From messaging misalignment to marketing momentum for EffectConnect in 4 months

The number one integrator platform for European marketplaces

EffectConnect helps brands and retailers grow their marketplace revenue by automating their product listings, orders, and pricing across platforms like Bol.com, Amazon and Kaufland.

With a strong position as the go-to marketplace integration platform for e-commerce businesses in the Netherlands (and an impressive Net Promoter Score of 67) the company was ready to take the next step in its growth journey.

But by early 2025, one thing was holding them back: their message wasn’t landing.

The company’s core positioning wasn’t consistent across its channels. There were disconnects between what was said in sales conversations, what appeared on the website, and how EffectConnect showed up in marketing campaigns. These disconnects made it harder to attract the right prospects and to win them over effectively.

That’s when Bart Vintcent, founder of EffectConnect, brought in Unmuted.

“We had been trying to say too much, which made the story harder to follow. With Unmuted, we finally were able to make some hard choices and become focused on who we target and what we tell them. Now, the message resonates throughout the entire journey.” - Bart Vintcent, Founder, EffectConnect

Dealing with messaging misalignment and confused prospects

EffectConnect was dealing with a problem many scaling SaaS companies face. Internally, the value proposition made perfect sense. But externally, it didn’t translate. Sales cycles dragged on. Leads didn’t always match the ideal customer profile. The messaging lacked focus.

In Bart’s words: “The marketing machine wasn’t working yet.” That misalignment wasn’t just theoretical. It slowed down deals, confused prospects, and made it harder for the team to communicate a unified story across touchpoints.

Realigning website, sales and marketing on positioning

We kicked off the collaboration with a Positioning Workshop to realign the fundamentals and come up with a clear positioning strategy. In that session, we dug deep into what makes EffectConnect unique, which audience it served best, and what story should be told at each stage of the buyer journey.

From there, the collaboration unfolded across three core focus areas:

1. Strengthening the sales foundation

We helped rebuild the HubSpot sales pipeline and data architecture to make the sales process measurable and scalable. Clearer stages, automated data entry, and better qualification criteria helped speed up cycles and fuel strategic insights..

2. Upgrading the website without a full rebuild

Instead of starting from scratch, we worked closely with the EffectConnect team to optimize the existing website structure. A fresh hero design, new copy and positioning tweaks made the site resonate more strongly with the right ICP, without needing a major overhaul.

3. Campaigns with consistency

From Webwinkel Vakdagen activations to the launch of the first iteration of Unmuted’s proprietary LinkedIn Ads DBA playbook, all marketing efforts were tied back to the new messaging framework. That alignment created a smoother flow from interest to demo to deal.

“Most agencies want to jump straight into ads. Unmuted said: we don’t launch new campaigns until the fundamentals are right. That approach made all the difference.” - Bart Vintcent

Attracting the right prospects: new leads now actually get it

Since the repositioning, EffectConnect has seen clear, tangible changes. The website performs better, despite no technical overhaul. Prospects move through the sales process faster, thanks to more clarity. And the deals that come in are a better fit, with higher average deal sizes and stronger retention potential.

According to Bart, one of the most valuable changes is the ability to tell a consistent story. From first click to onboarding, the experience now flows naturally and that builds trust. The team also spends less time explaining the basics and more time exploring how they can help.

“We now attract leads that get it. They come in with the right expectations, which means we can move fast. That’s a huge win.” - Bart Vintcent

Doubling down on inbound volume now the fundamentals are in place

With a strong foundation in place, we are now focused on continuing to build momentum and scaling EffectConnect’s GTM engine. This includes increasing inbound volume through LinkedIn paid plus organic and using more of their subject matter expertise in the marketing motion.

Bart sees this as the next natural step. With the fundamentals aligned and results starting to show, it’s time to double down on growth with confidence.