Lifecycle Marketing: Problem Tracks

Creating The Perfect Customer Experience

Why is it that marketing is told to build highly personalized marketing campaigns and communications but then the moment the lead is passed to sales and customer success, everything goes generic?

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OCD In Overdrive, Or Just Right?

When I think about marketing, sales, and customer success, I don't think of them as separate departments, if anything they should be building on one another, learn how to align your entire company with OKRs here.

But why is it that most companies seem to have each of these departments working in silos and, in a way, reinventing the customer journey at each step?

Customer Journey Ideal Situation

When I think about the customer journey, I may be a little OCD with this, I feel that the entire process from someone stumbling upon your social media, an advertisement, a conference, or any other interaction should build upon itself until they see success on your platform.

Marketing Problem Tracks

Think of it this way, you see an advertisement promising XYZ results. This catches your attention and you click on the ad. You are then directed to a dedicated landing page that expands on that promise and how the SaaS brand has built functionality and features to solve XYZ's promise, so you book a demo or sales call.

Programmatic Advertising & Email Nurtures

Even if you don't decide to talk to sales, upon you clicking this landing page, you start to see advertising retargeting asking you to download a resource about said XYZ problem which then drops you into an email nurture expanding the SaaS brand's position even more on XYZ problem, eventually you trust said brand and book a call with sales.

Sales Problem Tracks

Once you are on the call with sales, they don't share some generic deck about who they are but a deck designed specifically to expand even more on the initial XYZ promise and share stories about customers who have helped with this exact problem in the past and you're sold so you buy the platform.

Customer Success Problem Tracks

So now that you've become a customer, on the first day you're introduced to your customer success manager by the sales executive and they share that you came talking to us about XYZ results. So from Day One, all the focus between you and the CSM is onboarding onto the platform and then designing a plan of attack to get XYZ results as quickly as possible, they don't try to introduce you to all the capabilities, just that one result.

Upon quickly achieving said XYZ result, you then ask your CSM, so what else can this platform do for me? And it's off to the races to be wowed because you wanted to solve this one problem and now you're getting more than you expected.

Focus On The Problem, Then Wow Them

When people search the Internet for solutions, they have a specific result they are trying to achieve. By focusing and building strong positions and value propositions for those exact problems, not only will it allow you to sell your platform more easily, allowing you to wow people with the, "But wait, there's more."

Stop Generalizing Sales

With the power of your CRM, marketing has gotten very hyper-personalized, the next evolution is training sales executives to look at each contact in the CRM and understand the journey someone has already taken, unique personal identifiers to group people into smaller buckets, and buyer personas and then personalize the sales experience as much as possible as well.

You shouldn't be sharing the same deck and pitch with everyone, what an executive wants to hear will be different than what matters to a decision-maker or user. Tailor each presentation to the person you are speaking to and the specific problems they are trying to solve.

Partnering All Three Departments

Furthermore, getting marketing, sales, and customer success all on the same page will create the perfect customer experience, get you raving fans who share their experiences on social media, and extend your brand with word of mouth.

The secret is all about value propositions and promises and coaching each department to promote and deliver those promises at each stage of the customer journey.

Putting This Into Practice

When thinking through the process of making this magic happen, one quick rabbit hole you can quickly go down is a process called Message Matching.

Message matching is a critical concept in marketing and advertising, particularly in conversion rate optimization that ensures that the message conveyed in an advertisement is consistent with the message on the landing page that the ad links to. This consistency is essential for improving the effectiveness of the ad and increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Key Aspects of Message Matching

• Message Relevance: The message should be relevant to the audience's intent. For example, if an ad targets people interested in "how to make money online," both the ad and the landing page should focus on that topic and not diverge into unrelated areas
• Message Consistency: The content, including headlines, copy, images, and calls-to-action, should be consistent between the ad and the landing page. This helps reassure visitors that they are in the right place and reduces the likelihood of them leaving without taking action
• Message Clarity: The message should be clear and easy to understand, avoiding jargon or technical terms that might confuse the user. Simple language helps in making the offer more accessible
• Message Value Proposition: The message should communicate the value proposition of the offer, including the benefits, unique selling points, and any social proof or testimonials

Importance Of Message Matching

• Improves Conversion Rates: A strong message match reassures visitors that they have landed on the right page, which increases the chances of them taking the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service
• Builds Trust: Consistent messaging throughout the customer journey helps in building trust with potential customers, making them more likely to convert
• Reduces Bounce Rates: When the ad and landing page are aligned, visitors are less likely to leave the page immediately, reducing bounce rates and improving overall campaign performance

Examples Of Good & Bad Message Matching

• Good Message Match: An ad promises a "Free Consultation," and the landing page prominently features information about the free consultation, including how to schedule it
• Bad Message Match: An ad promises a "Free Consultation," but the landing page does not mention the consultation at all, leading to confusion and potential loss of the visitor or worse yet, the advertisement directs to the homepage of the website

Tips For Effective Message Matching

• Ensure the headline on the ad matches the headline on the landing page. Use consistent visual design elements, such as colors and images, across the ad and landing page
• Communicate the value proposition in both the ad and the landing page
• Avoid using different terminologies or jargon that might confuse the visitor. Test different versions of ads and landing pages to find the most effective message match

By focusing on these aspects, marketers can create a seamless and effective user experience that enhances the likelihood of conversions and maximizes the return on investment for their advertising campaigns.

Taking this same process, expand and replicate the same amount of detail into your sales and customer success handoffs and you'll have the perfect customer experience.

The clearer you get on this journey, the more effective you will become at converting prospects into paying customers who see massive success on your platform.

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