The document discusses the evolution of customer-driven sales and marketing software. It describes how the founders created Performable to help marketers build websites and generate online business. Performable focused on content management systems, analytics, and email automation. It was later acquired by Hubspot to build out their inbound marketing platform. However, software makers stopped prioritizing the customer experience. The founder then created Drift to use conversational messaging to engage with website visitors in real-time and qualify leads, replacing traditional forms with a more personalized approach.

1. Customer-Driven
Sales & Marketing
ELIAS TORRES
Co-founder & CTO, Drift

2. Elias Torres
Co-founder & CTO, Drift
@DRIFT
● VP of Engineering, HubSpot
NYSE: HUBS
● Co-Founder & CTO, Performable
Acquired by HubSpot
● VP of Engineering, Lookery
Acquired by Adknowledge
● Advanced Internet Technology Group, IBM
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3. The Marketing Software Landscape (2008)
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+

4. ● How do I get a website going?
● How do I rank higher in search?
● How do I generate business online?
Those are the types of questions
marketers were asking back then.
@DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN

5. Around this time,
David Cancel and I
started Performable.
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6. First we built the CMS.
We took everything we learned from Sean Ellis around
growth hacking, A/B testing, calls-to-action, getting your
stuff above the fold, etc. and began to productize it.
1. CMS
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7. Next we built reporting & analytics.
2. Analytics1. CMS
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8. Then we added email & automation.
3. Email1. CMS 2. Analytics
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9. AT THE TIME, THE BEST GROWTH HACKERS IN SF WERE SAYING:
“When someone signs up for your product,
you should send them a reminder email 3
days later if they haven’t activated.”
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10. So we were like, “OK, let’s
build a drip campaign service.”
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11. Back then, you couldn’t do this stuff
without the help of a developer.
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12. And with these 3 products…
3. Email1. CMS 2. Analytics
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13. We got Hubspot’s attention
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+

14. Hubspot said,
“Come and build all this for us.”
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15. And they said, “By the way,
this is inbound marketing.”
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“This is our philosophy”

16. And we were like,
“Cool. Let’s automate it.”
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17. So we built...
● Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons
● Landing pages
● Lead capture forms
● Thank you pages
● Conversion rate reporting
● A/B testing…
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18. Voilà! That was HubSpot.
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19. And in 2014…
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NYSE: HUBS

20. However, we made a big mistake.
We became so focused on automating
everything we saw in the marketplace…
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21. …that we stopped thinking
about the customer.
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22. We were so focused on being a personal
developer for marketers, that we forgot
about the end user.
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23. As a result, this is the flow we’ve
been forcing buyers to go through
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24. It’s like we’re spending all this time and
energy getting people into our stores—
only to hand them forms to fill out before
we’ll talk to them or sell them anything.
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25. And after we make people fill out
forms, we follow up with them when
it’s convenient for us.
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26. ✉ ☎
But this isn’t even how people want
to talk to businesses anymore.
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27. The 3 Waves of 1:1 Messaging Software
User Growth

28. 9 out of 10 consumers
want to be able to talk to
businesses via messaging.
@DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN Source: Twilio

29. So why aren’t we using
messaging to engage with
leads while they’re live on
our websites?
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30. That’s how Drift got
its start.
We’re reinventing modern marketing
and sales software using messaging
so we can capture and qualify leads
in real-time.
@DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN

31. We’re focused on making the buying
process as simple as possible.
Old Way New Way
BEFORE DRIFT ❌
Spammy, Complex, Low conversion rate
WITH DRIFT ✅
Personal, Simple, 2-3x conversion rate

32. With the old approach, all of
your leads have to hurry up and
wait (even the best ones).
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33. At Drift, we think the best leads
should be taking the fast lane
to your sales team.
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34. @DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN
The best part: Bots do
most of the work for you.
1. Bots can qualify leads 24/7, even
while your sales team is sleeping.
2. You can target only the people that
you want.

35. This means you can control the
volume and quality of leads
you’re getting on your website.
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36. @DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN
Instead of forms and
follow-ups, you can use
bots to capture and qualify
leads while they’re live on
your website.

37. @DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN
And you can use bots for
scheduling demos and
meetings.

38. We’re removing complexity
from the buying process.
@DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN

39. We’re putting the customer
back at the center of sales
and marketing.
@DRIFT #CUSTOMERDRIVEN

40. And it’s working!
Drift Automation gave us a 50% sales pipeline increase in just 50
days, without having to hire new people or build out new
playbooks.”
ROB STEVENSON, MARKETING AT ZENEFITS, FORMERLY MARKETING AT KEAP
“
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41. THANK YOU!
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