Gary DeAsi
Senior Manager,
Digital Marketing & Brand
SmartBear Software
@gdaz
Aligning Your
Marketing Strategy
& Team with the
Modern Customer Journey
customerjourneymarketer.com

22
4M+
users
25K+
organizations
194
countries
15+
products

Marketing Organization
Demand Gen
Creative
Web
Operations
Functionally
“Market Manager”
& Product Marketing
X4
Vertically
customerjourneymarketer.com

: The complete sum of experiences
that customers go through as they
interact with a company/brand across
multiple touch points over time.
Customer Journey
customerjourneymarketer.com

70% of the buyer’s journey
occurs online before
engaging with a sales rep
customerjourneymarketer.com

66
ROAD TO ADVOCACY
90% of the buyer’s
journey is self-directed

77
“The right people, with the right
experiences, at the right time!”
But for realsies,
how do you do that?

Adopting a Stages Model
and Key Considerations
customerjourneymarketer.com

Adopting a Customer Journey Stages Model

Click here to learn more about this model
customerjourneymarketer.com

Stages/Models Tips and N2K
• Customers can enter at any stage
• Don’t think linear
• Choose the right model for your business
• Define stages by customer POV, not just yours.
Questions and barriers…
• Encompass all scenarios
• Clear definitions
• Objectives and success definitions
• Training and reinforcement!
• Get internal buy-in
customerjourneymarketer.com

Understanding your Customers
Individual
Job roles, personas
Motivators
Problems, pain points
Terminology & language
Buying triggers
How solve problem before?
Organization
Industry vertical
Company size
Business model, strategy
Technology stack
Org structure
Geo locations
customerjourneymarketer.com

1313
Using Competitor XYZ
not actively looking to
switch solutions
Using Competitor
XYZ actively looking
to switch solutions
Has a pain/problem,
has never used a paid
solution before
Doesn’t know they
have a problem yet
Has used a competitor
before, new company
doesn’t have a solution
Using a free tool,
recycled lead now
actively looking for
solution

Understanding your Business
Product or Service
Value propositions
Key features, capabilities
Differentiators
Complexity of solution
Use cases
Technical specifications
Technology partnerships
Sales
Pricing model
Sales model
Length of sales cycle
$ ASP
Barriers & objections
Complexity of buying decision
Market
Market maturity
Demand type
Market share
Competitive landscape
Positioning
Market trends
customerjourneymarketer.com

1515
Demand
Type Characteristics Objectives Requirements
Established
Market
• Majority recognize as
necessary
• Well-defined, contested
market with established
solutions
• Battling for market share
• Differentiate solution
features/capabilities
• Quantify incremental value vs
competitors
• Calculate total cost of ownership
advantages
• Competitive
positioning and
differentiation
• Overcome cost of
switch
New
Paradigm
• Retools/optimizes existing
process
• Solves known current
problem better
• Replaces current line item
• Educate buyers there is a better
way solve problem than current
legacy solutions
• Quantify the cost of status quo
doing nothing
• Justify the cost of new paradigm vs
status quo legacy solution
• Process/solution
change
• Hone in on pitfalls and
risks associated with
existing legacy
solutions
• Focus on innovation,
change, future
New
Concept
• Disruptive
• No budgetary line item
• Requires issue/problem
creation
• Illuminate issues buyers may not
be aware they had and/or
associate with pain points
• Help buyers prioritize opportunities
• Make buyers aware solutions exist
and the value in solving problems
• Market Leadership
• Evangelism
• Early adopters
• Target influential,
motivated prospects

1616
Information
• Search and browsing behavior
• Research and nurture needs
• Messaging
• Barriers to overcome
• Questions to answer
INTELLIGENCE

How do you get all this information?
Online Surveys
Interviews
Networking
Data & Research
customerjourneymarketer.com

Team Education: Customer Journey “Battlecards”

NOW WHAT?...

Engagement Education Research Evaluation Justification Purchase
Adoption -
Advocacy
Content Strategy
Social Strategy
Lead Nurturing
Paid Advertising
Web: SEO & Conversion
PR
Marketing Operations
Analytics and Reporting
Alignment & Execution
customerjourneymarketer.com

Content Strategy
customerjourneymarketer.com

Metrics
Goals &
Objectives
Content
Audit
Content
Plan
Aligning Content Strategy: Planning Process
Traffic
Free tool downloads
Leads Generated
Content Downloads
QLs
Trials
Trial Activations
Opportunities
Opportunities Won
Renewals
Upsell, Cross-sell
%
customerjourneymarketer.com

2323SmartBear Confidential and Proprietary
Aligning Content Strategy: Content Audit

2424
Content Audit: Identify Content Gaps
SmartBear Confidential and Proprietary
 Number assets / stage
 Types of assets / stage
 Performance of assets
 Age of content
 Location of content
 Distribution strategy
 Optimization, enhancement,
and re-purposing
 Keyword research

Metrics
Goals &
Objectives
Content
Audit
Content
Plan
Content Strategy: Planning Process
Traffic
Leads Generated
Content Downloads
QLs
Trials
Trial Activations
Opportunities
Opportunities Won
Renewals
Upsell, Cross-sell
%
Topics
Formats
Timeline
Budget
Resources
customerjourneymarketer.com

2626SmartBear Confidential and Proprietary
? ?
“Why do I have a problem?!"
“What solutions are available?
What factors should I consider?”
“Does this product solve my problem(s)
& meet my needs/requirements?”
"Why should I choose this? How can I get
my boss and team members on board?”
“Hello, brand, do I like you, are you relevant to me?”
“How do I get it? How difficult will it be to
implement and change current process?”

Multi-Stage Content, Linking, CTAs
Education (Problem)
Research (Solution)
Evaluation (Product)

Channel
Alignment
customerjourneymarketer.com

Properties and Communities
Blog & Social
Resource
Centers
Product
Sections
Community
& Support

Resource/“Learn” Centers “educational”

3131
Product Sections
Product
Sections
“Commercial”

Paid Advertising
Paid Social
3rd party Email
Sponsored Content
adwords
Re-marketing
customerjourneymarketer.com

Paid Advertising: Remarketing
Resource Center Product SectionOpen Source Download
eBook Trial

Lead Nurturing
Top Funnel
During Trial
Bottom Funnel
Customer
customerjourneymarketer.com

*eBooks
Infographics
Webinars
Blogs
Slideshares
Videos
Documentation
Checklists
Tutorials
Guides
Weekly training
FAQ
Case Studies
Testimonials
ROI Calculators
Sell your Boss
Analyst Reports
BOFU Webinars
Top BottomTrial

Operations,
Scoring, Metrics
customerjourneymarketer.com

3737
*Scoring, Behavioral Data + Segmentation
Engagement
Education,
Research
Evaluation
Justification,
Purchase
Adoption –
Advocacy
Closed Won, Renewals
a) Completed Trial (Open, working)
b) Open Opportunity
a) Scored QL (100+)
b) During trial
Score = 10-99
Score < 10

SFDC Campaign Field + Score Weights
+10
+30
+50
customerjourneymarketer.com

Stages Metrics
Engagement,
Education,
Research
 Blog traffic
 Resource traffic
 Content Downloads
 QLs (Non-trial score-ups)
Evaluation
 Product section traffic
 Trials
 Trial Activations
Justification,
Purchase
 Opportunities opened
 Opportunities closed won
Adoption,
Retention,
Expansion,
Advocacy
 Renewals
 Up-sell, Cross-sell opportunities
 NPS
 Influitive members/activity
customerjourneymarketer.com

Agile
customerjourneymarketer.com

4141
Why Agile?
• Project planning/management
• Time + workload management
• Faster reaction time
• Collaboration (Global)
• Prioritization
• Visibility/transparency
• Accountability
• Efficiency
• Break down silos

20132012 2014 2015
Agile Tools and Systems: 2012-2016
2016
Agile system 1 Agile system 2
RE-ORG

Current Sprint System
Demand Gen CreativeWeb Operations
Teams
Team Managers
Market Manager (x4)
Customers
customerjourneymarketer.com

Current Sprint System
Length: Two weeks (10 business days)
Delivery Vehicles:
• Epics: Overarching project (multiple sprints)
• Stories: High level summary of problem sent to Manager
• Tasks: Execution items with hours attached (assigned to sprint)
Meetings:
• Retrospective/Review – how did we do? What went well? What
can we improve? Big wins?
• Mid-Sprint “Half-time show” – how are we tracking? Blockers?
Priority changes? Have what we need for H2?
• Sprint Commit – What does everyone have on our plates?
Priorities? Details and deadlines? Can we commit?

4545
“I _____________, take you
_______________________ ,
to be my lawfully wedded JIRA issue, to
honor and cherish you, for better, for
worse, in sickness and health until we
are parted by ____________”
Honor Thine Commitments!
SmartBear Confidential and Proprietary
[~gary.deasi]
MTD-577 Team Customer Journey Training
Due: 7/July/16

First 10 Sprints Since Adding Commit Session
64.82%
79.42% 78.34%
88.26% 85.71%
95.96%
90.25% 92.06%
91.88%
95.55%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
120.00%
728 814 828 911 925 1009 1023 1106 1120 1204
Traffic Team Sprint Results: % Commited Execution Hours Completed
728 814 828 911 925 1009 1023 1106 1120 1204
customerjourneymarketer.com

Current Sprint System
• Backlog: “To do” list of tasks not assigned to a sprint
• Execution hours: time spent actually executing tasks
• “Personal Problems”: OOO/PTO, Doctor’s, Travel, Interviews, Meeting
• “Flex” time: time planned in sprint for incoming unplanned tasks, or
to be used for ideation, experimentation, optimization, or backlogged
tasks
• “Flex” tasks: unplanned tasks assigned to sprint after commit session
• “Gypsy” tasks: a task that keeps getting pushed back sprint after
sprint
customerjourneymarketer.com

4848
Sprint 0610 Retrospective: 10AM
Sprint 0624 Commit: 2PM
Sprint 0624 Start
Mid-sprint check-in,
calendar review
Metrics
MMs send “big rocks”

Agile Lessons Learned
 Get organizational buy-in
 Mold system to your organization, not the other way around
 Iterative, collaborative process - feedback, evolution
 Sprint length = 2-4 Weeks
 Benchmark your bandwidth
 Build in flex time. Plan for the unpredictable, time-sucks (20-50%)
 Minimize upkeep – low touch
 Specificity, break down tasks into bite size pieces
 Review and commit before sprint
 Sprint and backlog to deflect unnecessary requests – use the backlog!
 If it’s not in the sprint it doesn’t exist.
customerjourneymarketer.com

Gary DeAsi
gary.deasi@smartbear.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garydeasi
@gdaz
Thank you!
customerjourneymarketer.com