There’s the killer idea for a new content campaign. Now all that’s needed is for an internal SME to share their point of view in a call and you’re off to the races. That’s when everything grinds to a halt. The SME has continual scheduling conflicts—or they’re under water with work and keep rescheduling. Whatever the reason, it’s a frustrating cycle as time slips away.
In our 15+ years partnering with enterprises to produce industry-leading content, we’ve consistently seen how hard-to-access internal subject matter experts (SMEs) frequently delay development. We’re not alone in this observation. In a 2024 study by Content Marketing Institute with MarketingProfs, 39% of B2B marketers reported difficulty accessing subject matter experts as a key challenge in content creation workflows.
From our repeated collaborations across tech, healthcare, lifestyle, and other sectors, we’ve seen that internal SMEs—whether product managers, sales specialists, or operations experts—often face competing demands that make them hard to reach precisely when marketing needs their insights. These access conflicts often stem from the high volume of “work about work” that knowledge workers navigate daily. Asana’s 2025 Anatomy of Work study found that the average knowledge worker spends 352 hours annually discussing work, plus 209 hours on redundant tasks and 103 hours in futile meetings—time that saps up availability for content-related contributions.
Here’s what we find works for both SMEs and content marketers in surfacing valuable first-hand knowledge to inform marketing content, without delay.
Shorter, focused sessions succeed in securing insights
Requesting a one-hour block of time may seem daunting to someone who already feels overburdened. Proposing concise 30-minute interviews instead frequently succeeds in gaining participation. SMEs respond positively when the time commitment feels manageable amid their packed schedules, allowing them to share key knowledge without significant disruption.
Prepared agendas create structure and build confidence in the process
Sharing a clear agenda five business days in advance—outlining 6–10 targeted questions—helps keep discussions efficient and on-point. This approach provides SMEs with guardrails, time to prepare thoughtful responses, and even opportunities to refine or redirect questions, resulting in more substantive input. In practice, this has reduced meandering and ensured conversations yield usable, authentic language.
Flexible workarounds keep momentum when scheduling gets difficult
Offering the SME the option to respond in writing as a backup often keeps projects moving forward. In cases where live discussion isn’t feasible, written input allows SMEs to contribute on their own terms—during travel, off-hours, or when they can reference records—while still delivering depth. This flexibility also helps identify if another colleague might be more suitable, avoiding wasted time mid-call.
Dedicated content partners bridge expertise gaps for faster, higher-quality output
Across multiple enterprise engagements, we’ve found that while SMEs excel in their domains, they can often get too into the weeds with technical details or struggle to frame their contributions for a marketing audience. In these situations, a long-term writing partner immersed in the brand—its products, voice, and reader mindset—can translate raw insights into compelling marketing materials.
For example, in a recent collaboration with a tech enterprise, our team interviewed industry sales specialists for an email nurture campaign library. Where gaps existed in company-wide stats or messaging, our writers supplemented them, enabling completion of a vast five-sequence library in under six months. The sales team was thrilled to gain a ready resource to support their annual goals.
For the same tech enterprise, we wrote an ebook about a major platform integration. The senior marketing manager was delighted with the asset, saying, “This eBook will be syndicated to customers from both platforms that aren’t using the integration yet. It will also be leveraged by our sales team as a resource for programmatic outbound they’re doing to our target account list.” And when another division needed a long-form article about this same integration for a different audience segment, our deep familiarity accelerated production, turning around the piece in days rather than weeks.
Turn subject matter expertise into content development velocity
MarketSmiths’ long-term relationships with enterprises and our approach to engaging SMEs—rooted in flexibility, preparation, and partnership—enable reliable acceleration of content production and industry-leading results. Ready to eliminate roadblocks for your content development? Partner with MarketSmiths, the experts for corporate copywriting.
