Verloop - Fireside chat

Summary

In this insightful fireside chat, Siddharth, the Chief Marketing Officer of WordLoops, shares strategies for building a robust customer acquisition strategy. He emphasizes understanding the target audience, identifying their pain points, and leveraging the right marketing channels. Siddharth also discusses the importance of allocating budgets wisely, staying ahead of the competition by delivering exceptional product value, and the role of technology in amplifying marketing efforts. Additionally, he highlights the significance of a content strategy aligned with the customer journey and the use of appropriate marketing tools for effective communication.

Takeaways

• 😀 Understanding your target audience is fundamental for building a strong customer acquisition strategy.
• 🔍 Knowing where your customers are and what platforms they use is crucial for effective marketing.
• 🎯 Allocating 70% of your budget to proven channels and 30% to experimental ones can balance risk and opportunity.
• ⏳ B2B sales have a longer feedback cycle, so cohort analysis over time is important for refining marketing strategies.
• 📈 Focusing on lagging indicators, rather than leading ones, can provide a clearer picture of marketing success.
• 🏆 A great product is essential; marketing can amplify its strengths but cannot compensate for a poor product.
• 📈 Staying ahead of the curve in technology and understanding customer needs can help maintain a competitive edge.
• 📝 Developing a content strategy that aligns with the customer journey is key to effective communication.
• 🛠️ Selecting the right marketing tools based on the stage of the funnel (top, middle, bottom) can optimize outreach and engagement.
• 🌟 Amplifying a good product with compelling content is essential for customer acquisition and retention.

Q & A

What is the fundamental aspect of building a strong customer acquisition strategy according to Siddharth?

Knowing who you're marketing to is fundamental. It involves understanding the audience, where they are, and their pain points to build a strong customer acquisition strategy.

How does World Loop determine which customer segments to target?

World Loop primarily targets CTOs, CIOs, and heads of customer support who are typically found on platforms like LinkedIn and various forums.

What is the approach to understanding customer pain points and value propositions as per the discussion?

The approach involves understanding the customer's gain point in choosing a tool and identifying the pain points that the product can solve for them.

How does World Loop decide on marketing channels to invest in?

World Loop decides on marketing channels by understanding where their customers are, what they search for, and how they interact, then allocating 70% of the budget to proven channels and 30% to experimental ones.

What is the role of the on-ground sales team in World Loop's GTM strategy?

The on-ground sales team provides crucial insights into customer interactions and behaviors, which helps in refining the GTM strategy.

How does World Loop refine its budget allocation for different marketing channels?

World Loop refines budget allocation by conducting cohort analysis to evaluate the performance of different channels and adjusting the budget based on conversion rates and customer feedback.

What is the key to staying ahead of the competition in terms of customer acquisition?

Staying ahead of the competition involves understanding customer pain points, delivering value, and ensuring the product is superior to competitors, as marketing will amplify the product's strengths and weaknesses.

How important is technology in staying ahead of the curve in marketing efforts?

Technology is crucial as it allows for better understanding of customer behavior, more effective targeting, and the use of advanced marketing tools to enhance customer acquisition strategies.

What are the best practices for building a content strategy as discussed in the fireside chat?

The best practices include understanding the entire customer journey, developing content for each stage of the funnel, and ensuring the content aligns with the customer's needs and the product's value proposition.

How does World Loop recommend selecting marketing tools for different stages of the funnel?

World Loop suggests selecting tools based on the stage of the funnel, with a focus on social tools for top-of-funnel, personalized tools for middle-of-funnel, and more direct engagement tools for bottom-of-funnel and customer advocacy.

What is the significance of understanding the customer journey in content development?

Understanding the customer journey is significant as it allows for the creation of targeted content that addresses the customer's needs and pain points at each stage, from awareness to consideration to decision-making.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Building a Strong Customer Acquisition Strategy

The paragraph discusses the importance of understanding the target audience to build a solid foundation for a customer acquisition strategy. It emphasizes knowing who you're marketing to, where they are, and their pain points. The speaker, Siddharth, mentions that World Loop primarily targets CTOs and CIOs, who are often found on LinkedIn or in industry forums. The strategy involves understanding what these individuals need and how World Loop can solve their problems. The marketing message should communicate the value that World Loop brings to these customers.

05:01

🛠️ Activating Customers and Channel Investment

This section delves into how to activate customers and decide on the channels to invest in for marketing. Siddharth explains that understanding where customers are and what they are interested in is crucial. He suggests a 70/30 split for budget allocation, with 70% going to proven channels and 30% to experimental ones. He also talks about the importance of cohort analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of different channels over time. The feedback cycle in B2B sales is noted to be longer, so it's essential to look at lagging indicators to make informed decisions about budget allocation.

10:02

🌐 Staying Ahead of the Competition

The focus here is on how to ensure that marketing efforts are ahead of the competition. Siddharth points out that a strong foundation in understanding customer pain points and delivering value is key. He stresses that a good product will naturally stay ahead if it meets customer needs better than competitors. Additionally, staying on top of technology trends and having the right marketing tools are essential to maintain a competitive edge. The paragraph also touches on the role of content in amplifying the product's value and the importance of a content strategy that aligns with the customer journey.

📈 Marketing Tools for Effective Communication

In this paragraph, the discussion turns to the types of marketing tools that can be effective for both B2C and B2B. The speaker recommends tools based on their utility at different stages of the customer funnel. For the top of the funnel, social tools for broad reach are suggested. For the middle of the funnel, tools that facilitate one-to-one engagement are recommended. At the bottom of the funnel and for engagement, more personalized tools like physical books, benchmark reports, and webinars are advised. The speaker emphasizes the importance of choosing the right tools to match the stage of the customer journey and the goal of the marketing effort.

Keywords

💡Customer Acquisition Strategy

A customer acquisition strategy is a systematic plan to attract new customers to a business. In the script, it is discussed as a fundamental aspect of marketing, with the emphasis on understanding who the audience is and where they can be found, as well as understanding their pain points and how the product can solve those issues.

💡Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

A Chief Marketing Officer is the executive responsible for developing and implementing a company's marketing strategy. In the script, the CMO of World Loop is interviewed to provide insights into the company's customer acquisition strategy, highlighting the importance of this role in guiding marketing efforts.

💡Persona

A persona represents a specific customer segment that a company targets. The script mentions creating a deep understanding of the customer persona, such as a CTO or head of customer support, to tailor marketing efforts effectively.

💡Pain Point

A pain point is a problem or challenge that a customer faces which a company's product or service aims to solve. The script discusses identifying and understanding these pain points as a key part of the customer acquisition strategy.

💡Value Proposition

A value proposition is a statement that clearly expresses the benefits and unique selling points of a product or service. The script emphasizes the importance of understanding and communicating the value that a product brings to address customers' pain points.

💡Channel

A channel refers to the various platforms or methods through which a company can reach its customers. The script discusses how to decide which channels to invest in, such as LinkedIn or forums, based on where the target audience is active.

💡Budget Allocation

Budget allocation involves deciding how much money or resources to invest in different marketing channels. The script suggests a strategy of allocating the majority of the budget to proven channels and a smaller portion to experimental ones.

💡Cohort Analysis

Cohort analysis is a method of evaluating the behavior of groups of customers segmented by a specific characteristic, such as the channel through which they were acquired. The script mentions using cohort analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of different marketing channels over time.

💡Competitive Advantage

A competitive advantage is a feature or aspect of a business that gives it an edge over competitors. The script talks about staying ahead of the competition by understanding customer pain points and delivering a product that meets their needs better than competitors.

💡Content Strategy

A content strategy is a plan for creating, distributing, and managing content to attract and engage a target audience. The script discusses building a content strategy that aligns with different stages of the customer journey, from awareness to advocacy.

💡Technology Trends

Technology trends refer to the latest developments and innovations in technology. The script highlights the importance of staying on top of technology trends to leverage the best tools for marketing and customer acquisition.

💡Marketing Tools

Marketing tools are software and platforms used to execute marketing strategies. The script suggests various types of tools for different stages of the marketing funnel, from social media tools for broad reach to more personalized tools for one-to-one engagement.

Highlights

The importance of understanding your audience to build a strong customer acquisition strategy.

Identifying where your target customers are active, such as on LinkedIn or specific forums.

Understanding the pain points and value propositions for different customer roles like CTOs or heads of customer support.

The strategy of allocating 70% of marketing budget to proven channels and 30% to experimental ones.

Utilizing cohort analysis to evaluate and adjust marketing budget allocations over time.

The role of product quality in customer acquisition and how marketing amplifies product strengths and weaknesses.

Staying ahead of the competition by understanding customer needs and leveraging technology trends.

Developing a content strategy that aligns with the different stages of the customer journey.

The significance of top-of-the-funnel content in creating awareness of potential pain points.

Middle-of-the-funnel content should guide customers in making informed decisions.

Bottom-of-the-funnel content should highlight case studies and product differentiators to close deals.

Engagement content for existing customers should focus on thought leadership and educational resources.

Selecting the right marketing tools based on the stage of the funnel and the desired reach versus relationship.

The necessity of a good product as the foundation for effective marketing efforts.

How marketing can amplify a product's strengths but also highlight its weaknesses if it fails to meet promises.

The importance of being on top of technology trends to stay competitive in marketing and customer acquisition.

The role of content in amplifying the perception of a good product in the market.

Recommendations for marketing tools that can effectively communicate product and content to different customer segments.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello everybody welcome i hope you've

had a fantastic time reading wordloops

case and to help us understand the case

much better to help us understand the

questions in the case much better we're

delighted to have the chief marketing

officer of world loop in person actually

virtually but in person virtually to

guide us through the case i'm sure that

you've enjoyed the case and i'm very

very glad and delighted to welcome

siddharth to this uh to this little

fireside chat where we explore more

about world loops customer acquisition

strategy so welcome welcome to that to

this fireside chat

glad to be here thank you so much for

having me

perfect so you know right off the bat i

want to understand one very fundamental

question is that you know when when

you're trying to build a strong customer

acquisition strategy what are the kind

of foundations you end up building in

order to make sure your customer

acquisition strategy is is full is

strong and is very stable at the same

time

so yeah i mean uh

it's pretty simple actually right uh we

try to over complicate things and we try

to you know jargonize marketing a lot

but at the end of the day uh your

marketing to your customer right so the

first thing that you've got to do to

build a great foundation is to know who

you're marketing to

right uh figure out who your audience is

who is your uh who is going to buy your

product right who's going to sign up

right and then figure out where those

people are

right uh for example if i am i mean

given the world loops acquisition right

we sell primarily to the cto cios the

head of customer support right now most

of these people either are on linkedin

or on different for a forum right so we

figure out which forums are they on

which channels are they on right so you

build up with the person now you build

up where they are what they do you

understand get a deep understanding of

what you know who who they actually are

right i mean if there's a cto what is

the cto's gain point in choosing a tool

like one

and what is that pain point that loop

will solve for them right understand the

person understand their pain point and

understand how do you how would they get

attracted towards you what what is that

pain point that they cannot live without

what is the value that you bring right

and that's what you've got to

communicate and that's the foundation of

our marketing

got it perfect one point so over here um

you know further down

when you're trying to activate your

particular set of customers how do you

decide which channels to start investing

towards and how do you actually

refine out maybe a ratio of sorts where

we decide that these are the channels

that we should invest this much amount

of money or efforts in this in order to

streamline your gtm plans

sure

so uh you know as a part of gta right uh

the biggest uh

you know help you get is from the on

ground sales team right uh but before

even it comes to that right you've got

like i said you've got to understand

where your customers are at right if

your customers are on twitter or your

customers are on linkedin facebook are

they searching right i mean are they

actually looking at that keyword right

does that keyword even have a volume and

if they are searching like what are they

watching are they searching educational

is it like how do i build a whatsapp

chatbot or is it like where do i buy a

whatsapp chatbot right so is it an

intent driven is it a awareness driven

what is it you understand these things

right and then you figure out

okay hey this is uh

what's going to be like you know in the

you know this is what my customer uh

customers are this is where my customers

are and this is what is actually

where they are interacting with each

other all right and that's and that

that's a gdm strategy now coming to the

past where you know uh where how do you

allocate budget to this right now budget

allocation is an art in itself yeah uh

you might want to say that okay hey i

want to take on one channel and go full

out and you know double it uh typically

how i would break that is i would look

at okay hey this is uh there are like

the two channels where i know for sure

shot i think these are the way my

customers are actually available on

right i put probably put 70 percent of

my budgets there right 30 percent of my

budget is experimental right i don't

know the channel will work or not i

don't know that you know people i'm not

sure about the channel i see some of my

customers there but i don't know how

much of an impact will make and that's

how i basically now uh and then i

allocate 30 percent of budget to those

channels experimental right

now over a period of time uh in b2b

unfortunately right uh and given uh as

an enterprise uh sales product your

feedback cycle is slightly bit longer i

mean the lead comes in it takes some

time for them to either give a yes or no

right so your feedback is delayed but if

you do a simple cohort analysis

saying that okay of all the leads are

generated in say the first quarter of

last year

and you know by which channel right

which of these have actually converted

right and which of these have actually

converted and churned converted and

stayed and not converted right so you

get these like you know two quarters

down the line you'll get a good cohort

right and then you basically start

evaluating okay hey should i tune my

budgets up to my budgets down

right so you look at the lagging

indicators not the leading indicators

and then you probably make a choice uh

initially it is all about the leading

indicators you understand okay hey am i

able to generate substantial amount of

uh

conversations for my sales team

right if you are able to do that you

double down on the channel and generate

more and more we got it interesting now

in this respect whenever you are you're

identifying the channels to activate

people on these indicators how do you

make sure amidst all this you stay ahead

of the curve in terms of competition

because i believe that this space for

the last two to three years is getting

quite hot right we didn't say domestic

competition and international

competition uh you know price more and

everything is on one side and then

marketing is on the other side so how do

you make sure that you know your

customer acquisition specific to

marketing efforts is always ahead of the

curve as compared to your competitors

so this again goes back to the first

question right what are the foundations

right if you are able to actually hit

the paid point and actually highlight

the value that you bring to the audience

right they are going to go for your

product right um and you've got to

ensure you do it uh 10x better than your

competitor right

nothing beats having a good product

right and uh you know uh some of the

best people will always say this and you

know some of the best b2b marketers say

this

marketing ads as an amplifier right if

your product can do 1x 2x better your

marketing will make it project it to be

a great brand okay like hey i'm doing a

great job right if your product does

negative right if it is actually not

delivering on its promises marketing

will amplify that right i mean there

will be a lot of places where people

will go and complain they'll write more

reviews about you they'll start dissing

your product so marketing amplifies

whatever the product is

right and if you can and

if you're able to build a great product

if you're able to understand the pain

point and the value you bring and you

combine these three together right uh

you're always going to stay out of the

club right uh

naturally because that you are you are

that deep in understanding of the

customer uh second thing is

you know uh you've got to be on top of

technology

right uh you have a good i mean you have

a better tools coming out now you have

more uh you have more i mean marketers

are now spoiled for choices when it

comes to tools right so how do you go to

your i mean now that you have decided on

your customer persona you've decided on

your messaging you know that your

product is damn good

right uh do you want to go like on an

abm strategy or do you want to go on a

you know uh lead generation strategy all

this depends upon you know uh are you

staying ahead of the curve in technology

okay hey do i want to do i want to go

like you know choose a tool which i can

deliver one-to-one messaging or do i

want to go abroad so it's all you have

to be on top of the technology trends as

well

plus understanding your customers and

the value your product breaks

interesting now in order to deliver this

to educate the people and to amplify

uh how a good product is the role of

content is

undeniable right so

aspect how do you build out a content

strategy because what according to me uh

succeeds a good product is a good

content right

in order to amplify so what kind of best

practices you can share to make sure

that you know your content game if i can

say is on point

sure so uh you know whenever you're

going to the b2b product right you'll

have different segments that you will

target right you will have like you you

might will you might be targeting the

small and the medium and the medium

enterprises you might be targeting the

big enterprises right and it's not that

you'll be targeting only one segment i

mean as a part of your organization

you'll be targeting multiple sectors

right now

you have to understand the entire

customer journey right right from

awareness

to

you know saying yes or no and once they

said yes what are they doing right what

is the journey that they're taking right

and develop content for that

right so you have your top of the funnel

content you have the middle of your

final content you have the bottom of the

funnel content and you have your uh

engagement content or the customer

advocacy content

right uh top of the funnel content will

typically be okay hey how do you how do

you i mean uh make the user aware of the

passive pain point that they might have

right middle of the funnel is all about

hey

how are you going to make a decision

right bottom of the funnel is okay here

if you have chosen to take a decision

you've chosen to go for a conversational

ai

but why would you right get out your

case studies get out your point

differentiators get out your product

marketing understand what integration it

provides get the best content out there

right engagement is more about okay hey

now that you have chosen a world loop

right you've got to be the thought

leaders in this space

right what are the latest whatsapp

updates that's happening how can i help

the customers what what is the best way

to send out a outbound template message

right what is the uh what what are the

tips and tricks to make sure that you

don't get banned by sending you know

what's the best uh nurture campaigns for

brands to use

right on whatsapp how do they do that so

you know developing all these kind of

content uh i mean if you go by the

customer journey right that should help

you ace your content game very easily

got it interesting and now what

compliments for the push of content is

technology and i'm looking at marketing

tools in fact

what kind of marketing tools would you

recommend folks either b2c and b2b to

start investing towards uh so that you

know the product and the content gets

gets communicated very well and you know

the customer acquisition cost is is not

significantly high

sure so uh you know again like i'll

segment again by the top of the final

bottom of the funnel middle of the

funnel and engagement right so when you

have the top of the funnel right you

want it to be as social as possible

right so you look at more social uh

tools right which you can distribute

socially right um what about the funnel

middle of the funnel you want to go one

too few and one to one right so you're

looking at tools which are like inflow

to uh linkedin retargeting linkedin

emails right

then you come down to the engagement

right when you're looking at engagement

you're looking at very close knit of

people who are already working with you

so there it's more offline maybe you

send them a you know a physically a

physical book right take out your uh

benchmark reports check out all your

content pieces that you have made take

out all the blogs that i mean the best

blog or the best infographic you've made

and send it to them right

and or uh emails and webinars right get

them get them into this right so there

are a lot of tools and technologies that

you can use across these places right

the idea is like

what is a how however i mean i would do

it by the reach versus the relationship

right uh top of the funnel you want to

have a bigger reach right uh and as soon

as as you flow down the funnel you want

to have a better relationship you don't

i mean your case study you don't mind

your case study not going viral but you

want your cash flow to reach that one

person who's going to buy it tomorrow

right so you optimize for that got it

fantastic i think this is this is very

informative i think this provides a lot

of clarity and i'm sure that the

students will be able to connect a lot

of dots through this fireside chat back

into

what we spoke about were loop in the

case so thank you so much for taking out

the time especially when you're

recovering and i wish you a very fine

i hope i was of help yes absolutely

thank you thank you so much

[Music]