Applied Software
Grow your business with the right technology.
Applied Software Technology, Inc (ASTI) is a software reseller based in Atlanta, GA. The company's goal is to be the go-to software reseller for construction and engineering companies.
As a product marketer, my goal was to increase the performance of marketing programs for two partner products using design thinking. This project shows my work for Panzura.
“Many marketing problems are simply undiagnosed customer insight problems.”
- Seth Godin
- Seth Godin
Role & Involvement
Timeframe
2-month contract, plus 4-month extension
2-month contract, plus 4-month extension
Team
Cross-functional team of marketers, designers, event planners, copywriters, salespeople, leadership, and external partners
Cross-functional team of marketers, designers, event planners, copywriters, salespeople, leadership, and external partners
My Role
Product Marketer: Analysis, strategy, planning, design, implementation, management
Product Marketer: Analysis, strategy, planning, design, implementation, management
The Challenge
Create user-centered marketing campaigns to achieve 400% growth in hot leads for the Panzura marketing program.
Specifically, the KPIs we needed to reach to meet business goals were:
• Hot leads: 120 (400% increase MOM)
• Opportunities: 6 (500% increase)
• Deals: 2 (100% increase)
• Opportunities: 6 (500% increase)
• Deals: 2 (100% increase)
Primary Research
I Interviewed 4 coworkers who had previously been our target personas, CIOs at construction and engineering companies over $10M ARR. I asked questions like, “How did you make decisions?” and, “What were some of the challenges you faced?”
Market Research
In market research, I explored questions like: Where does this user spend their time? What risks do they regularly deal with? What topics are they most interested in right now? I looked at top CIO resources, like CIO.com, articles from LinkedIn, and professional groups.
Persona
Based on insights from user research, I created a persona to better empathize with our target customers. Three major insights about this user were: they're under pressure from members in their organization with differing expectations, their biggest risk is their impact on company finances, and they pride themselves on being the smartest person in the room.
Current State
To get an idea of the state of our marketing efforts, and to have a baseline for improvement, I benchmarked our performance across the marketing funnel. My grade scale was based on regularity of using a channel, and if those regular efforts generated a positive result.
Ideation
Based on insights from user research, I ideated campaigns with tactics and content that supported our target customer in reaching their goals. Because our persona is someone who likes to do their own research, I wanted our marketing efforts to answer their biggest questions. The buying cycle for Panzura is long (6+ months), so earning our users' trust and becoming a go-to resource would be valuable for both in the future.
Testing & Iteration
Because marketing is very fast-paced, we jumped right into testing. Each of our marketing campaigns were made of a different combination of tactics and content. Top-of-funnel tactics include ads, emails, landing pages, events, and personal outreach.
As we launched and tested campaigns, we iterated on them based on data and based on what we learned about our target customers. Below is an example of how our events evolved.
Other Successful Tactics
This target persona proved hard to reach, so we pivoted our strategy to a more personalized approach. Every time we launched a new email, landing page, or ad, we learned from the results and were able to make improvements the next time.
Results
Our marketing program for September - October created a 328% increase in hot leads, and resulted in a 200% increase in deals closed. We learned how to make both new and existing tactics more successful based on user insights, and started 2021 with strong performance.
What I learned
• When budgeting my time or creating a plan, find a good balance of low-hanging fruit, short-term, and long-term projects/tactics.
• A strong strategy builds on previous successes and tests new ideas to increase learning. The more you learn, the more successful you will be long-term.
• Test small, then go big.
• Delegate, delegate, delegate!
• To improve team efficiency and effectiveness, have everyone follow the same process with regular check-ins.
• Build some breathing room into a plan if you can, because fires always pop up. That's usually how the universe works, and that's okay!
• Build relationships with team members, including leadership. It will make work more fun and productive, and you'll have easy access to resources when you need.
