How Monday.com Uncovered What Actually Moves Their Customers — and Rebuilt Their Messaging Around It
Background
Monday.com is one of the world's fastest-growing work operating systems. Their marketing team had a clear picture of who their Ideal Customers were—but not why those customers actually engaged. Personas were polished. Messaging was structured. But emotionally, something was missing.
"We've had multiple consultants come in and help us with our ICP, but we don't know the hidden thoughts, experiences, and pain points of what actually drives this persona. As a result, we don't know how to engage them in an emotional way."
Despite investing in persona work and messaging frameworks, the team lacked a real grasp of what triggered decisions—and what truly built loyalty.
The Challenge
CRM data pointed to surface-level patterns. Internally, assumptions filled the gaps. But no one had captured the emotional context:
- What are these mid-level managers actually afraid of?
- What are they trying to prove?
- And what's getting in the way?
- How does Monday.com actually impact customers in their day-to-day lives—and careers?
Decode's mission: uncover those answers from the people themselves.
The Insight
Decode conducted in-depth 1:1 interviews with Monday.com's ideal customers—middle managers juggling visibility, follow-through, and leadership expectations across fast-moving teams.
Here's what surfaced:
What customers feared:
"I hate the feeling of someone following up on something I completely forgot—it makes me look like I'm not on top of my work."
"Without hard data, everything I say feels like just an opinion. Leadership won't listen unless I can back it up."
What they really wanted:
"I don't want to just keep things running—I want to help shape strategy."
"I want to be seen as someone who drives business success—not just someone who manages tasks."
Decode revealed what no internal persona ever had: These weren't just operations people. They were high-performing individuals trying to earn trust, gain influence, and be seen as strategic leaders. Monday.com wasn't just helping them track work—it was helping them protect their reputations and elevate their roles.
How Monday.com is making that possible:
"Because of Monday, I've built a reputation as the person who can provide the data leadership needs. That's changed everything."
"We've completely changed how we handle renewals—now, nothing slips through the cracks."
"Sales and marketing are actually working together now because we're all looking at the same data."
"HR isn't just seen as 'processing paperwork' anymore—we're actively shaping business decisions."
Monday.com is enabling its users to move beyond execution and become visible, trusted contributors to business success.
The Impact
- Reframed messaging around emotional drivers, not just features
- Aligned brand, content, and campaigns to customer aspirations: visibility, credibility, and influence
- Gave the marketing team raw, high-leverage language to use in storytelling, influencer work, and sales enablement
- Helped senior leadership understand what role Monday.com plays in their customers' careers—not just in their workflows
"Working with Decode gave our whole team a new level of clarity on what actually matters to our customers. It helped us reframe our content and messaging, and tap into real fears, desires, and emotional drivers."
What This Unlocked
Decode helped Monday.com move beyond assumptions and into emotional truth—giving the team a clearer view of what actually drives engagement, adoption, and brand loyalty.
The fix: third-party interviews with real users to uncover the emotional motivations CRM can't capture.
The result: sharper messaging, stronger positioning, and a brand that speaks directly to the people who power it.