Emilia ABM

Introduction

The chat hosted by Praveen, co-founder of Factors, features insights from Emily, VP of Marketing at Userpilot, about how she scaled ABM in 90 days generating $655K in pipeline and beyond. “It’s brutal,” she said. “There are no playbooks.” Yet she scaled it and we’re spilling the tea from our conversation with her here. 

Overview of Userpilot

Userpilot is a U.S.-based product growth platform with an emphasis on aiding B2B SaaS companies, especially product teams, to better understand user behavior through product analytics and enhance in-app onboarding and engagement experiences. Recently, the company has pivoted from targeting smaller firms to focusing on larger enterprises, a shift driven by the maturity of their product offerings and market demands.

Evolution of Marketing Strategies

The dialogue traces the past five years of Userpilot’s marketing strategies. Initially, they relied heavily on SEO and content marketing for customer acquisition, ensuring a steady stream of marketing-qualified leads. However, as they sought to penetrate the enterprise segment, they confronted difficulties relying solely on organic traffic, notably due to changes in user behavior linked to the rise of AI search tools.

Transition to ABM

Recognizing the limitations of their initial strategies, Userpilot explored cold outbound strategies but saw limited success. Ultimately, the company embraced ABM mainly due to their CEO’s emphasis on better team alignment and coordinated campaigns directed at specific personas, supposedly enhancing their ability to address diverse user needs.

Challenges in ABM Implementation

Upon beginning their ABM campaigns, Userpilot experienced challenges particularly in compiling a targeted contact list. Their campaign identification was based on new product launches and applicable use-cases, but initial attempts at list-building were flawed. They later realized that starting with profiles of successful customers and crafting lookalike audiences would have been more effective.

Campaign Structure

Emily elaborates on their setup using LinkedIn advertising and retargeting campaigns across various platforms, admitting their initial campaign structure became overly complex with many disparate campaigns aimed at different personas and intents. This cluttered approach hampered efficacy and made actionable data hard to obtain, necessitating a simplification of their marketing strategy.

Streamlining Processes and Targeting

The company faced hurdles with LinkedIn’s rigid engagement metrics, requiring at least three clicks from the same company for performance data to be generated. Consequently, they opted for a broader targeting approach, focusing on intent rather than strict persona segmentation and adjusting campaign structures to mix personas and emphasize job titles.

Measurement and Performance Improvement

To assess intent, they employed engagement signals, tracking clicks and interactions with LinkedIn ads, while also incorporating website visits and social media interactions. They established a workflow where such engagement signals would update their CRM, enabling tailored outreach by Business Development Representatives (BDRs). The campaign stages were categorized into awareness, interest, and decision-making, along with the creation of content tailored to each stage based on intent.

Results and Success Metrics

Significant improvements in campaign performance were seen with the adoption of more inclusive targeting and real-time data-driven strategy adjustments. Cost Per Mille (CPM) decreased by approximately 40%, and Click-Through Rates (CTR) doubled. To streamline attribution, deals were attributed to campaigns based on specific criteria, enhancing understanding of ABM’s multifaceted influence and facilitating personalized BDR outreach.

Conclusion

In summary, this discussion underscores the vital role of flexibility, intent-driven targeting, and effective process management in executing successful ABM strategies. The evolution and enhancements made by Userpilot reflect an ongoing commitment to refining campaign effectiveness in response to data insights and challenges in the market.

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