We just launched our newest case study with Staffbase, an employee experience platform that helps companies connect with their on-the-go workforce. Staffbase is a global company that serves some of the world’s biggest brands, including Adidas, Vodafone, and Mercedes Benz.

When Staffbase started digging into their marketing metrics, they knew that they had healthy website traffic, but they could do better when it came to converting website visitors into marketing qualified leads (MQLs).

We sat down with Jason Etter, Director of Marketing, to talk about his vision for Conversational Marketing and how it will transform their marketing team’s most prized asset, their website, and make a dent in their conversion numbers. Here are some clips from our discussion.

What does the ideal B2B website experience look like to you? 

JE: If you have clicked on something or you've Google searched this thing called Staffbase, and now you're on our website, the experience that you should have going forward should be easy and simple. I read this book that referenced the idea that when you walk into a store for the first time, let's call it a bakery, and you're an unfamiliar face, at the very least whoever is behind the counter is going to say "Hey, how can I help you? Thank you for coming. Take your time. Look around. But I'm here if you need help." Great. Now if I'm a repeat customer, it's "Hey Jason, so awesome to see you again. Would you like the croissants again?" There's no reason why a website shouldn't be that exact same experience.

You said Conversational Marketing is your number one priority. Why?

JE: Conversational Marketing is not the final piece of the journey, but a very important piece of the journey. So whether you've put together a really strong ABM campaign, whether you even have an e-mail marketing campaign, or you're doing social media posts, if you're driving people to your website ... maybe you have some piece of content that is just so relevant to that person right at that moment and they're like "This is exactly what I've been looking for!" If I'm not having that Apple experience with you after you've come, then I've failed.

Just having an ABM strategy, just having a really strong powerful subject line in an email to get them in, and then an even better call to action... b‍ut then they get there, and they went all through those steps, and they still didn't fill out that form or they still didn't download whatever that thing is that got them interested, or they didn't commit ... they left. That seems like a failure. That's where I feel Conversational Marketing is so important because that's the opportunity to go. "I'm so glad you're interested. What can I do to make this experience even easier?"

Why should sales teams be excited about this new selling approach?

JE: What you should obsess about is how easy can you make it so that these human beings that are actively on your website are being actively notified to the teams that want to talk to them. The same people that are sending those emails, that are begging for more advertising, that are trying to get social media to have some sort of impact, that are picking up the phone and dialing and never getting through and leaving voicemail after voicemail. Here they are! So why am I not providing an experience that can bridge those gaps?

How do you make Conversational Marketing a success at Staffbase? 

JE: It's paramount. This cannot be a sales-only driven priority or a marketing-only driven priority. It has to be a team-driven priority. Otherwise it just won't work.

A big thank you to Jason for taking time to share why he is so excited about Conversational Marketing as a new way of selling. To read the full Staffbase story, head on over to their case study. 

Want to keep the conversation going? Follow Jason on Twitter or LinkedIn. You can also listen in to The Marketing Trends Podcast with our founders Kraig and Sean to hear what they have to say about Conversational Marketing and this new way of selling.