A research performed by the Content material Advertising and marketing Institute and LinkedIn reported that 80% of the content material created by advertising and marketing groups goes unused by gross sales. So how can organizations ensure that the content material they create isn’t solely related to gross sales, however being utilized in the appropriate methods?
Right here to debate this subject are Sara Hughes, senior supervisor of selling operations, and Lindsay Simons, senior director of acquisition advertising and marketing at Limeade. Thanks for becoming a member of, Sara and Lindsay! I’d love so that you can inform us about yourselves, your backgrounds, and your roles. Sara, let’s begin with you.
Sara Hughes: Hello, I’m Sara. I’ve been at Limeade for simply over six years now, and I’ve performed many alternative roles on the advertising and marketing staff right here, from challenge administration to advertising and marketing operations, and have fairly a little bit of expertise utilizing Highspot and the right way to actually leverage it for our group.
SS: Welcome, and Lindsay, how about a bit of little bit of background on your self?
Lindsay Simons: Hello, I’m Lindsay, and I’ve been at Limeade for 9 years. I began off smiling and dialing in an inside gross sales place, and at present I’m the senior director of acquisition advertising and marketing. The price range line merchandise for Highspot is underneath me, and so is Gross sales Enablement, in addition to a pair different enjoyable packages too that we’ve made Highspot a key a part of the perform. I’m excited to be right here at present.
SS: Great. I’m excited to have you ever each right here. Now, previous to Highspot, inform me what had been a few of the challenges that your group was going through and the way is that impacting your roles within the advertising and marketing world? Sara, if I may ship this one to you, I’d love to listen to your perspective.
SH: Yeah, completely. One of many greatest points that we had in our group was that since we’re a SharePoint org we have now all of our information and all of our paperwork there. One factor that was very tough for us to regulate and handle was model management. The introduction of Highspot actually helped us leverage the software with a view to not solely defend the content material that we have now but additionally defend our workers in order that they’re leveraging the newest and best and so that every one of gross sales and advertising and marketing is absolutely singing from the identical songbook.
That’s one thing that was an enormous situation for us particularly, as you recognize, in advertising and marketing you’re always revving and iterating on all your completely different belongings and always attempting to remain as present and updated as potential. That was one of many greatest causes we actually obtained Highspot and signed on along with simply the necessity for gross sales enablement and actually enabling our gross sales groups to do the perfect work that they will with the supplies that we might create for them simply on gross sales enablement.
LH: On that be aware, for some time there, advertising and marketing turned nearly a service counter for simply content material, after which the content material can be within the wild, and we’re like, how’s it going on the market, content material? This actually helped us begin to be a frontrunner and to proactively say, right here’s the content material, the right way to use it, when to make use of it in a playbook fashion, after which have nice insights into utilization. For some time there, we had been flying blind with content material and simply saying sure. I believe that was an enormous shift. Now the staff simply is aware of it as gross sales enablement, however for some time there, there was a whole lot of ache.
SS: I guess. How have you ever overcome a few of these challenges? You guys have touched on it a bit of bit, however how have you ever overcome a few of these challenges since implementing Highspot?
SH: We’ve really built-in our Highspot occasion with our SharePoint in order that we’re updating it in a single location on SharePoint. As soon as we’ve gotten new content material, new inventive, new angles, and even embracing new industries that we may be promoting to, issues like that, and creating customized content material. By importing it to SharePoint and having that integration with Highspot, we’re capable of keep mechanically updated with the newest and best.
I preserve going again to the model management piece, however that’s such an enormous piece, particularly as messaging is consistently altering. It’s additionally helped us actually create and type that hyperlink between advertising and marketing and gross sales in order that they know precisely what we’re engaged on or what’s the newest and best based mostly on what’s exhibiting up in Highspot for them in order that they know they’re not lacking one thing. They’re at all times getting the newest and best from us.
LS: I might simply say along with that, since you’re spot on Sara, and I believe as we onboarded new workers and confirmed them our content material and the way we use it, we began to essentially leverage Highspot as an amazing onboarding software and create these homepages for various groups. They will get acquainted with the content material after which have some self discovery after which the search performance is unbelievable. Then we saved it easy on the enablement facet, and since the hyperlinks made it really easy to both hyperlink to a spot or a homepage or a particular piece of content material, we love a hyperlink farm, an e mail simply actually heavy with hyperlinks that factors to Highspot, however then we simply recreate that inside Highspot.
It was a very useful gizmo to fulfill the gross sales staff the place they’re, however then use that as a broader software for the remainder of the corporate even when we didn’t have the whole firm essentially on a seat, you may at all times pitch a Spot, like with a bunch of content material. We termed it microsite. That’s the time period that made sense internally. We use a whole lot of microsites to pitch content material and to ensure that the broader firm is simply even acquainted with the newest advertising and marketing campaigns and that they will share it with their community and that we will nonetheless see how broad it goes. Content material administration was why we purchased it, however I simply need to spotlight all of the the reason why it’s been such a sticky software as a result of we’ve seen the affect and overcomes challenges that we’re experiencing, which is a broader technique.
SS: I like that and I undoubtedly need to drill into that.
SH: To tack on to that as effectively, we have now been capable of leverage Highspot for numerous different departments. Issues like onboarding our personal workers has been a very distinctive use case for the software and giving all workers, as a substitute of a stagnant or stale SharePoint web site, they’re a custom-made curated microsite, as Lindsay mentioned, of supplies, speaking about who we’re, the place we’ve been, the place we’re going, and it actually helps I believe with onboarding new workers, particularly while you’re in a distant world. I believe that’s turn out to be so necessary to have them have as a lot info and an ease in the best way that they will navigate by that info and discover what they’re in search of.
SS: I like that. Now, I do know we’ve talked about all of the completely different ways in which you guys have been leveraging Highspot, and I do know that you simply guys began by way of leveraging it from a content material administration perspective. I might love to grasp out of your perspective, what does good content material administration appear like? In different phrases, what are a few of your greatest practices for successfully managing that content material? Sara, I’d like to ship this one to you.
SH: Clear group is simply the secret with regards to content material administration, it’s group and model management. One of many issues that I really discover tremendous necessary with regards to that is searchability. When you’ve got a listing of content material or a listing of belongings you could possibly have thousands and thousands of issues in there. The factor that I believe is absolutely necessary with content material administration is to verify, one, that everybody can simply search and discover what they’re in search of. In the event that they’re in search of one thing to promote to a selected trade, they will use the search area and lookup that trade, and we have now curated a bunch of issues already.
We even have the microsites that assist folks navigate in the event that they’re unsure what they’re in search of but they usually need to browse. It’s organized in a method that’s by subject, it’s intentional, and it’s not only a by no means ending record of issues. It’s always being curated in that method. That’s actually one of the necessary issues.
It additionally actually allows our gross sales groups and different groups to be as self sustaining as potential with out having to undergo and navigate and discover out the place did this go, I assumed this was right here? Oh, I moved it. There’s none of that with Highspot as a result of even when a location has moved, you may at all times seek for it and you may favourite spots and issues like that and even create your personal spot in order that your most used instruments and belongings are actually related at simply the press of a button.
SS: Wonderful. You’ve gotten clearly been doing an incredible job as a result of Limeade has improved content material effectivity by 78% with Highspot, which is a ratio of the time spent utilizing content material to the time spent now in search of content material. What are a few of your greatest practices for optimizing the findability and the usability of your content material, Lindsay?
LS: I believe one from a broader strategic lens, serving to the gross sales staff and broader firm perceive the rhyme and motive to why we create content material at first. After we begin to launch content material, they perceive the place it sits in our broader technique, they usually can begin to anticipate what’s coming down the pike for them.
Additionally, having a whole lot of channels to make new content material to place of their consciousness. For us, we have now fairly a big tech stack. We even have our personal platform, Limeade, which we promote. It’s our effectively being answer that additionally offers engagement and we’d plug a few of our nice content material that we’re placing on the market on that software. It begins on the high of simply ensuring that there’s a solution to plug content material in and let folks perceive the place it’s coming from and what it’s attempting to unravel for.
Simply on that be aware on what it’s attempting to unravel for, we mapped content material to a purchaser’s journey and their entire firm is beginning to form of purchase into what this purchaser’s journey and what are our level of views on the market. In relation to the kind of content material advertising and marketing is creating, it will get extra scientific there. That’s the place Sara simply thrives with tagging it and ensuring that there’s a common solution to add it in order that internally and externally there once more, some rhyme and motive to why we’re doing it that method and simply ensuring that we maintain folks accountable. If it’s all inputted in a strategic method, then the software stays strategic. I believe that’s what we’ve efficiently carried out.
The operational rigor is absolutely the place it’s at, so Sara simply went over of this like content material administration and what that’s helped us with and what greatest practices are, however from what made that 78% potential was getting the gross sales staff purchased into our technique after which seeing that come to life inside Highspot and all of the goodies. When you lastly get to see the book or the video or the infographic and get to make use of it and pitch it after which get to pair it collectively, they begin to see the magic.
SS: I like that. Now, as you talked about, Lindsay, it’s actually necessary to just be sure you are monitoring what works and what doesn’t to be able to optimize issues. Sara, I do know certainly one of your areas of experience is driving program and initiative efficiency by reporting. How have you ever been leveraging Highspot Analytics to measure what works and what doesn’t so you may optimize content material effectiveness?
SH: The analytics space of Highspot has been tremendous useful for us as a result of as entrepreneurs we’re always producing content material and iterating on current content material. Clearly over time that record grows and grows and turns into a little bit of a bear and it has this in depth library basically. The best way that we’ve actually leveraged the analytics particularly with exercise logs and content material lists and scorecards is to mainly see who’s utilizing what and the way and the way typically. It basically tells us precisely what the preferred belongings are in order that we additionally know the place to focus future updates.
Say they’re utilizing a gross sales deck that we’ve created. Possibly we haven’t touched it in a month or one thing like that, however we’re noticing that everybody on gross sales loves this deck. Understanding tha, with the ability to see that in analytics and having that info is tremendous useful as a result of then we all know we have to pay a whole lot of consideration to the gross sales deck. That’s crucial factor to gross sales. They use it always. We see them utilizing it. It additionally helped us work together with folks there. Folks can ship by suggestions after which we will get these requests, which is nice. It actually retains it simply this reside dialogue occurring the place we’re always capable of actually enhance on the belongings that we do have.
Then again, an asset, say we spent hours and plenty of manpower and issues on a selected asset that’s not getting any form of use, it forces us to be a bit reflective to say is that this the appropriate asset? Do folks not know the place it’s? How do we have to allow them? Is that content material simply not what they’re in search of or not useful to them? In a distant world, it’s so key to grasp that since you’re not having the hallway discussions, you’re not having the water cooler impromptu conversations. It’s tremendous useful to have that info at our fingertips on a regular basis as a result of it actually offers us a bit of bit extra of a finger on the heart beat of what’s happening with the opposite organizations, however particularly gross sales.
SS: Completely. Now, a whole lot of the time I believe some people don’t essentially know the way to consider the connection between content material and gross sales productiveness, however by optimizing the affect of your content material, how have you ever guys been capable of affect gross sales productiveness? Lindsay, I’d love to listen to from you on this entrance.
LS: We had an superior CMO who got here and joined us, who actually helped us refine our focus. Our focus going into 2023 was to speak to the appropriate particular person on the proper time with the appropriate content material. We spent a whole lot of 2022 simply actually honing in on the appropriate particular person and learning that purchaser persona and understanding what sort of content material they need to devour, like what sort of content material is for extra self training on the high of the funnel versus they’re exhibiting some shopping for indicators they usually may be prepared to purchase and marketplace for an answer like us. I believe a big a part of our time for a very long time was simply spraying and praying that the content material was sticking and that individuals simply cherished how a lot we cherished it.
What our CMO helped us actually perceive is it has to hit them on the proper time, and seasonality is all the things. In relation to productiveness, we love a slogan; ‘work smarter, not tougher’, and that’s what we made playbooks of similar to what works and the way will we determine what works? Sara confirmed a big a part of similar to what they’re really utilizing, however then we even have leveraged Seen, as a part of a relationship with Marketo. The attribution additionally exhibits when key contacts are participating with set Highspot content material at key moments within the funnel and mapping these actions to sure milestones.
It’s tremendous complicated as a result of our purchasing cycle is about 18 months, so it’s exhausting to level to 1 piece of content material after which poke into that content material to say, like, why did it work, however you may see so much with the correlation of similar to, okay, brochure, you get a whole lot of clicks late within the funnel. What does that inform us? I simply assume the appropriate content material on the proper time blended with works smarter, not tougher, helps with productiveness. The hyperlink farms and pointing folks in the appropriate place to discovering these channels and the right way to proactively inform, after which allow them to have a voice to assist inform again. If they’re like, I would like this piece, we’re like, we’ll say sure, as a result of once more, it matches into this bigger content material technique and what we’re attempting to unravel for. It’s not only a one-off dialog.
Additionally, to Sara’s level, Gong tells us we have now a bit on participation as a result of the phrase participation is used a lot. That wasn’t the phrase that we like to make use of, however we favor engagement. When you assume it’s participation, we’re going to make a whole lot of content material with the phrase participation. To reply your query merely, we let the gross sales staff into the advertising and marketing’s mind, allow them to perceive why we’re doing content material, after which present that it’s impactful in the event that they observe the playbook and use the occasion methods that their teammates are exhibiting them.
SS: I think about it has to assist although, Lindsay. As you talked about in your introduction, you’ve a background in gross sales at Limeade earlier than you transitioned over to advertising and marketing. Inform us a bit of bit about how your gross sales background impacts the way you method your position and the way you collaborate with gross sales?
LS: My background is in gross sales improvement, inside gross sales, no matter you need to name it, and actually found out that while you personalize the outreach it isa lot simpler. That’s account based mostly advertising and marketing mainly, is it creating these experiences that really feel very focused, very personalised, and the entire why me, why now coming to life inside it. My background in gross sales was similar to, how do you try this at scale? We’ll do some account analysis and be like, okay, right here’s your ache factors in an ideal world we’ll spend two hours crafting this up, however like, you may’t try this at scale. How do you package deal up your content material in little ways in which make it fairly simple to customise, section, goal, nonetheless you need to say it. That’s what you’re doing is packaging up your content material and positioning it in a method that claims, wow, I have to learn this precisely proper now or devour it.
My background in gross sales helped me perceive the right way to make that simple for the gross sales staff and the right way to make it really feel like that’s the path of least resistance versus simply knocking on a whole lot of doorways and uncovering rocks with chilly outreach. How will you form of determine what are they occupied with through the use of a few of the MarTech that we’re investing in to drive that habits after which serve up this content material that we’ve both curated by trade, ache level, perspective, product or answer? We’ve tried to place and package deal it to allow them to simply go, okay, right here’s a menu, use it versus be left to your personal units and simply add logos to random issues.
SS: You talked about how you might be bringing gross sales into the fold and getting their suggestions. I think about that that has helped considerably by way of collaboration and alignment. Are you able to speak to us about what that appears like now at Limeade along with your gross sales staff because you’ve carried out it in an enablement platform?
SH: I believe the perfect factor you may hear from a salesman is I obtained what I wished and like yeah we’ll ship and like right here you go, and the remainder of you guys can all use it too. Additionally, getting that belief from the gross sales chief of the boldness of like I do know what my gross sales staff is doing on the market. That requires collaboration and so having a software which you could nonetheless have your capacity to make it your personal, however you’re staying inside the sandbox offers folks autonomy to do what they need, however the accountability to stay to the songbook. We at all times sing from the identical tune sheet, as a result of it does sound higher. The entire purpose of ABM is that it seems like an orchestration, that, sure, it’s the identical message, possibly mentioned a bit of bit in a different way.
What Highspot does an amazing job is telling the groups right here is the science is there, right here’s all of the content material, and sure, you may piece it collectively, you may add your personal, as a result of it’s customizable. I simply assume that there’s a lot content material going to waste, after which sure content material bubbles up once more.
For collaboration it actually is determined by the group we’ve been lucky to work with some badass gross sales leaders who similar to need to speak store and be like, oh, in an ideal world, I’d like to speak about this and like, okay, however like, let’s go along with like Gong’s telling us, or let’s have a look at why we’re shedding offers and these widespread themes. How will we be proactive and consider one thing that may break by the noise and we will have a novel perspective on it. They’re like, oh yeah, that’s enjoyable to speak about too after which they’ll discuss that with us and we’ll get their distinctive insights, however in the end we’re attempting to only empathize with the client to show like you’ve a ache level and we’re simply right here that can assist you make some progress. And if you happen to rent us, purchase us, lease us, no matter, that’s good too. However I believe content material administration actually helps. Gross sales really feel concerned, but additionally advertising and marketing to have a fowl’s eye view and never should fly blind.
SS: Completely. On that be aware, I’d love to grasp what are a few of the key enterprise outcomes that you’ve achieved since implementing Highspot? I’d love to grasp any key knowledge factors you would possibly be capable of share.
SH: I can undoubtedly share a very enjoyable one which we’re hanging our hats on. For a very long time, we had too many KPIs, let’s be actual. We had been measuring all the things underneath the solar, and a whole lot of them had been simply vainness metrics. Our CMO got here in and actually helped us give attention to the factor that issues most. While you actually give it some thought for what we promote into the enterprise house, the SaaS answer, the win charge actually issues. Sadly we had been stagnant for 5 years, similar win charge, so if you happen to’re going to go that method, the one solution to develop is by quantity and it’s exhausting simply including so much on the high of the funnel from a advertising and marketing perspective.
After an enormous overhaul of our gross sales enablement, we redid a whole lot of the homepages inside Highspot. We made an organization KPI that was ensuring at 85% utilization every week throughout the corporate. What we had been efficiently capable of do is enhance our win charge by 75%, which is large in a market like ours. We will’t take credit score for it and be like, yeah, it’s content material that did it. It’s an enormous staff effort, however we will level again to the truth that we had been singing from the identical tune e-book, however we all know why we’re profitable. We all know why we’re shedding and we elevated our velocity and win charge, which is the perfect case state of affairs. So no, it’s not a causation of Highspot, however is it correlated? Completely. We really feel actually pleased with that. It was good that we had been all marching in the direction of the identical metric and actually connecting the gross sales and advertising and marketing organizations.
SS: I like that. Effectively, thanks, Sara and Lindsay, a lot for becoming a member of me at present on the podcast. I appreciated the insights you shared and your lens on each gross sales and advertising and marketing alignment with enablement. Thanks each.
LS: Thanks, this was a lot enjoyable.
SH: Thanks.
SS: To our viewers, thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. Be sure you tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.
