Splash Project

Winning the Mid-Market with Gong's AI Agents

A Go-to-Market Strategy for Expanding Gong's Revenue AI Platform Beyond Enterprise

30%

Target increase in mid-market acquisition

15%

Reduction in customer acquisition cost

25%

Improvement in product adoption

Executive Summary

The Mid-Market Opportunity

Gong has successfully established itself as the "#1 Revenue AI Platform" with a strong enterprise customer base. However, a significant opportunity exists to capture the underserved mid-market and SMB segments (50-500 employees) with Gong's new AI Agents. This strategy document outlines how Gong can adapt its positioning, messaging, and go-to-market approach to succeed with smaller organizations while staying true to its brand identity.

The mid-market represents a crucial growth vector for Gong, offering:

Mid-Market Growth Advantages

Lower acquisition costs than enterprise
Faster sales cycles with less bureaucracy
High-growth accounts that can expand over time
Protection against enterprise market saturation

My analysis reveals that while Gong's AI Agents offer tremendous value to mid-market companies, the current messaging and approach create barriers to adoption. This document presents a comprehensive strategy to overcome these barriers and accelerate mid-market growth.

Current State Assessment

Strengths & Opportunities

Strengths in Current Positioning

Clear Value Propositions: Gong effectively ties its AI to tangible outcomes (higher win rates, accurate forecasts, time saved)
Human + AI Angle: Smart emphasis that AI Agents work "alongside teams" rather than replacing humans
Breadth of Capabilities: Impressive range of AI agents showcasing Gong as an all-in-one platform

Gaps in Current Mid-Market Approach

Enterprise-Oriented Language: Terminology like "trillions of call minutes" and "enterprise-grade security" alienates smaller prospects
Buzzword Density vs. Clarity: Abstract concepts like "revenue intelligence" may not resonate with time-strapped SMB executives
Limited Mid-Market Proof Points: Few publicized success stories from companies under 500 employees
Pricing and Onboarding Perception: "Contact Sales" approach and lack of modular options creates friction for smaller deals
Channel & Community Reach: Insufficient penetration in the forums and channels where mid-market buyers gather

The Solution

Revised Messaging Framework for Mid-Market

Component	Mid-Market Message	Why This Works
Value Proposition	"Your AI Sales Co-Pilot for Winning More Deals" Turn every rep into a top performer by letting Gong's Revenue AI do the busy work.	Positions Gong as helpful and focused on universal goal of winning deals. Emphasizes time-saving and productivity.
Pain Point #1	"Free your team from CRM grunt-work and manual note-taking." Gong's AI Agents automatically log activities, update CRM fields, and draft follow-up emails – giving your sellers back hours every week to sell.	Addresses a pain acutely felt in small teams where admin work significantly reduces selling time. Uses relatable language ("grunt-work").
Pain Point #2	"Never miss a deal risk or buying signal again." Gong monitors every call & email, alerting you to at-risk deals and key customer signals in real time, so you can intervene early and win more.	Speaks to pipeline visibility challenges in orgs without dedicated analytics support. Promises peace of mind that no opportunity slips through cracks.
Pain Point #3	"Ramp new reps faster and reinforce best practices at scale." From AI coaching on real calls to automated call scorecards, Gong's AI ensures even a 5-person team can enable reps like a 500-person team.	Addresses training challenges when there's no dedicated enablement team. Positions AI as a way to do more with less.
Differentiator	"Trained on 1 billion sales interactions – only Gong understands the reality of your deals." Unlike generic AI tools, Gong's models are built on a decade of sales conversations, delivering accurate, context-aware recommendations you can trust.	Establishes credibility through data scale while differentiating from generic AI tools that lack sales-specific training. Emphasizes trust and accuracy.
Differentiator	"One platform for calls, emails, and pipeline – no Frankenstack needed." Gong combines conversation intelligence, deal execution, and sales engagement in one. Fewer tools to manage, more insights to drive revenue.	Appeals to tool consolidation needs in resource-constrained organizations. "Frankenstack" resonates with tech-savvy buyers.

Strategic Approach

Mid-Market Engagement Strategy

Community & Channel Strategy

Priority Revenue Leader Communities:

Modern Sales Pros (MSP): Sponsor MSP webinars and contribute thought leadership to reach 20k+ sales professionals
Pavilion (Revenue Collective): Host workshops via Pavilion University on practical AI applications
RevGenius: Deploy Gong champions to this 30,000-member Slack community to answer questions and share success stories
RevOps Co-op: Share content on how Gong's AI eases CRM admin and improves data quality

Practical Implementation:

Dedicate 1-2 Gong team members to consistent participation in each community
Create community-specific content plans and measurement frameworks
Track influence on pipeline and closed deals via UTM parameters and attribution

Content Strategy

Cornerstone Content:

"The SMB Revenue Leader's AI Playbook" - Downloadable guide showing step-by-step implementation of AI for mid-sized teams
Mid-Market Case Study Series - "How [Client Name] (200-employee SaaS) Increased Win Rates by 25% with Gong"
Virtual Summit - "Revenue AI for Growth Companies" featuring speakers from successful mid-market Gong customers

Content Calendar Approach:

70% educational content on sales excellence (broad appeal)
20% AI-specific content showing practical applications
10% product-focused content demonstrating specific Gong features

Sales Enablement for Mid-Market Success

Sales Collateral Improvements:

Create SMB-specific sales deck emphasizing time-to-value and ROI for smaller teams
Develop battlecards against key competitors in this space (Chorus, Avoma, Fireflies)
Design an ROI calculator tailored to mid-market metrics and team sizes

Program Recommendation:

Implement "Gong Starter" program: 90-day implementation plan specifically for teams under 50 sellers
Offer monthly group onboarding sessions for smaller customers to drive adoption efficiently

Market Positioning

Competitive Differentiation

Competitor	Their Pitch	Gong's Counter-Position
Clari/Copilot	AI-powered conversational intelligence and forecasting	"Clari offers good forecasting, but Gong delivers the 'why' behind the numbers by analyzing actual customer conversations – without requiring a dedicated RevOps team."
ZoomInfo/Chorus	Call recording + contact data bundle	"Chorus primarily focuses on calls; Gong analyzes calls, emails, AND deals, providing a 360° view with actionable AI that drives outcomes, not just insights."
Low-Cost Tools (Avoma, Fireflies)	Affordable meeting recording and transcription	"Those tools give you transcripts; Gong gives you revenue. Our platform pays for itself by helping your team win just one additional deal per quarter."
CRM-Native AI (Salesforce Einstein)	AI capabilities built into your existing CRM	"While Salesforce's AI works only on CRM fields (what reps input), Gong works on the reality of customer conversations. We complement your CRM by feeding it better data and surfacing insights it can't see."

Execution Plan

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundations (30 Days)

Audit and revise website copy using new messaging framework
Create SMB-specific landing page and sales collateral
Select and prepare 3 mid-market customers for case studies
Begin community engagement in top 2 priority channels

Phase 2: Amplification (60 Days)

Launch "SMB Revenue Leader's AI Playbook"
Implement "Gong Starter" program for sales team
Host first educational webinar targeting mid-market
Deploy LinkedIn campaign with mid-market targeting

Phase 3: Scale (90 Days)

Host "Revenue AI for Growth Companies" virtual summit
Launch partner program with CRM implementers that serve SMB
Establish regular cadence of customer spotlights
Analyze results and optimize channel strategy

Results

Expected Outcomes & Measurement

Key Success Metrics

Increase in mid-market qualified opportunities (companies with 50-500 employees)
Reduction in mid-market sales cycle length
Improvement in trial-to-paid conversion for this segment
Growth in community-sourced pipeline

30%

Increase in mid-market customer acquisition

15%

Reduction in CAC for mid-market segment

25%

Improvement in product adoption metrics

Conclusion

Gong has built an extraordinary AI platform that can deliver tremendous value to mid-market companies. With some targeted adjustments to messaging, engagement channels, and sales approach, Gong can successfully expand beyond enterprise to capture this underserved segment.

The key to success will be balancing Gong's bold, data-driven brand with the practical, outcome-focused language that resonates with mid-market buyers. By positioning AI Agents as accessible co-pilots that help smaller teams punch above their weight, Gong can dominate this segment just as it has in enterprise.

This strategy doesn't require a complete overhaul – rather, it's about making Gong's existing excellence more accessible and relevant to a broader audience of revenue leaders.