Case Study: SaaS

The Big Picture and Demand Gen Challenges

This Saas aims to help technology solution providers (TSP) achieve their vision of success. The software platform is the leader in the market and has more global TSP users than any other. The company was bought by Private Equity firm two years ago and wants to grow faster.

The SVP of Marketing and the CRO of this Saas, realized that the demand gen function was falling short. They also wanted to create a strategy that would align marketing, so they looked for external help. “We needed someone who was an expert in demand gen, but who could also see the big picture and learn our industry fast,” he said.

Exploring Alternatives

The SVP of Marketing was looking for a reputable marketing advisory service. Meanwhile, the CRO started a search for a new VP of Demand Gen, since the previous one had left.

At the same time, Afra Sanjari, a Fractional CMO, was highly recommended to the SVP. A new sales leader had worked with the SVP at a similar company. “The feedback was very positive,” the SVP said.

Achieving Excellence

“We wanted someone who could dive into the details with us and quickly grasp our situation and help us improve to reach excellence,” the SVP added. “We were impressed by the operational skills that we saw in Afra.”

“We also liked the idea that they offer a comprehensive approach, but that we could also access specific expertise from any individual. They have a strong team.”

Relevant Experience and Expertise

Afra had a deep knowledge of their market space from his previous work. He could apply his experience and learning to this Saas directly.

He started the engagement with a demand gen meeting on-site to find out and agree on the main challenges in the company’s marketing demand programs.

The demand gen challenges were:

Their demand gen programs were not generating enough leads. The company did not have a clear market voice. Marketing thought needed a campaign for everything, leading to too much product-focused activity without a clear strategy Too many campaigns, landing pages, paid ads, and noise. They needed to simplify and consolidate to execute better.

Evaluations and Workshops

Afra did a general marketing review and a thorough assessment of the digital marketing and demand gen efforts. “He used a lot of our own resources, giving us a very detailed and rigorous report,” the SVP said. “It was all remote but very engaging.”

He also led team workshops to analyze past performance, find the best product-market fit, and plan future campaigns. “He worked as if he was a full-time employee. We took a lot of his time, and we always felt like he was available to help us when we needed it.”

Key Messages and Simplification

A turning point and a big revelation for them was finding out the key marketing messages they needed to dominate their markets.

“We needed to reach those market segments more effectively,” the SVP said. “So, we built our authority and stories around four key messages, the framework of our content.”

The other key was simplification. Afra helped the marketing department simplify their process to get them to maximum efficiency and align them around the four key messages.

“Afra made us look critically at all the things that we do and weed out those that were not effective. And the few things that were working well, we refreshed with the key messages insight.”

Program Owners

To boost leads, they also assigned program owners with a clear understanding of how their program adds to the pipeline. “Afra helped establish the discipline around how those individuals run their business,” the SVP said. “That allows the executive team to understand weekly how they are adding value.”

With program ownership linked to outcome, the Saas is now creating measurement that helps the program owners be successful. “And Chief Outsiders is helping us to visualize the data models that help them in those roles,” the SVP said.

Professionalism, Respect, and Higher Morale

“It was a great experience working with him,” he said. “His style is based on professionalism and respect for the people he’s working with. He fully recognizes what they are capable of and gives them a lot of praise for all the good things that they’ve done.”

“Afra has been a positive influence ere,” said the new Director of Demand Gen. “You can see that our team is committed to the pipeline building mission, and it’s really improved morale. We love working with Afra!”

Impressive Q1 Results

The new approach proved to be successful with solid evidence. “We’ve witnessed a huge improvement in our market attention with more web traffic and qualified leads,” the SVP of Marketing said.

Q1 Highlights:

- 151 opportunities generating $4.6M in pipeline vs $0 in Q4

- Outreach created $1.2M in pipeline vs $300K in Q4

- Webinar registrations grew 379% to 6,200+ creating 217 opportunities

- PPC results grew 118% with $5.7M in pipeline

- Organic website traffic increased 23% with form submission leads up 18%

Enhanced Performance and Efficiency

Afra’s approach unified and integrated the marketing organization. “Everyone felt ecstatic because we’d been facing challenges and feeling isolated,” the SVP said. “Turning on the vision of how we could all connect was key in feeling great.”

That unity helped them reach the next level. “He has a skill to bring silos together,” the SVP said. “He brought frameworks and methods of creating marketing messaging that can connect all the different marketing channels in an effective way.”

Seeing the benefits from simplification, they are also becoming more efficient. “The impact of our effort is much higher,” the SVP said. “We’re doing less but better things and getting better results.”

10 Out of 10

The fractional CMO concept gets high praise from the SVP of Marketing. “I give it a 10 out of 10, and I would do it again,” he said. “Working with Afra Sanjari is like having a team of expert advisors that are also your operational partners.”

“You could not regret it,” he said. “You will surely find that your business improves. and the colleagues involved in the engagement would be very happy with the interaction and collaboration.”

“It’s a brilliant operational move to leverage an organization that has learned from the hard knocks of experience. It was a huge boost in getting our teams up to speed on what we needed to do across the different silos of our messaging.”

Business Results and More

And there’s more… as their SVP of Marketing said, “All the business results are there. But there’s a totally different spirit and feeling that has spread in the department because people understand how to work together and what to do.”

“As their leader, that’s been the most valuable to me. People feel they are part of a bigger whole, understand their role clearly, and feel respected as others acknowledge their contributions. That is the condition that Afra has created.”