In this engaging session, Aurelia Solomon, the Head of Product and Customer Marketing at DataGrail, delves into the pivotal role of customer marketing in acquiring new customers. With years of experience in both product and customer marketing, Aurelia offers valuable insights into how these two functions intersect to drive growth. Discover practical strategies to leverage your existing customer base, enhance customer engagement, and boost customer acquisition efforts.

How Customer Marketing is the Secret to New Customer Acquisition

Introduction: Mark Kilens starts the session by introducing Aurelia Solomon and setting the stage for a deep dive into customer marketing. The focus is on understanding how customer marketing can be a strategic tool for acquiring new customers.

The intersection of Product and Customer Marketing: Aurelia begins by explaining the natural intersection between product marketing and customer marketing, emphasizing that both focus on understanding and addressing customer needs. She highlights that product marketing involves being the voice of the customer, understanding their challenges, and informing the product roadmap. On the other hand, customer marketing focuses on educating customers and turning them into advocates for the brand.

Five Pillars of Customer Marketing Strategy:

1. Partnership:

   • Develop deep partnerships with customers. Understand different customer personas, from everyday users to executive buyers, and tailor your engagement strategies accordingly.
   • Example: Use executive buyers to discuss business value and everyday users to drive product adoption.

2. Value:

   • Focus on delivering quantifiable value to customers. Understand their needs and challenges to provide solutions that resonate with them.
   • Example: Highlight how your product helps in generating revenue or reducing costs.

3. Customization:

   • Create customized solutions and partnerships with customers. Understand their specific requirements and tailor your offerings to meet those needs.
   • Example: Develop customized content and solutions based on customer usage data.

4. Support:

   • Provide the right level of support, whether it's one-to-one, one-to-few, or one-to-many. Ensure customers feel supported at all stages of their journey.
   • Example: Offer dedicated customer support channels and personalized onboarding experiences.

5. Education:

   • Invest in educating your customers. Create content that helps them use your product more effectively and realize its full value.
   • Example: Host regular webinars, create educational content, and provide access to a knowledge base.

Customer-Led Growth Framework: Aurelia outlines a three-stage approach to customer-led growth:

1. Crawl:

   • Identify your most engaged customers using NPS scores, CS teams, and community engagement data. Start small and build relationships with these customers.
   • Example: Conduct interviews to understand how customers use your product and create content based on their feedback.

2. Walk:

   • Establish customer advisory boards and gather voice of customer data to inform your go-to-market strategy. Start creating targeted marketing campaigns.
   • Example: Host a customer advisory board meeting to get high-level feedback and create segmented marketing campaigns.

3. Run:

   • Develop integrated revenue campaigns that involve your customers. Use customer data to create personalized experiences and measure the impact on customer retention and acquisition.
   • Example: Build campaigns that blend customer stories, product usage data, and customer testimonials to attract new prospects.

Cross-Pollination of Audiences: Aurelia emphasizes the importance of cross-pollinating audiences by bringing customers and prospects together through events, webinars, and community platforms where they can share experiences and learn from each other.

Building a Customer Reference Program: Aurelia discusses the value of customer references and how to build a robust program. This includes identifying potential references, tracking their involvement, and leveraging them in sales processes to build trust with prospects.

Leveraging Customer Reviews: While reviews can be a double-edged sword, Aurelia suggests focusing on the platforms that matter most to your customers. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews and use these testimonials to build credibility.

Creating Certifications and Training Programs: Certifications and training programs can be powerful tools for customer engagement and acquisition. They provide customers with valuable skills and knowledge while reinforcing the value of your product.

Conclusion: Aurelia wraps up the session by emphasizing the importance of measuring what matters. This includes tracking customer engagement, understanding cohort behavior, and using data to inform your strategies. She encourages attendees to leverage the insights shared in the session to build stronger customer relationships and drive new customer acquisition.

FAQs:

1. What is the intersection between product and customer marketing? The intersection lies in understanding and addressing customer needs. Product marketing focuses on being the voice of the customer and informing the product roadmap, while customer marketing educates customers and turns them into brand advocates.

2. How can I identify my most engaged customers? Use NPS scores, customer success teams, and community engagement data
   to identify your most engaged customers. Conduct interviews and gather feedback to understand their needs and challenges.

3. What are the five pillars of a good customer marketing strategy? The five pillars are Partnership, Value, Customization, Support, and Education.

4. How can I build a customer reference program? Identify potential references based on their satisfaction and engagement. Track their involvement and leverage them in sales processes to build trust with prospects.

5. Why are certifications and training programs important? Certifications and training programs engage customers by providing valuable skills and knowledge. They also reinforce the value of your product and can drive new customer acquisition.

External Links:

1. Aurelia Solomon on LinkedIn
2. DataGrail

By implementing these strategies and insights from Aurelia Solomon, you can effectively leverage customer marketing to drive new customer acquisition and achieve your business goals.