A data visualization consultancy targeting research institutions, non-profits, and enterprises used formal, trust-first messaging and portfolio-share CTAs to generate 174 interested replies from 52,000 cold emails.
A data visualization and information design consultancy helps organizations transform complex data into clear, compelling visual narratives. Their challenge: the buyers—directors of research, program managers at non-profits, heads of data at foundations—are scattered across wildly different sectors with no standard job title.
Unlike SaaS companies with clear ICPs, this consultancy needed to reach anyone who deals with data storytelling in organizations that don’t have in-house design talent.
The institutional audience (non-profits, academia, research organizations) is also notoriously skeptical of cold outreach. Messaging needed to feel respectful, substantive, and credentialed—not salesy.
| Seniority | Directors (dominant), Managers, C-Level, VPs |
| Department | Operations, Specialized/Program roles, Marketing, Executive |
| Company Size | Even distribution—11–50 employees lead, but engagement from 10,000+ enterprises too |
| Geography | United States (76%), United Kingdom, Canada, plus scattered EU |
| Industries | Non-Profit Management, Higher Education, Research, Environmental Services, Healthcare |
Two active campaigns ran simultaneously: a broad TAM Takeover and a focused Research & Higher Ed campaign. Both targeted roles dealing with data, insights, research, projects, campaigns, and marketing at enterprises, institutions, and foundations.
Messaging tested formal, humble, and informal tones with trust-first and value-prop-first structures to find which resonated with institutional decision-makers.
Multiple email variants tested different tones, lengths, and structures, with component-level performance tracking to isolate what worked for this skeptical, institutional audience.
Formal tone led with 19 tagged positive replies, Humble added 10, while Informal only generated 8. Non-profit, academic, and research professionals respond better to respectful, credentialed messaging. This is the opposite of most B2B outreach results.
The portfolio CTA outperformed the generic “Mind if I send more info?” by nearly 2:1 (35 vs 18). For a creative consultancy, showing relevant past work for similar organizations creates immediate relevance and trust.
“Trust > Value Prop > CTA” generated 16 tagged positive replies, followed by “Value Prop > Trust > CTA” at 11. In both cases, trust signals appeared early in the email. For an audience that’s skeptical of cold outreach, leading with credibility is essential.
Medium (14 tagged replies) and Long (13) dramatically outperformed Short (7). This audience wants substance—they need context about the consultancy’s methodology and experience before engaging. Quick-hit emails don’t work for considered consulting purchases.
| Seniority | Department | Company Size | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Operations / Programs | 11–50 employees | 19 |
| Manager | Operations | 51–200 employees | 11 |
| Director | Operations | 201–500 employees | 7 |
| C-Level | Executive | 501–1,000 employees | 6 |
| Manager | Specialized roles | 11–50 employees | 3 |
Based on enriched contact data. Some replies had incomplete profile information.
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