Key Wins With an Outsourced CMO:
- 141% increase in web sessions
- 316% increase in prospects
- 71% increase in new traffic
- 75% increase in year-over-year web impressions
- “Our marketing…has never been better.”
Enterprise expense management firm Tellennium’s proven solutions give business enterprises accurate, visible, and mineable data across enterprise networks. This equips IT and financial executives with the information they need to reduce expenses, optimize their networks, and make decisions that support digital transformation strategies.
When we began our conversations with the leadership at Tellennium about serving as their outsourced CMO it was clear they were doing a lot of things right. They had a marketing team made up of the right players: Chief Revenue Officer, Shawn Veitz; as well as a marketing manager, a social media manager, and a web designer. They employed some tried and true marketing tactics including writing blogs and posting on social media.
But they lacked a playbook, so they weren’t always working as a team. And because their tactics weren’t part of a larger game plan it was more like throwing some marketing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what stuck.
“Our marketing was more spur of the moment. We were putting out fires. We had no overall strategy,” reflects Shawn. “We needed someone to bring clear direction to all parties and act as a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) over them.”
How an Outsourced CMO Brings Focus
When their outsourced marketing leader stepped away in early 2021, it provided a prime time to refocus. We partnered with Tellennium to harness their talent and tactics with an eye for driving the desired results, specifically direct lead generation. We determined that they could benefit from a comprehensive, content-focused B2B marketing strategy that would expand their pool of qualified leads beyond their current stream of referrals.
Let’s unpack how we provided the team at Tellennium with a playbook for marketing success through outsourced CMO services.
Intentional Content Strategy That Answers Prospects’ Questions
The team at Tellennium was writing blogs, however, the content was not optimized with the best keywords. It was a struggle to rise to the top of online searches and stand out among their competitors. We worked with them to create an intentional B2B content marketing strategy focused on lead generation and search engine optimization (SEO). Using keyword research we optimized their content to answer the questions their prospects were searching for.
“Tellennium has an outstanding product and service, however, we struggled with market recognition,” explains Shawn. “If we got a seat at the table, we’d win the deal but we weren’t getting a seat at the table.”
Because there is a direct correlation between blog frequency and web traffic we urged them to increase their weekly blogging to two blogs per week. We also suggested repurposing the blogs on social media for maximum impact.
Their sales team plans to add videos to the social media mix in the near future. (Consider this: 95% of B2B buyers claim video has played a critical role in their buying decision.)
Website Optimization Services Boost Organic Traffic
Did you know that Google uses at least 200 ranking factors to determine which pages appear first in a search? These factors, most of which Google keeps close to the vest, along with their complex, ever-changing algorithms, work together to help users find the information they’re looking for. This means that an attractive website won’t do a thing for you unless your prospects know where to find you. Optimizing your website with relevant keywords helps increase your organic traffic.
“Google is constantly changing analytics and you just can’t keep up with it. You think you know it one day and they change it tomorrow,” adds Shawn. “Having someone dedicated to keeping up with it is important.”
The SEO team at Wayfind optimized Tellennium’s website for search, resulting in a 131% leap in web sessions, a 75% uptick in web impressions, and a 38% increase in new contacts.
Now when we get on that first call and I ask the prospect “how did you hear about Tellennium” we are hearing ‘We did a Google search.’ This is great because one of our goals was to improve our SEO.
-Shawn Veitz, Chief Revenue Officer, Tellennium
Account-Based Marketing Tactics Drive More Leads
Because Tellennium has a small sales team, efficiency is key. They don’t have time to waste chasing prospects who aren’t a fit.
This is where account-based marketing (ABM) comes in. ABM aligns your marketing efforts with your sales goals to target specific, high-value accounts based on marketing personas and criteria you’ve developed. These qualifiers may include industry, decision-makers within the company, or annual venue.
Before working with us, the team at Tellennium was losing time on individual emails to prospects or mail merges. We added ABM emails to Tellennium’s toolbox to automate and streamline their sales process.
“That allows us to free up time to focus on direct sales and direct contacts because we know those activities are going on in the background,” says Shawn.
Automating their emails not only saved the team time it allowed them to track their open rates. Some of Tellennium’s emails boasted open rates as high as 70%. (For context, HubSpot considers a “good open rate” one that meets the average of 20.94%.)
Retargeting ads continued to boost their brand awareness with the same prospects.
Traditional (Yet Timely) Marketing Tactics
In addition to today’s emerging digital marketing tactics, there’s still a place for tried and true methods. Tellennium’s recent industry awards provided us with an opportunity to showcase their solutions through writing and distributing press releases. White papers, including one on the pandemic-related labor shortage, generated new leads as they provided contact information when downloading them.
As our world pivoted to virtual gatherings, the team at Kentucky-based Tellennium hosted an online bourbon tasting. Online guests were sent a kit of various bourbons in advance to sample at an event hosted by an executive bourbon steward, creating a distinctive experience for their audience.
The Proof Is in the Leads (and Time Saved)
“Our marketing at Tellennium has never been better,” says Shawn.
In addition to the dramatic boost in their web traffic and prospects, Shawn adds that “50% of our opportunities are competitive takeaways,” proof that clients are seeing Tellennium as a better solution and competitive player in their industry. They’re also getting more qualified leads and pitching to bigger companies.
“When we are doing our prospecting, people are familiar with Tellennium and are more willing to take that meeting and pick up the phone because they know our brand,” says Shawn.
Before Wayfind came on as an outsourced CMO, Shawn and Tellennium’s CEO were writing all of the content. Shawn said that outsourcing marketing decreases the workload for the executive team so that they can focus on other aspects of running and growing the business.
The more I learn about marketing, the more I realize how little I know about marketing in an ever-changing environment, which is why we outsource. Let’s leave it to the experts who are dedicated to the craft.
-Shawn Veitz, Chief Revenue Officer, Tellennium
Can a Digital Content Agency Help You?
Marketing shouldn’t feel like you’re rolling the dice. An outsourced CMO can help you put proven tactics like SEO and ABM to work generating leads and increasing your brand awareness. We can help you.
Don’t sit around and hope business comes to you, go after it. Schedule a marketing strategy discovery call today.
