channel go-to-market strategy.

To build SupplySTL’s marketing strategy framework, I combined market research, customer insights, and competitive benchmarking into a unified GTM plan. I began by analyzing regional market data — including a base of 70,000 SMBs, 60 BSOs, and 250 anchor institutions — and segmenting audiences by demographics, pain points, and psychographics.

From there, I defined brand positioning, value propositions, and messaging pillars for each core segment (SMBs, BSOs, procurement officers). I mapped the customer lifecycle from acquisition to retention, aligning each stage with tailored tactics such as SEO thought leadership, success-story campaigns, guided onboarding, and personalized impact reporting.

Finally, I organized these insights into a three-phase growth roadmap (market penetration, expansion, scaling) with corresponding outreach strategies, KPIs, and channel mixes. This framework became the blueprint for SupplySTL’s GTM execution — ensuring the messaging created clear value, drove sign-ups, and strengthened long-term engagement.

To sustain engagement and boost awareness of SupplySTL, I designed a four-month multi-channel content calendar that aligned key marketing themes with audience-specific messaging for small business owners, business support organizations, and procurement officers.

Drawing on stakeholder interviews, persona insights, and competitive analysis, I mapped content to each stage of the customer journey — from onboarding and awareness to retention and advocacy. This meant pairing educational resources (Procurement Playbooks, BSO Toolkits) with high-impact storytelling (Supplier Spotlights, Contract Win Announcements) and timely event tie-ins (Supplier Diversity Month, STL Startup Week).

Each month’s plan included a blend of:

• Awareness assets (Hero Videos, press-worthy milestones)

• Engagement drivers (live events, polls, gamified challenges)

• Retention tactics (personalized updates, reactivation emails, success metrics reporting)

By structuring content across acquisition, engagement, and retention objectives, this strategy ensured consistent touchpoints, increased platform visibility, and positioned SupplySTL as a trusted, go-to resource in the St. Louis procurement ecosystem.

For my final recommendation, I proposed a persona-driven, multi-channel marketing strategy to increase SupplySTL’s visibility, adoption, and retention among small business owners, BSOs, and procurement officers. Drawing on stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, and customer journey mapping, I recommended tactics like success-story video campaigns, segmented email nurturing, targeted retargeting ads, and in-person activations. This framework positioned SupplySTL as a trusted procurement hub by clarifying its value proposition, showcasing real contract wins, and creating consistent touchpoints across the awareness-to-advocacy funnel.