Ubiquity | Customer Communications Programme
Journey mapping, persona development & project management
Ubiquity is a technology company that helps marketers more effectively communicate to large databases across different channels, offering Marketing Automation software and services, and intelligent content marketing. I was the Marketing Manager and wanted to implement our own customer lifecycle programme. This meant close collaboration with the sales and account management teams.
| My Role | Who Else Was Involved | Tools & Methods Used |
| Marketing Journey Mapping Persona Development Project Management | CEO Account Managers Creative Agency | Competitor Research Data Analysis Interviews |
Problem
Ubiquity had nearly missed several major projects that had come up for tender, and the potential customers hadn’t come across the Ubiquity solution until late in the tender process. It meant the Accounts team struggled with tight deadlines, and missed out on key sales opportunities.
Previously, the company had offered primarily email marketing services. The technology had since grown and the marketing needed to reflect this change. We were repositioning the company as a marketing automation solution.
As well as coordinating the repositioning, I identified that a move to a more systematic, automated approach to marketing of our own services – rather than running standalon campaigns – would make the sales team’s job easier.
Discovery Phases
Data Analysis: Review of current content
A review of the current content showed that we primarily addressed our marketing campaigns for people who were close to purchase. In discussions with Account Managers and new customers, we realized that they were researching different search terms, and looking at larger international competitors.
Competitor Research
International competitors occupied the marketing automation space, particularly in “soft content” – short pieces of material that increased awareness of their solution without including a hard sales offer. This was aimed at marketers who keep tabs on tech solutions but who don’t yet feel ready to buy.
Journey Mapping & Persona Development
I mapped out all the pieces of content we already had: whether short infographics or blog posts, or longer reports, articles and whitepapers. I reviewed our existing customer base, and with the sales and management team we clarified the profile of our best customer company (including factors such as size of database, frequency of communications, marketing budget and complexity of their communications programme).
From there I interviewed the Account Managers on the interests and needs their customer had expressed. I had some direct contact with the users themselves – I would have preferred more – but even the Account Managers struggled to get time with them! It certainly helped identify a key factor: Marketing Managers and Directors of large companies tend to be busy, highly value their free time, and have many deadlines to meet. I took that on board in developing the programme: prioritizing short content pieces first.
I learned:
- Some existing content was too technical and in-depth for people to pay attention to. Users overwhelmingly preferred clear, simple language.
- Short content, light on detail, gained as much cut-through as longer pieces.
Content Changes
Each iteration of product content would mean removing more information.
Outcome & Next Steps
Implementing an entirely new communications programme was a long term goal. I prioritized the shorter, more effective content pieces first, and set in place the strategy for filling in the gaps. The slower rollout allowed our small team (me & the agency) to be flexible with the choice of content to create.
As a business outcome, the new positioning and content strategy meant that we didn’t miss any tenders in the following quarter – and made contact much earlier with the marketers seeking information.