#inbound2013 An Inbound Marketer’s Guide
to Product Marketing How marketers can improve the top line with product content and sales enablement tools. Rick Burnes

1 What is Inbound Product
Marketing? 2 The Starting Point: Your Buyer Persona 3 7 Steps Needed to Nail a Product Launch 4 4 Pieces of the Sales Enablement Foundation

1 What Is Inbound Product
Marketing?

“Don‟t talk about the product.”
David Meerman Scott Inbound Marketing Godfather

HubSpot‟s early growth was fueled
by its inbound marketing story, not its product story.

Here’s the problem with that
... Answers to „What does HubSpot Sell?‟ Survey conducted in November 2011.

No Product Knowledge Deep Product
Knowledge

No Product Knowledge Deep Product
Knowledge No Product Knowledge No Product Knowledge

What‟s HubSpot? SEO Website Social
Media Blogging Landing Pages Lead Management Email Marketing Marketing Automation Marketing Analytics

So we started to do
product marketing. Product content.

Great product marketing is a
great product story.

It‟s told through product launches
and sales enablement.

And in an inbound world,
it‟s driven by content & data.

2 The Starting Point: Your
Buyer Persona

Who are you writing your
product story for? Image: Kadient marketing team, via David Meerman Scott.

• Formalize your persona profile
in internal documents • Follow your customers home • Collect assets and documents they use • Conduct win/loss interviews • Conduct user testing • Keep updating the profile Buyer Persona Tips

To teach the persona, have
new hires write case studies.

Once you know your buyer,
map their journey to your company.

Once you know your buyer,
map their journey to your company.

Step #1: Find the Right
Interview Subjects 50% From Your Funnel 50% Not From Your Funnel LinkedIn Groups, social networks, and PPC can all work. Closed won and lost deals are usually best.

Step #2: Interview to Document
the Path Forks: Which ebooks did she read? Who did she talk to? Routes: What steps did she take to make a decision?

Use Sources to See How
Buyers Find You

Use Conversion Assists to See
Buyers’ Influences

Step #3: Share and Implement
Framework Route-Level Data Fork-Level Data Brand Awareness Search Searched for “small business heathcare plans” Triggering Event Executive identifies need. Board decides to improve benefits. Research & Evaluation Product research via content. Downloaded pdf of healthcare services. Decision Contract signed. Negotiated for security and consulting exceptions. ATypicalJourney Core knowledge for your team. Guide for launch and enablement priorities. +

3 7 Steps Needed to
Nail a Product Launch

1. The story clarifies 2.
It has reach 3. It sells

Let‟s look at 7 steps
to executing a product launch effectively. Flickr Photo: SeanJCPhoto

• Sit in on product
testing • Test your messaging • Use social networks + Amazon gift cards to get participants • Keep testing lightweight • Participate in the beta program (encourage development of one if you don‟t have one) Step #1: Product Research Flickr Photo: Barack Obama

Important information to spell out
early on: • Elevator pitch • Target audience • User benefits (problems it solves) • Key features • Competitive positioning & differentiation Step #2: Spell Out the Story

Focus on the buyer‟s journey,
e.g.: • „What is [Your Company]?‟ video • „What is [Your Company]?‟ page • Launch video (what‟s new?) • Product web pages • Product deck for sales • Case studies • Related top-of-the funnel content Step #3: Start Creating Your Content

Make the audience forget you‟re
pitching them.

It‟s easy to forget case
studies. Don‟t.

Polish product
content.

Step #4. Setup a launch
war room.

• Who‟s most likely to
create content about your launch? Maybe: – Partners – Customers – Analysts – Influencers • Create content and resources that make it easy for them to write about your product. • Create sample or template blog articles. Step #5: Engage Your Community Pre-Launch

Step 1: Create an exclusive
sales beta program staffed with top-performing reps. Step 2: Work with top reps to identify and create key sales collateral for launch. Step 3: Train the rest of the team based on what you‟ve learned in steps #1 & #2. Step #6: Prepare Your Sales Team

If you‟re launching via a
big presentation, d o an internal dry-run.

Step #7: Spell Out a
Launch Plan *Directly Responsible Individuals, a concept HubSpot borrowed from Apple. Create a document that spells out the plan minute-by- minute, with DRIs* for each action.

How do you know if
you‟ve been successful?

1. Did the story clarify?
2. Did it get reach? 3. Did it sell?

Does your persona understand your
product and its positioning?

Bounce Rate Is a Signal
of Comprehension

Was your message amplified by
on- message third- party content?

Did your launch generate a
bump in coverage of your product?

Did you generate good leads
from launch-related offers?

Are more customers using the
new products? Share of customers using HubSpot‟s Salesforce.com connector, by cohort.

4 4 Pieces of the
Sales Enablement Foundation

Why sales enablement? Launches drive
awareness here Sales takes over here … … but there‟s a lot marketing can do to make sales more productive.

Sales Yield: % of leads
worked by sales that convert to customers. More productive = higher sales yield.

“Could you write this email
to my prospect.” A Typical Sales Enablement Pitfall But of course!

Thank you. I looked at
one of them. Another Typical Sales Enablement Pitfall Sir, I created 100 PowerPoint decks for you.

Let‟s look at 4 pieces
of a strong sales enablement foundation. Flickr Photo: Martin Lopatka

• What is the sales
process? – What are the steps in the sales process? – What‟s the best process for training? – How do you hold reps and managers accountable for learning? • What is the product story? – Who are you selling to? – What is the value? #1 Push for Sales/Marketing Alignment Flickr Photo: QUEEN YUNA

Create content to answer common
questions, in a scalable way: • What is it? • How is it different? • How much does it cost? • Your most frequent objections. #2 Focus on Content for the Buyer’s Journey

Are your key content assets
being used?

Throw Out Your Demo Decks
Website content is richer, and you control the story.

Are there survey tools you
can create? HubSpot‟s 40- question assessment tool has a 25% close rate vs. 9% for all worked opportunities.

Make sure your happy customers
are creating content, too.

Some channels that can work
well: • Internal wiki (eg, Confluence) • Inside the CRM (eg Salesforce, Chatter) • Sales ideas site • Q&A forum • Email • Internal meetings • Webinars (large teams) #3 Build Effective Communication Channels

When you create internal forums,
reps answer their own questions.

Measure the Content Your Reps
Are Using

Possible elements of a scalable
training: • Use multiple channels • Regular product quizzes • Wiki pages with Q&A forums • Manager-driven assessments • Certifications #4 Create Scalable Product Training

Publish Results So Reps Take
Quizzes Seriously

How do you know it‟s
working?

Percentage of the Reps Who
Demo‟d Specific Apps Measure What Your Reps Are Selling

Did you improve sales yield?

5 Final Thought

Great product marketing is a
great product story.

But your ability to tell
that story depends on big assumptions that may be out of your control.

What can an individual do
to ensure success?

Work at a company you
believe in.

Thank You.
Questions?