Main Insight

Instead of targeting a broad audience, concentrate on particular industries and their unique use cases. This enables you to tailor your messaging, content, and solutions to meet specific customer needs. This funnel-focused approach enables B2B marketers to systematically optimize each stage of the customer journey with targeted, industry-specific strategies, resulting in higher conversions and more efficient growth.

Guest Bio
Bas Hennephof is the co-founder of ConvertCalculator, a no-code builder for interactive content such as calculators, quizzes, lead pages, product configurators, and quote forms. He has extensive experience in business, design, marketing, product, and strategy. In the past, he founded an online startup accelerator, coached multiple innovation teams, and led a corporate innovation initiative at the largest bank in the Netherlands.

Practical Steps

1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
   • Identify the specific industries and use cases where your product or service provides the most value.
   • Develop detailed personas to understand their pain points, needs, and decision-making processes.
2. Map Out Your Customer Journey Using Funnel Metrics:
   • Outline each stage of your funnel: awareness, acquisition, activation, retention, revenue, and referral.
   • For each stage, list the actions customers take and the conversion rates associated with them.
3. Create Industry-Specific Messaging and Content:
   • Develop landing pages, blogs, and marketing materials tailored to each industry and use case.
   • Use language and examples that resonate with your target audience’s specific challenges and goals.
4. Develop Targeted Templates and Tools:
   • Offer templates, calculators, or interactive content that address the unique needs of each segment.
   • Ensure these resources help customers quickly realize the value of your product.
5. Implement Systematic Measurement and Analysis:
   • Set up analytics to track conversion rates at each funnel stage.
   • Regularly review data to identify drop-off points and areas for improvement.
6. Run Focused Experiments:
   • Prioritize one funnel stage at a time and conduct A/B tests to optimize it.
   • Implement changes based on data-driven insights and measure their impact over time.
7. Enhance Onboarding and Activation Processes:
   • Customize onboarding experiences based on customer segmentation.
   • Provide relevant support content, tutorials, and guidance to improve activation rates.
8. Maintain Team Alignment and Communication:
   • Involve all team members in funnel optimization discussions.
   • Use collaborative tools to ensure everyone is informed about goals, strategies, and progress.
9. Stay Disciplined but Flexible:
   • Set clear quarterly goals for each funnel stage and stick to them.
   • Be open to adjusting strategies based on performance data and changing market conditions.
10. Seek Continuous Feedback and Iterate:
    • Collect customer feedback to understand their experience at each funnel stage.
    • Use insights to refine your product offerings and marketing strategies continually.

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Full Interview Transcript with Bas Hennephof: Co-Founder of Convert Calculator on Building a No-Code Interactive Content Platform

The following interview transcript has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Introduction

Today, I’m sitting down with Bas, the co-founder of Convert Calculator, a no-code builder for interactive content such as quizzes, calculators, and lead pages. Bas brings extensive experience in business, design, marketing, product, and strategy. Previously, he founded an online startup accelerator, coached multiple innovation teams, and led a corporate innovation initiative at the largest bank in the Netherlands. I’m super excited to chat with him and delve into his background and insights.

The Journey to Co-Founding Convert Calculator

Interviewer: Could you tell me a little bit about what led you to co-found Convert Calculator?

Bas: It’s an interesting story. My co-founder, Joris, who is the technical co-founder, and I met coincidentally. Joris started Convert Calculator as one of his side projects while working as a freelance developer. Like many freelancers, he aspired to start his own startup. I collaborated with him from a business perspective because, as a lone wolf, it can be challenging to manage all aspects alone. We met regularly to discuss business and product topics for a few years. As the product began to grow steadily, Joris realized the need for a co-founder. At that time, I was concluding a corporate innovation initiative, so the timing was perfect for us to join forces. I became the co-founder, focusing mainly on overall product strategy and the business side, while responsibilities naturally shifted in our small team.

Key Insights for Business Growth

Interviewer: Since you’ve been building Convert Calculator, what would you say is the main insight that has allowed you to grow or promote the business?

Bas: The main insight is adopting an industry-specific approach combined with funnel thinking. Convert Calculator is a versatile, no-code tool that allows users to create interactive content like quizzes and calculators. Unlike static landing pages, our tool offers dynamic, Excel-like interactive elements, making it applicable across various industries with numerous use cases.

This versatility is a double-edged sword. While it opens up multiple opportunities, it also requires significant focus. To manage this, we connect specific use cases to particular industries, enabling us to define clear customer personas and address their unique pain points. This approach helps us create targeted messaging, industry-specific landing pages, tailored templates, and support structures like instructional videos. Funnel thinking allows us to systematically improve conversions by focusing on each stage of the customer journey, ensuring that we deliver the right content and support to our diverse user base.

Implementing a Funnel-Based Approach

Interviewer: What was it like before you started taking this funnel-based approach to systematically learn about customer pain points and improve your product?

Bas: Before adopting a funnel-based approach, it was chaotic. Convert Calculator began as a tool for creating quote calculators, but over time, the product expanded beyond that narrow focus. We realized the need to reposition ourselves as an interactive content builder. By narrowing our focus, we could better communicate our value to specific niches. For example, for a cleaning business, Convert Calculator automates the initial sales funnel with a quote calculator on their website, reducing the need for constant phone calls or emails.

This industry-specific approach helped us stay focused and manage the abundance of ideas and opportunities. By sticking to our funnel strategy, we could prioritize what was most important for our customers and systematically improve our product.

Advice for Implementing Conversion Funnels

Interviewer: If I work in a B2B SaaS company and want to use conversion funnels to understand my audience and build my product systematically, what step-by-step advice would you give?

Bas: I recommend using the pirate metrics funnel: Awareness, Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Referral. Start by outlining these top-level funnel steps and then break each one down further. For example, within the Activation stage, analyze what happens after a user signs up. Identify specific pain points and how your solution can address them.

Begin by defining your customer personas and segmentation. Then, develop strategies for each funnel stage, such as SEO for Awareness or tailored onboarding processes for Activation. Continuously build, measure, and learn from each step. This systematic approach helps you identify areas for improvement and optimize conversion rates effectively.

Measuring and Optimizing Conversion Rates

Interviewer: How long does it take to see results in terms of higher conversion rates at each stage of the funnel?

Bas: It varies depending on the action taken. For example, when Joris focused on on-site SEO by improving our webpages and creating new keyword-optimized pages, we saw an instant traffic increase. However, it takes time to determine if these changes are significant and not just outliers. Each experiment requires setting clear hypotheses, measuring results, and iterating based on the data.

For instance, in our onboarding funnel, we introduced qualifying questions to provide specific template options based on user responses. This helped match customers with the right templates, making it easier for them to succeed. By measuring how many users complete these segmentation steps and successfully use the templates, we could assess the effectiveness of our changes.

Balancing Efficiency in a Small Team

Interviewer: As a small team, how do you balance the work involved in optimizing conversion rates with other responsibilities?

Bas: It requires a lot of discipline. With limited resources, we often have more ideas than we can implement. Unlike larger teams with specialized roles, we wear many hats, which makes us efficient but also means juggling multiple tasks. Maintaining discipline is challenging, and we sometimes fall short. However, prioritizing productivity and focusing on the most impactful actions helps us manage our workload effectively.

Common Pitfalls in Conversion Funnel Optimization

Interviewer: What are some pitfalls people might encounter when implementing conversion funnel and conversion rate optimization?

Bas: In larger teams, separated functions can hinder a holistic overview, making it difficult to connect all the dots. Effective communication between different functions is crucial but can become time-consuming, detracting from actual progress. Balancing communication with productivity is essential to avoid these pitfalls.

Setting and Managing Goals

Interviewer: How do you set and manage goals for different stages of the funnel?

Bas: We work backwards from our revenue goals. For example, if we aim for a million in annual revenue, we calculate the number of customers needed and understand our conversion rates. By breaking down the funnel into specific steps—such as attracting visitors, converting them to sign-ups, and activating them—we can implement targeted actions for each stage. Measuring the effectiveness of these actions helps us adjust our strategies and maintain balance across the funnel.

Maintaining Discipline and Productivity

Interviewer: How do you handle maintaining discipline and productivity as you grow your team?

Bas: It’s challenging and requires strict discipline. As a bootstrap company, we focus on balancing opportunism with rigidity. While more team members can provide additional support, it also necessitates new structures to maintain productivity. Prioritizing tasks and staying disciplined ensures we continue making progress despite the increasing complexity.

Conclusion

Interviewer: Before we wrap up, is there anything you’d like people to know or any projects you’re working on?

Bas: We’re always working on exciting projects. If you’re a marketer, interactive content could be the next wave to improve your conversion rates. Check out our product at ConvertCalculator.com. It’s a versatile and flexible tool with a manageable learning curve. We’re continuously working to make it easier to use, and we’re here to help with specific use cases. Explore our website, try out the examples, and feel free to reach out if you need assistance.

Interviewer: Thank you so much, Bas, for sharing your story and insights.

Bas: Thank you for having me.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Focus on building scalable infrastructure early to support long-term growth.
• Design servicing systems with flexibility to adapt to customer needs and regulatory changes.
• Leverage analytics and customer data to continuously refine product offerings and user experience.
• Invest in modern technologies to future-proof financial products and services.

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Main Insight:
Focusing your time and budget on the accounts that are most likely to buy, and aligning teams with a unified system, is essential to a successful account-based marketing (ABM) strategy.

Guest Bio:
Leanne Chescoe is a results-driven B2B marketer with 15 years of experience in SaaS, specializing in ABM strategies, lead generation, and channel partnerships. In 2018, she founded the Women in B2B Network, a thriving community of over 400 senior professional women, aimed at empowering members through connections, opportunities, and expertise.

Key Takeaways:

1. Adopt an Account-Based Approach: The most urgent strategy for B2B marketers today is focusing on the accounts that have the highest propensity to buy. This requires a clear understanding of target account lists and being able to identify in-market accounts based on intent data.
2. Understand the Customer Journey: Approximately 95% of the customer's time in the buyer's journey is spent without direct contact with a salesperson, much of which is anonymous. Gaining insights into what potential customers are researching—whether it’s your products or your competitors’—is critical.
3. Utilize Intent Data: Marketers must be proactive in identifying accounts that are showing interest in related products or competitors. Having real-time access to intent signals enables more precise targeting and personalization, which leads to better customer experiences.
4. Create a Unified System: It's vital to have a consolidated platform that integrates all your data—account-level, contact-level, and system-level—across marketing and sales. This ensures that both teams are aligned with a shared view of the customer journey, preventing go-to-market fragmentation.
5. Align Sales and Marketing: When marketing and sales teams share the same platform and data, they can work more effectively to prioritize accounts, track engagement across the buyer journey, and know the best time for sales to follow up. Sales readiness isn’t just about one download—it’s about consistent, meaningful engagement.
6. Measure Engagement: With a unified system, you can measure engagement across the entire buyer journey and adjust your messaging to fit where a prospect is in the funnel. This ensures that both marketing and sales are equipped with the right information to engage prospects effectively.

Leanne emphasizes the importance of making sure the right messaging is being delivered at every stage of the sales cycle and that sales follow-up occurs only when there is substantial engagement. By leveraging these strategies, B2B marketers can improve their ABM results and foster a more seamless sales process.

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MAIN INSIGHT: Prioritize self-care and employee wellness in the marketing workplace to prevent burnout and foster sustainable business growth.

GUEST BIO:  Pete Sena is a creative entrepreneur and founder of Digital Surgeons, a brand experience consultancy. For nearly 20 years, he has partnered with founders and business leaders to accelerate growth through marketing innovation, branding, and digital-experience design. A human-centered problem solver, Pete focuses on the behaviors and systems that drive people, products, and experiences. His work has impacted leading brands such as Unilever, Microsoft, and LEGO. He leverages expertise at the intersection of design, technology, and consumer behavior to enact positive change and increase business value. His experiences, such as the development of the Four Green Lights system for aligning values with business growth, are published to his blog, petesena.com

RESULTS:

• Enhanced team morale and employee retention
• Healthier work-life balance for staff
• Reduced stress and prevention of burnout
• Increased productivity and creativity
• Improved client satisfaction
• Positive impact on profitability
• More collaborative and supportive work environment
• Holistic business growth valuing individual contributions

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Implement wellness programs and initiatives within the company
• Encourage practices like prioritizing sleep and meditation among employees
• Foster self-awareness and self-care routines
• Create a supportive environment with generous PTO policies and a remote-first culture
• Align business goals with employee wellness using systems like the four green lights
• Reduce unnecessary meetings and promote asynchronous communication
• Set clear boundaries between work and personal time
• Emphasize effective communication and thorough documentation
• Over-communicate to prevent misunderstandings and foster transparency
• Establish a clear vision that includes employee well-being as a core component
• Encourage open communication and provide a wellness budget for staff initiatives

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Main Insight:
Focusing on truthful claims in marketing enhances credibility, builds stronger customer trust, and leads to more effective campaigns that resonate with B2B audiences, ultimately boosting brand reputation and fostering sustainable client relationships.

Guest Bio:
Mike Maynard is the CEO and owner of the Napier Group, a PR-led, full-service marketing agency specializing in the B2B technology sector. Under his leadership, Napier Group works closely with clients to develop strategic campaigns that drive impactful results and deliver a significant return on investment.

Step-by-step process to ensure that marketing claims are accurate:

1. Before Starting a Campaign, Learn About the Products:
   In highly technical industries, it's crucial to get product managers and engineers to brief you on the product details. Use these interviews with product experts to create a comprehensive briefing sheet for reference within your organization. This briefing sheet should serve as a “source of truth” for advertising claims and be continuously fact-checked by everyone involved. Creating this briefing helps writers on the marketing team communicate effectively, as they need to understand the information to put it in their own words, and the briefing sheets can also be repurposed as marketing content. 
2. Build the Campaign with Long-Term Considerations:
   When creating your campaign, focus on developing a strategy that supports long-term goals and sustainability rather than just immediate results.
3. Seek Feedback from External Reviewers:
   Get input from people outside of the campaign, whether they are other members of the marketing team or from other departments. This external perspective helps refine the nuances of the message, making it more effective and clear to your audience.
4. Find a Knowledgeable Fact-Checker:
   Identify a fact-checker who thoroughly understands the product, possibly an engineer, to ensure the marketing claims are technically accurate and clearly conveyed. This step ensures that all claims are valid and aligned with the product’s capabilities.

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Main Insight:
Ram Prasad, a small business owner, explains how embracing structured marketing strategies, such as leveraging LinkedIn and consistent content creation, led to doubling his company's revenue, and emphasizes the importance of viewing marketing as a long-term investment for small business growth.

Guest Bio:
Ram Prasad is the CEO of Delence, a company specializing in providing fractional CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and CPO (Chief Product Officer) services to businesses. With a strong background in technology, Ram has recently developed a passion for marketing, particularly in the context of small business growth. His expertise lies in bridging the gap between technology and marketing, helping businesses scale effectively by leveraging tailored tech solutions and strategic marketing insights.

Step-by-Step Advice for Moving Away from Referral-Only Business Growth

1. Prioritize Business Growth: 
   • Allocate a marketing budget and consider hiring marketing professionals. View marketing as an investment in your business's future. This helps you avoid inefficiencies and leverages expertise to craft a more effective strategy. 
2. Identify the Right Social Media Channel:
   • The first crucial step is to identify the most effective social media channel where your target audience is most active. This decision should be based on where your potential customers are likely to be found. For example, if your customers are tech startup CEOs, they are more likely to be on LinkedIn or Twitter rather than Instagram or Facebook. Start by focusing on one or two platforms to ensure your efforts are concentrated and effective.
3. Consistency in Posting:
   • Once you have identified the appropriate channel, the next step is to post consistently. The ideal frequency for most businesses is at least two to three times a week. Consistency is key because posting regularly helps keep your brand top of mind with your audience. Ram emphasizes that the goal isn't to aim for a viral post but to build a presence over time through regular and consistent posting. He recommends setting aside a specific time daily or weekly for content creation and posting to maintain this consistency. Understand that marketing requires patience and consistent effort, much like gardening. Focus on nurturing your strategy and be prepared to commit for several months before expecting significant outcomes. 
4. Create and Share Original Content:
   • It’s important that the content you post is original. Original content reflects your unique perspective and experiences, which is more engaging and valuable to your audience. Ram advises against simply copying content from others or using generic content generated by tools. Instead, use your own experiences, such as summarizing a customer interaction or a recent project (while maintaining confidentiality), to create content. This approach ensures your content is authentic and resonates more deeply with your audience.
5. Measure and Adjust:
   • After establishing a routine of consistent posting, the next step is to measure the effectiveness of your posts. Pay attention to the feedback you receive, such as likes, comments, and shares, to understand what content is resonating with your audience. However, Ram warns against overthinking this process. Instead, focus on experimenting and adjusting your content based on the feedback and engagement you observe. The key is to keep iterating and improving your strategy rather t

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Main Insight:
Effective B2B marketing hinges on clarity; the clearer the message, the greater its impact.

Guest Bio:
Ben Guttmann is a seasoned marketing entrepreneur, educator, and author known for his expertise in clear communication. He authored “Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win and How to Design Them.” Over a decade, he managed Digital Natives Group, a marketing agency that evolved from small local projects to prestigious collaborations with major entities like the NFL and Comcast.

The Five Principles of Simple Messaging: 

• beneficial, or matters to the receiver
• focused, meaning articulating one thing at a time rather than multiple things 
• salient, or standing out amidst noise 
• empathetic, or speaking the language that the audience understands and meeting them emotionally
• minimal, or excluding everything unnecessary.

Key Takeaways:

Emphasize Clarity in Messaging

• Clear and simple messages are more effective.
• Avoid jargon and complex language.
• Make your value proposition easily understandable.

Know Your Audience

• Understand the needs and pain points of your target audience.
• Tailor your messages to address these needs directly.
• Use language and examples that resonate with your audience.

Consistent Brand Voice

• Maintain a consistent voice across all platforms and materials.
• This helps in building a recognizable and trustworthy brand.

Storytelling

• Use stories to make your messages more engaging and memorable.
• Share success stories and case studies to illustrate your points.

Data-Driven Decisions

• Use analytics to understand what messages are working.
• Continuously test and refine your messaging based on data insights.

Visual Clarity

• Use clear and professional visuals to support your messages.
• Ensure that your design is clean and free from unnecessary clutter.

Simplicity in Design

• Apply minimalist principles to your marketing materials.
• Focus on key messages and avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information.

Focus on Benefits, Not Features

• Highlight how your product or service benefits the customer.
• Explain how it solves their problems or improves their situation.

Educate Your Audience

• Provide valuable content that educates your audience about your industry.
• This positions you as a thought leader and builds trust.

Leverage Multiple Channels

• Use a mix of marketing channels to reach your audience.
• Ensure that your messaging is consistent across all channels.

Customer-Centric Approach

• Always put the customer at the center of your marketing strategy.
• Listen to their feedback and adjust your strategies accordingly.

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MAIN INSIGHT: Leverage data-driven strategies and artificial intelligence to transform and optimize marketing efforts.

GUEST BIO: Rich Edwards is the CEO of Mindspan Systems, a company specializing in transforming community financial institutions through data-driven strategies and innovative technologies. With a career spanning over a decade at IBM, Edwards has significant experience in product strategy, data center automation, and artificial intelligence, including a pivotal role in the launch of the IBM Watson Developer Cloud. 

RESULTS: 

1. Increased personalization in marketing, allowing companies to cater specifically to individual customer preferences and needs.
2. Enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in marketing operations, as AI can automate and optimize many routine tasks and processes.
3. Improved customer engagement and retention through targeted and relevant marketing communications.
4. Greater competitive advantage by utilizing data insights to make informed strategic decisions.
5. Cost savings from automation and the ability to produce more with less manual effort.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

Leverage First-Party Data: Utilize first-party data to gain a competitive advantage by delivering highly personalized and relevant marketing content. First-party data, being directly collected from customers, is crucial for creating accurate and impactful marketing strategies that resonate with the target audience.

Ethical Data Practices: Adopt transparent data collection methods and manage data prudently to uphold customer trust. Rich Edwards stressed the importance of treating customer data with the same care as money, considering the potential risks and implications of data breaches or misuse.

Data Safeguarding and Compliance: Implement robust systems to protect customer data, ensuring that data management practices comply with the latest regulations. This includes thoughtful interactions with customers about how their data is used and ensuring that data sharing and processing are done only when necessary and with proper customer consent.

Navigating Data Governance Challenges: Be vigilant about the dependencies that can develop from using platforms like Facebook for marketing, which may lead to potential constraints and costs. Marketers should be aware of the terms and conditions of data usage by third-party companies and strive for agreements that protect their interests and those of their customers.

LINKS TO DATA GOVERNANCE RESOURCES:

• Here’s a good, easy-to-read introduction to data governance from HubSpot: HubSpot Data Governance.
• One of the more general industry governance organizations is the Data Management Association (DAMA), offering good resources and certification standards: DAMA.
• Microsoft’s policy on data usage with AI services can be found here: Microsoft Data Privacy.
• An earlier interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella specifically addressing their values on privacy is available on YouTube: Satya Nadella Interview.
• Also, as discussed, Trust Insights provides insights, and here's an example of Chris Penn’s blog:

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