Offline Engagement in an Era of Digital Fatigue

About the Guest

Jeff has been a product executive for many years. He has helped build some unicorns and worked for Fortune 100 companies. He has a passion for introducing cutting-edge technologies that solve real customer problems. He has spent the last 5 years in MarTech but has also led products in e-commerce and cleantech.

Connect with Jeff Freeman

Key Takeaways 

• Postal is changing the corporate gifting mantra to focus on offline engagement in B2B and employee engagement 
• Postal offers unique offline ways for marketing, sales, HR, and employees to engage with prospects, leads, and colleagues.
• Offline engagement is becoming increasingly important due to fatigue from digital advertising and emails
• Postal see offline engagement as an essential part of an ABM strategy
• Surrounding target accounts with B2B ads, email outreach, and offline engagement is the most effective way to engage
• Offline engagement is a strategy for targeting accounts
• Engagement is important across the entire funnel and departments
• ABM products can be used for marketing and sales efforts
• Success is measured through overall engagement and closed deals
• Offering flexibility in defining important moments for ROI attribution

Quote 

“I think the space Postal’s in is broadly known as corporate gifting. But we’re trying to change that mantra to be more about offline engagement.” – Jeff Freeman

Highlights from the Episode

Can you give our listeners some insight into your professional journey?

From his first job at a small tech company in the East Bay area, Jeff worked his way up from data entry to tech support and eventually project management. While observing the CEO’s involvement in the company’s roadmap and strategy, Jeff became interested in pursuing a career in that direction. He discovered that product management was the path to take and approached the CEO about becoming the company’s first product manager. After receiving approval, Jeff’s career took off. He has since worked for both successful and unsuccessful startups, as well as for Fortune 100 companies, gaining valuable experience along the way.

Could you give us some kind of inside information about the new technologies that are scheduled to be released by Postal soon?

Jeff revealed that the company is expanding its focus beyond corporate gifting to embrace a broader offline engagement approach. The goal is to provide a unique offline way for people in B2B to connect, especially in marketing and sales where engaging with prospects and leads is critical. The company is also exploring other use cases, such as employee engagement for people operations and HR.

Regarding new features, Jeff mentioned the release of Postal ABM, which is more than just a feature but a new product that represents a significant investment for the company. The product is designed to simplify the process of sending targeted accounts something by Postal, making it easy to scale and measure the results. Jeff expressed excitement about the release and hinted that the effort would lead to deeper ROI reporting.

Can you expand a little bit on how you guys over at Postal see the intersection between ABM and offline engagement coming together?

According to Jeff, Postal’s view on the intersection between ABM and offline engagement is that offline engagement should always be a part of an ABM strategy. Marketers should determine the right target accounts and surround them in any way they can, including B2B ads, email outreach, and offline engagement. Offline engagement can take many forms, such as sending branded gift cards or hosting virtual events like wine tastings or pizza-making classes. By including offline engagement in their overall strategy, marketers can effectively surround their target accounts, especially since there is a lot of noise in the digital space, making it difficult to engage people through emails alone.

How does your team fit across the intersection between sales and marketing, considering the importance of alignment between departments and reaching targets across the entire funnel?

The team utilizes their bolster ABM product as the foundation for aligning sales and marketing efforts. On the marketing side, they load up target accounts and buying personas using the tool, and then use it to facilitate sending items like a box of cookies to the recipient. Through data tracking, they can determine whether the recipient engaged with the item and to what degree. Based on this level of engagement, the sales team follows up with the prospect. The team offers multiple tiers of engagement tracking within the delivery of the item, allowing for effective sales follow-up. This approach ensures alignment between the marketing campaign and sales outreach efforts, resulting in reaching targets across the entire funnel.

How do you measure success and what are some key metrics to keep track of when trying to quantify or evaluate return on investment in tech investments, particularly in today’s times?

When measuring success and evaluating return on investment in tech investments, particularly in today’s times, there are two main metrics to keep track of. Firstly, overall engagement refers to the level of engagement that is generated from the Postal platform such as email engagement, event attendance, and landing page views. Secondly, opportunities were generated and closed one deal. This refers to the engagement that is received from Postal, and whether it has influenced an opportunity or led to a closed deal. By connecting these two metrics, it is possible to quantify the return on investment from tech investments. To report on these metrics, specific moments that are important and believed to contribute to opportunities generating and closing one deal must be identified. As part of the Postal ABM product, new ways to measure engagement and return on investment have been developed. This includes new products that will be rolled out during the first half of the year.

What is the importance of considering various avenues of engagement and data points in today’s B2B buying cycles regarding ROI and influencing opportunities?

In today’s B2B buying cycles, it is important to consider various avenues of engagement and data points when it comes to ROI and influencing opportunities. This is because a comprehensive approach to measuring and evaluating ROI can lead to better decision-making and more effective use of resources. Companies like STO have developed frameworks and productized tools to help customers define the moments that are most important to them and attribute them to ROI. At the end of the day, the goal is to ensure that the amount invested is greater than the amount returned. With new technologies, it has become easier to track ROI and tell the story of how investments translate into tangible outcomes such as increased pipeline and closed deals. Having the right storyline can be crucial in demonstrating the impact of a company’s efforts and driving future success.

What is the importance of considering various avenues of engagement and data points in today’s B2B buying cycles regarding ROI and influencing opportunities?

In today’s B2B buying cycles, it is important to consider various avenues of engagement and data points regarding ROI and influencing opportunities. This is because a comprehensive approach to measuring and evaluating ROI can lead to better decision-making and more effective use of resources. Companies like STO have developed frameworks and productized tools to help customers define the moments that are most important to them and attribute them to ROI. At the end of the day, the goal is to ensure that the amount invested is greater than the amount returned. With new technologies, it has become easier to track ROI and tell the story of how investments translate into tangible outcomes such as increased pipeline and closed deals. Having the right storyline can be crucial in demonstrating the impact of a company’s efforts and driving future success.

Is there a book, blog, newsletter, website, or video that you would recommend to our listeners?

• The Twenty-Minute VC Podcast
  

Shout-outs

Erik Kostelnik – Founder and CEO, Postal.io

Jed Danner – Founder and CTO, Postal.io