Marketing systems · 2017–2019
Built for the buyer.
Four business lines, one buyer journey. I built the personas, the content plan and the SharpSpring automation that carried leads from first click to sales, so the team spent its time on people ready to talk.
The tension
National Merchants Association sold across four business lines, each to a different buyer. Campaigns ran, leads came in, and nobody could say with confidence which ones were ready for sales or what to send the rest.
Know the buyer
I started with the people. Six buyer personas described who was buying, what they searched for, how much say they had in the decision, and what would make them walk away. Agent Dan, an independent sales agent paid on commission, needed help "upping his game." Without it, he'd leave.
Map the journey
Then I mapped the buyer's journey from they don't know we exist to referral, and wrote down for every stage what the buyer was thinking, what the team should do, what moved a buyer to the next step, and who owned the hand-off: marketing, sales or customer service. Content was planned against that map, so every piece had a job.
Build the system
I designed, built and implemented SharpSpring as the marketing automation system behind the plan, and presented it to the company in 2018. Lead nurturing followed the journey automatically, and sales was alerted when a prospect showed intent, so the team spent its time on people ready to talk.
The result
Marketing-qualified leads rose 79.4%. A $1.5M tradeshow program was reframed around performance, and cost per lead fell from $901 to $224.
From my CTO
“As CTO of National Merchants Association, I worked alongside Michelle on various cross-functional teams and projects. … I found her to be an asset on projects, as she was able to provide insights and ideas that we hadn’t been considering. … I’ve reviewed a few different assessment reports that Michelle crafted for the c-level team. I have to say I was thoroughly impressed by her work! These assessments were very insightful and detail oriented. The data she included was easily understandable, her writing was engaging, and her conclusions were always sound. … If you’re considering working with her, do it. She will not disappoint.”
From the work
The buyer's journey content plan: every stage from stranger to referral, what moves a buyer to the next step, and who owns the hand-off. 
Agent Dan, one of six buyer personas: what he searches for, what he's trying to achieve, and what would make him leave.
Outcomes
- Marketing-qualified leads
- +79.4%
- Marketing-qualified leads
- Tradeshow cost per lead, down from $901
- $224
- Tradeshow cost per lead, down from $901
- Buyer personas behind every campaign
- 6
- Buyer personas behind every campaign
Next case study
Predicting the future without a crystal ball.