Episode 30: Last Episode of 2022
Welcome to the next episode of The CMA Soulmate Newsletter where 715 marketers get better at building Customer Marketing programs and strengthening relationships with customers in less than 5 minutes.
Thought I would share the results from last weeks poll. Looks like I will keep the newsletter on the weekends. Thank you for your feedback!
I’d also like to take a minute to celebrate 30 frickin episodes! Woohoo! 🎉
I’m having so much fun with you all. With that said, this will be my final episode of the year. I’m taking some time off before I launch my second passion project in the new year. I will be announcing it at Influitive Live on Jan 18. You will not want to miss this FREE asset that will change the trajectory of your career.
Alrighty, so it’s a weird time of year. Wrapping up projects, 2023 planning, getting your yearly metrics together, so many GD people emailing you about last minute shit…ughhhhh!
I barely want to even think about jumping back into work full throttle in January.
Here are a few things I have to hit the pavement on as soon as I get back to work.
Customer Conference Jan 11th 😅
RKO Feb. 6th 😑
Valentines Day Campaign planning 😍
For todays episode, I’ll touch on RKO and give you all some ideas for a Valentines Day campaign.
RKO/SKO - Revenue/Sales Kick Off
RKO’s or SKO’s are a highly anticipated tradition for many companies. They occur annually with the goal of celebrating success and setting goals for the coming year. It's also an opportunity to equip your sales reps with the training they need and pump them up to smash their quotas.
I have never been asked to present nor have I ever been recognized at any of these events, which has ALWAYS pissed me off. So instead of pouting about it, I just stick myself riiiight on into the agenda.
FACTS:
I bring in re-ve-nuuuuue. I am responsible for our market leadership on review sites that OH BY THE WAY touched $1.2 million in new business revenue this year. I also run our community, which is a HUGE differentiator play in the sales process.
So yeah, you bet your ass I’m gonna weasel my way into the event.
I’m also responsible for getting our customers to speak at RKOs year after year. I’ve gotten pretty good at identifying the best customers to pump everyone up.
First, I’ll tell you to always have in the back of your mind “Oh this person would make a great speaker at RKO.” Even if the event is 9 months away. This is most likely a big logo who can’t go on the record publicly but you are building a strong relationship with.
Here are the other recommendations on finding the best customer to impress Sales leadership:
A competitor rip and replace.
A customer who has used you for 3+ years and has grown the amount they spend inside your platform or contract size, or expansion to other departments
A newer customer that activated quickly and has seen results
and, as I mentioned a BIG logo.
Sales reps love the first and last the most. This fuels them in a way that no internal leader can. Of course they always ask for the case study right after to which I say, “Oh wow that hasn’t crossed my mind💡 Great idea.” 😂
Hope this helps if you’re asked to source customers for these types of events. 👍
Valentines Day Campaign Ideas
For years I never did anything for our customers on Valentines Day. I had just executed a Holiday campaign. Why would I want to jump into doing something for a non major holiday?
Well it turns out there are many reasons:
It’s the month of love and we are in ADVOCACY
A chance to capture how advocates feel about the platform in a fun way
Opportunities for more video testimonials
…more reviews
…more quotes for website
Let’s dig in:
So it doesn’t have to be a big time suck campaign. What I did last year was something simple for social. I used a free video capture tool (VideoAsk) and I asked our SuperSender Elites (the next tier in advocates) to create a simple video explaining why they love Sendoso.
It was so simple. Here was the final product. Only a few made it to the video due to time but it got me countless quotes for the website and videos for our customer story page. Easy peasy. Nothing revolutionary.
Next up, is a customer direct mail campaign. Nothing crazy but my customer did this to generate more reviews. (BTW they are #1 Best Software on G2)
They customized candied hearts with their brand and messages on the hearts. Along with the hearts, was a postcard with a QR code to their G2 page. The messaging was “Share your love on G2” —> Frickin amazing. Loved this one. BTW you can get these candies made online or on Etsy.
There are so many fun Valentines day puns. I’ve always wanted to do a Self Love campaign with the messaging - “Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with some SELF LOVE on us!” and send like a bath bomb & candle.
Here is another send with clever messaging “Wishing you matcha love this Valentine’s season” 🤩🤩🤩
I’d recommend focusing on accounts renewing in order to tie yourself to revenue. Work with your renewals team to identify yellow accounts that are needing some extra love.
If you are like “meh” on Valentines Day due to your audience. There is always March Madness campaigns! Here are some sports related ideas.
Well that’s all for 2022. I might do a catch up episode for my newer subscribers before new years.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for letting me into your lives and work. I have had a rough year health wise but when I write for you all, the pain seems to go away. So you all have helped me more than you know. And for that, I will continue helping this amazing community. Feel free to hit reply to this email and say hi!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Big hugs and love,
Your CMA Soulmate, Leslie
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