10. AMP TALKS: TRACK 2
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS THE NEW
DEMAND GEN
MEAGEN EISENBERG
Chief Marketing Officer | MongoDB
#ADVOCAMP
Editor's Notes
Customer Experience Is The New Demand Gen
Introduction {come in with a personal story so the audience can get to know more about Meagen and her experience – relatable}
Meagen Eisenberg – recently joined MongoDB as the new CMO
MongoDB is the next-generation database that helps businesses transform their industries by harnessing the power of data.
Previously VP of Customer Marketing @ Docusign and held many senior demand generation roles at other companies you may have heard of (HP and IBM)
In my demand gen journey that spans 20 years, I’ve seen it all and I can say that a company’s unbelievable advantage TODAY is not in content, lead systems or cold calling
Its in their customers and communities – there’s a HUGE opportunity untapped by companies across the world - but of course you know that and that’s why you are here
However, I am show you how you can catalyze growth by flipping the funnel
In my most recent role at Docusign – I learned that word of mouth creates serious pipeline – having customers talk about how happy they are and spread the gospel about your company has netted us over $3 Million in influenced pipeline alone
That’s why I am excited to join MongoDB – This company has an army of advocates that will shift the traditional linear demand gen funnel
The funnel many of us have seen already
I like to relate it to this fancy coffee filter
You place the grains and hot water at the very top – those are your leads and prospects
The wider the filter the more grains and water you can easily put in
The quicker it will be for you to filter and reap the benefits of the end result (it still takes time though)
This typical funnel worked a few years ago – marketing to the masses through the right channels (eg. tradeshows, banner ads, ebooks)
This led them through the funnel and to lead to the end results (closing your customer aka your coffee)
From there you focus the energy on retaining these customers and upselling them
Traditionally, the funnel stops there
That’s where the old demand generation funnel followed this relationship.
In the 2000’s these two were best friends because they produced the greatest results: Sales and Marketing.
Sales and Marketing are great at bringing in the new customers
A few year’s back, this was the big thing – an organizational shift into alignment
Once sales and marketing brought in the new customer they would be handed over to customer success for them to figure out
Retention and upsells were the key
Great then but there is a crises NOW - regular marketing channels are not effective
Global Trust In Advertising – Nielsen 2013 – http://www.slideshare.net/iabmexico/global-trust-in-advertising-report-nielsen-2013
There’s A LOT of information – freely accessible everywhere
Proven here in a 2013 Nielsen study - #1 form of advertising now is a ‘Recommendation from people I know’ – 84% for both trust and taking action
The web has become hyper connected
The barriers to information are abolished with the free flow of rapid information
So much FREE information that the buyer is overwhelmed
The only way for buyers to make a confident choice is to ask for a recommendation
The buyer wants trust and the only way to find it is through peers
http://www.yelp.com/biz/anchor-oyster-bar-san-francisco
This only makes sense as the prevalence of information and looking for peer reviews are in grained in our daily lives
Example is Yelp – great places like these are easy to find because they have such POSITVE word of mouth
I would have never known this place existed without a recommendation from a friend
Double Checking the reviews – I was sold and willing to spend my money and valuable time here
The power of your most enthusiastic customers cannot go unnoticed – Yelp has done amazing things for B2C – they’ve mobilized their advocates to leave over 900 reviews for their restaurant
Of course, B2B has the equivalent such as Quora reviews or G2 Crowd
In fact, we live in an era where it’s not even B2C vs B2B it’s H2H – human to human
Welcome to 2010
The demand gen pipeline HAS changed
We live in the age of the customer – the old model and rules don’t apply anymore – we no longer control word of mouth
I like to look at it in terms of an ice berg – your old model is the tip but there is a whole new world below the surface
Your customers are your foundation where they control your brand, reputation and the trust of the marketplace
What if the people that bought from you made you super successful – they have your buyer’s trust
What if they fueled demand through referrals, reviews and references?
Your conversion rate would be skyrocket – just like what happened during my experience at DocuSign
This created demand generation at a SOCIAL scale
Demand gen marketers need to focus on the few – giving them an unbelievable experience worth talking about and sharing
The transaction cost for finding social proof is nearly cheap to non existent
That’s why you need customer validation at every point in the funnel
This is found in the lower part of the iceberg
- We now live in this new world where cloud and Saas businesses live or die by one thing and one thing only – customers and customer success
That’s why you can’t do it only through Marketing & Sales Alignment, you HAVE TO bring in Customer Success because they are main focal points of customer happines
When you control that happiness and make it glow, you’ll see the results in your pipeline
I’m excited at the opportunity to mobilize our thriving global community of 750 partners, 2,000 customers, 35,000 MongoDB user group (MUG) members and 250,000 MongoDB University students