Boost Product Adoption Like A GoFundMe Pro PMM

30:31And we would meet weekly to just talk through where are we at? What do we need? Where are people getting stuck? What are the things that you're hearing from your team that they could use help with? And so that's where things like ROI calculators were created as a output of, hey, people are cool, but we need to get them to that final, the logic-based appeal. And then operationalizing is how do you scale this? You can't just have individual CSMs or account teams doing all of these things. And so I built a landing page that kind of became this central hub where from our email and marketing, all CTAs would route here.

31:14If someone had our core value proposition that we spliced and promoted in a lot of different ways. And then once that happened, Trigger would go to the account manager, Trigger would go to ops, it would enter us into the dashboard. And so it allowed us to kind of help accelerate the adoption with some of the more scaled motions as we were going out just repeatedly, again, month over month over month over month. sometimes you're tracking well other times not but the goal is that how do you just continue to execute on this strategy consistently repeatably until by the end of the year you look up and things are looking good so okay so you got to give us the big reveal like what happened you said this is a like you know years long project or initiative what what the initial goal was to get, you were at 60 % adoption you wanted to get to.

32:14I think you said like 80, 100 % was kind of the near-term, long-term target. What happened after 12 months? Yeah. Yeah. So the goal was everyone, we want everyone on it. The ceiling was the roof. But by the end of that calendar year, and so coming in probably starting around May, Those last seven, eight months, we ended up getting to around 88 % of total GDV from 60 to 88. That's really good. That's less than a year. Yes. Oh, yeah. It was the first few months, which was exciting because once you started seeing the engine working, then it's a matter of, okay, let's continue doing this. But that's, again, where you get kind of back to where we started of the segmentation and targeting, where it provided really clear visibility into where are the big rocks?

33:16Where are the ones that, you know, overall the health of adoption is looking strong, but these are the areas where we need help. And so that would orient the go-to-market or the product marketing strategy you to say, oh, okay, we're running into a blocker in the evaluation stage or with the rates. And so we would occasionally would come up with promotional packages of an offer of, hey, do this now. And so all of that, by the time we're in the first, second quarter of the year, so around a full calendar year, we had cleared 97, 98 % of all GDV. That's incredible. The one provider with the exception of a handful of edge cases.

34:02And so really transformed. That is so cool. Yeah. No, it was exciting. And again, a collective company strategic priority, but it was also satisfying to see how do you come in with a plan and a goal and a strategy. And so seeing it pay off and work within a relatively short window was very encouraging. The biggest things that stand out to me from your story are that you had all your stakeholders and you guys, you know, we are on the same ship and you're all rowing in the same direction. Like you are so in sync with what needed to be done every step of the way. So when you were evaluating metrics or status or health or whatever of this initiative, you could say, okay, now we need to double click in on this particular segment or sub segment.

34:57And now we can shift our talents across the team to get this one where it needs to be. and that is not very it's hard to get there it's hard to achieve that in and of itself but then in addition to that then the other thing that stood out to me is just your keen sense of how to build the segmentation and then how to speak to each of the segments I think those are the those are the biggest things that stand out to me around probably driving a lot of the success I know that it's such a big team effort and there are probably tens and I don't even know how many people are probably involved maybe close to 100 internal folks.

35:33I don't know. But it was a large undertaking. A large number of people who helped get us there. Okay. So we spent a lot of time on the story and the case study, which is great. And you've already, I think, in just how explaining what the case study is and your entire story, we've uncovered a lot of what the playbook would be. But like, let's say, let's just do a mini mock coaching session right now where let's say like, I'm trying to drive adoption in, you know, one of my products. And I'm like, Hey, listen, like, Keith is the guy, he's done it. Like, coach me, teach me how to do it. Like, where do I need to start in order to achieve anything close to the level of success that you saw?

36:20Where do I get started? Yeah, great question. And so I think, you know, I start with, like, we want to create something repeatable. And so it's, yes, you want to adopt this one thing, but I always try to think of more system and, and how do we drive this transformation and revenue beyond just adoption? And so again, if when we get to, I'm entering, I want to adopt, I need to drive adoption for whatever it may be. I start with the segment and targeting and positioning. In addition to just like the intake and inventory of where are we at today, just getting a real firm understanding of like understanding your customer, understanding your product, and then what makes it valuable and where within that customer's experience can we start to interject or position or orient them towards this adoption frame.

37:17So really getting a lay of the land of where the customer first kind of started. Yes, I love your perspective on segmentation. So it's not just looking at your sales data and product data to segment your customer base, but it's also, it's almost like creating like a psychological profile to get the context of what that looks like from the customer's perspective to be in that segment. That's really interesting. Okay, no very core PMM muscle. So then what do I do next? Let's say, okay, I've done that step. I got a ton of insights. I got my segmentation. What do I do next? Yeah. So the first one, if I am blank, why should I?

37:55And so like we're, we're first kind of identify who am I? And that's the segment targeting position. Next is getting, getting a feel for what you have, where they're like, what assets already exist, if any, where would you, um, you know, what channels do you have? What assets and levers do you have at your disposal? You know, some product launches and things that I've worked on, it's, there's zero budget. And so like your channels are email, your, any in-product messages you can do and the teams that are engaging with customers. Others. And so like just really getting a, all right, I know who you are trying to appeal to and all the varieties in that, that fit.

38:38Then what do we have? What, what do I have at our disposal to then reach those people? And where do maybe the channels or where you can engage them or what assets maybe don't speak to some parts? And so really kind of connecting the who and the what in that second step. okay so in the second step it's almost doing an audit of what do i have available to me in order to speak to those like what are the communication channels i have to reach all of these segments and then the like now what do i say or what what what do i use what's the medium that i'm medium of choice to um get my uh my message out there um okay and then what's step three.

39:28Yeah, step three. So I, again, we'll kind of, we'll build it as we go. If I am this customer, why should I adopt blank rather than not adopting it or using something else or insert any other trade alternative decision that is. And so from there, then it's solution mapping. And so how do we match this right message to the right customer at the right moment and focus on who they are, whatever they're at, starting there, and then figuring out what's the path I can get them to my objective and destination. And so it's sort of like a reverse engineering of it that isn't, it's customer focused as opposed to, hey, we're going to just blast this email to everybody.

40:17Our product is launched. Why isn't anyone signing up? this is uh maybe the most important step yes because it's making it's it's giving your customer i think you said it earlier like giving maybe it's not quite this but i'm you you talked about giving prescribing the next step right this sounds like maybe it's that like telling them where to go and how to do it um i know it's different from what you're saying because we're talking more about alternatives but like you're prescribing a different an alternative to what they are currently doing in order to achieve whatever they're trying to achieve.

40:55Yes. Yeah. And it's, you know, you could take this approach in this step, the solution mapping, you're right. It's a most important and I find it as it's a always on iteration, which we'll kind of get to as we move through the playbook. But it's a constant, hey, there's person right here, this is what's best for them. This is what's best for them. And it can apply to their lifecycle, their segment, but also when you get into the different personas. And so mapping a solution of ClassyPay to a development director or a digital marketing manager is different than doing it to the CFO or the head of finance.

41:36And so how do you map the solution that is inherent in the product, but framed in the way to the individual person or the state? And so the solution mapping is key. It's all about understanding the context of each one of your customers and their world. My world as a marketer looks different from Joe Schmo's world as a CFO. It just looks different. so the way that they engage with their product looks different and making sure that you're speaking their language and telling a story in a way that they're going to care to understand not even just of course they can understand it you know they're they're not rocks like we are all humans we have brains but um it's it's more about getting them to care and that's why we take the make the effort to speak in their in the terms of their context um okay so i'm doing that you're telling the story story in a total and a bunch of you know totally different ways um again and that's it's a lot of that solution mapping which i have done so many times in my career and it is it it's quite a lot of work again it can take it takes a lot of time and doing some customer research and understanding you know maybe even some prioritization of like which use cases i should go after first.

42:57And, you know, I think you mentioned earlier getting some like big rocks in and maybe those are the ones to prioritize. What do I do next? What happens after I've, I've done the solution mapping, you know, and I'm, is it, is it building out, I guess, is that part of, is part of that solution mapping, like building out the story for each of those? yeah i would say like solution mapping and then go to market to me are kind of like two sides of the same and so you can do it in like the planning phase but knowing that this was you know an ongoing years long adoption initiatives that some of the it wasn't as all a straight linear like all right now we have all of our solution maps mapped got it Yes, that makes sense.

43:47It was kind of, and so this is where the feedback loops become especially helpful because, you know, it's easy for me as the marketer to say like, here's your solution team, like go forth and drive adoption. But then like where the insights and the real value was refining the solution from hearing from the sales team or the teams that are working with customers or the lifecycle team would be able to call out and say, hey, here's where people are getting stuck or we're getting a lot of blank, but whatever, we can't get why. And so this was where it's where the refinement and also the targeting and prioritization kind of can live because you don't ever want to like, you have a core value proposition um but the solution and how do you make it real for the vast across the entire customer base and all the variety and ambiguity that that entails you need to kind of have this constant okay that oh there's a gap and then the key was once you could identify that in the in a vac or in a silo how applicable is that oh that's something that we can now use to enhance everything else.

45:08And so those feedback loops would be a critical aspect of the mapping, the solution mapping component. Yeah, perfect. Okay, so we've talked a lot about feedback loops and how important that is for iteration. So coming back to your playbook for this and looking back in your career for when you were driving this initiative, I guess like, help me understand what role AI plays in all of this. Again, like I think at the time when you were probably driving this there, of course there was AI, but you know, it's every day it's moving so much faster. There's new tools and the tools are getting more sophisticated every day.

45:50So if, again, if you're coaching me on this, like assume like I've done my solution mapping, like I've done my segmentation, I've got my feedback loops in place with all of my stakeholders. now coach me on AI. How do I consider AI in all of this? And what tools should I be using? And should I automate? What should I automate? What's your guidance? Yeah. AI wasn't embedded into every aspect of working life back in 2021. So it's amazing how much it's changed. And I think, to me, it's about accelerating and scaling those feedback loops. And so if you can architect the system and the engine enough, then you can take in a lot more information.

46:40So instead of that weekly stakeholder meeting where you're pulling the sales or post-sales teams, you can ingest calls and identify keywords and immediately funnel those back into your messaging and copywriting way faster than taking notes and talking to individual people. um and so you know and then also you know when i think of the time spent researching or learning i think there's value in doing it yourself but you know there's so much that you can do in terms of research and just getting data which is always a challenge of oh we got to go into the data visualizer and stuff i think it really equips product marketers today to kind of be the orchestrator of the engine because you're the amount of times you're having individual meetings you can consolidate those and get those same outputs um in way less time and a lot lot faster so funneling it right back into the into the growth fire wheel is a key aspect of that yeah okay such a great tip and i think these days i mean i'm hearing pmms who are building entire agents, for lack of a better word, or for embracing the buzzwords now, building an entire agent to ingest, to do some of that segmentation analysis, leveraging call recordings.

48:06And I agree with you. I do think it's worthwhile for PMMs to do some of that research and investigation themselves, just to increase your own confidence, right? So you know what you're talking about. So you feel a bigger connection to this project that you're driving. If everything's too AI generated, then it just, I think it's more of like a person, it kind of influences your personal connection to what you're working on. And then sometimes that can influence the output. So I think having a stronger connection to your work is important. So that makes a lot of sense. Okay. Last question for you on this topic, Keith, if you had one piece of advice for a product marketer who is out there trying to increase adoption, maybe it's like switching their customers from one product to another.

48:59Maybe it's from switching from a competitor to theirs, but they're just trying to drive adoption for their product. What's one piece of advice that you have for that PMM? I'm going to give you one super tactical and one more conceptual. And so the super tactical one that we didn't get into earlier is close the loop of value with your customers. And so once they've adopted something, that's not the end of the goal. It It might be for what your objective was, but it really, what I found to be very valuable is then reinforcing that the thing that that customer just adopted is adding and delivering the value that you promised in the product marketing and messaging.

49:47And so by closing that loop, you are reinforcing the value and creating an opportunity where they'll say, all right, this one worked. I'm more inclined to listen to the next time they tell me to adopt something. But it also fuels social proof and case studies and results. But I think it's too often we forget to close the loop with customers and move on to the next launch or adoption. And there's so much goodwill and value of closing that last loop and making sure the customer realizes the value and they're aware that they are receiving the value because that's the end all, be all of it all. And it just validates their trust in you, right?

50:29And it helps to bolster that trust and it helps your relationship. And so I love that tip. I think that's so helpful. Okay. You said you had one more for me. Yeah. And then the conceptual one is just kind of know your product, know your customers, and then go to work. Everything in the middle of marketing and product marketing, it's messy and there's different goals and things you need to do. But I think it's if you come back to those two things that's ultimately what matters like marketing and product marketing particularly is the matchmaking element between products and customer value and so making sure that you're grounded and have both feet firmly planted in both of those i think is a has served me really well regardless of the product or the industry and so that would be You know, never lose sight of either one of those sides too much because the act of doing what we do is matchmaking between those two.

51:26I love that. And that's something that I constantly advise junior PMMs on, especially when it comes to AI and stuff, is to don't jump into an obsessing over the next shiny AI tool or don't outsource the opportunity to know your customer and to know your product and to know your market. because the better that you, the more familiar that you are with your customer and your product and your market, the more that it will give you ideas and give you confirmation and confidence and validation on all the strategies that you're putting in place and the stories and the tactics that you're using and driving.

52:08So I could not agree more. I think that's such a strong tip. Thank you so much, Keith. This was such a good story, such a good case study. I can't, I'm excited. I want to go drive my own product adoption and put your playbook to the test. I'm sure it'll bring me some good fortune. Thanks, Alice. It was a lot of fun. Yeah. All right. So now I want to transition to the next segment of our show, The Messaging Critique. This is where we as product marketing experts get to analyze real world marketing. And the fun part is, Keith, as my guest, you get to pick the company that we will look at today. So let me set some quick ground rules.

52:51You're going to pick a company that either you are familiar with the target audience or you are part of the target audience. Wouldn't it be fair to critique messaging on a company that we don't know anything about their customers? And then you're going to tell me, we're going to talk about what their messaging is and who they're talking to. And something that stood out really well about the messaging, something you wish the PMM would have considered differently. and then we'll brainstorm a little bit around how that PMM could take it to the next level. So without further ado, reveal the company that we will be looking at today.

53:26Thanks. I'm excited to take part in this. I really enjoy the ones you do. So for our episode, I chose Wealthfront. I love it. So for those of you who want to follow along, wealthfront.com, it's just as you would think it's spelled, W-E-A-L-T-H-F-R-O-N-T.com. Okay. So I just went to their website. Give me a quick overview on how they represent themselves from a messaging standpoint, at least based on their website. I love it. So for those of you who want to follow along, wealthfront.com. It's just as you would think it's spelled w-e-a-l-t-h-f-r-o-n-t.com okay so i just went to their website um what give me a quick overview on how their mess how they represent themselves from a messaging standpoint at least you know based on their website you know their target audience would be millennials and kind of younger investors.

54:31I sit squarely within their target audience. And so it's millennials, young professionals, and people who are kind of maybe earlier in their journey. They don't have an advisor. They don't have any of the kind of more sophisticated financial infrastructure. And so I've been a customer for over 10 years now. And so it's - Wow. Okay. I enjoy their product. I love their marketing and it's been cool to see how it's evolved over the life cycle and my life cycle of fresh out of college to advancing in your career and how they show up in different aspects. So it's a big fan of it. But I guess last thing about them is they target retail investors.

55:20And so they're a consumer-oriented, like a B2C financial platform. I love that. And great that you've been exposed to their product for so long because then you can speak even more to how much the messaging is resonating and how it's changed. So on their homepage, it's basically an immediate offer. It says earn up to 4.2 % APY or your cash earns at base 3.3 APY and higher. So talk us through what that means. What are they trying to say here? and why aren't they just jumping straight into the traditional this is who we are type of strategy for storytelling? Yeah, I picked this one because it is jarring.

56:17It's not what you expect when you land on a homepage to have a CTA. I thought that I clicked on a sponsored link, Not their actual website. Yeah. No, it's interesting. And I think this is partially like a consumer finance, like the acquisition is a key aspect. But I like this. I selected this option because I like that they led, they don't shy away from leading with their offer. And having this was what attracted me and made me become a WellFront customer a decade ago. Their primary value proposition has always been, we provide more competitive interest rates than any most bank. Whatever the maximum is from the Fed, we'll be offering that.

57:04And they do a really good job of reinforcing that for customers too. And so every time something changes, like, oh, the interest rates change, they'll send an email and say, hey, it went down because it's required, but you're still getting the best in it. And so this is their core value proposition. And they're not trying to become or position themselves as anything other than like, this is what we do. And then the rest will follow of what else do they do besides this kind of core value. Got it. Got it. So they're getting that foot in the door based on the core value. And then over time, they're earning your trust and they're able to get, I mean, it seems like they're able to get a bit more of your wallet share by delivering your value, delivering you value.

57:55Okay. So walk me through, like, what do the PMM do really well? And then what do you wish the PMM would have considered differently with the messaging here? Um, and so below the offer, one, I like, as we scroll down the page, then the H one goes into turn your savings into wealth. And so what I liked about that is it's a very clear from two it's savings and wealth and wealth obviously kind of echoes their brand name. And then they, this more traditional kind of marketing product marketing page, they then frame the platform and persona flexibly. And so they appeal to, are you a DIY investor or do you want a done for you solution set?

58:39We've got both of those ways. I see. Yes, totally. Core value, then this, then the H2, they have make the most of your money wherever you're at. And so this is their core value proposition that they then orient on three different specific use cases. And so saving, couples managing finances, how does this show up in the life for their various personas? And then they close with the tagline. And so sophisticated investing made simple is kind of the core position that they reinforce through everything in the product experience, to the content, their brand. It's about simplifying finances, automating it and making it work for you.

59:28And so I like how it just all comes together knowing it's the mic drop at the end. Yeah. It's really, I like the storytelling. I like how it unfolds throughout the scroll. Um, and it's not what I was expecting either. So I like that. Okay. So what do you wish the PMM would have considered differently? Um, it's, you know, I think one would be to use more specificity. And so they could elevate, again, it's a homepage and they have kind of their lead gen acquisition funnel leading. But I think that they could elevate, depending on who they're going after, but some specific product features and not as only orienting towards outcome and use case.

1:00:17Like, all right, we make more money. Great. I think there's an opportunity where they could highlight like, hey, we automate your goals and you can create a saving and investing waterfall. Or the other one would be maybe highlighting specific product keywords. And so things like an IRA or a checking account may be like clear to call it out specifically for people who aren't as financially savvy or aren't able to kind of draw out like, oh, they do offer IRAs or, oh, this is about checking accounts. But I think, you know, at the level we're talking on the homepage and not drilling into any of their solution areas, it's a fairly good balance, but those would be a couple of things.

1:01:00Got it. Okay. So if you were their, we'll say PMM coach, how would you advise them to like consider taking this to the next level? Yeah, I think I would bring their core positioning into that first section. And so what we loved at the end of sophisticated investing made simple, I would like to see that simplified also echoed at the very top in the H1 along with the goals and benefits-based message. And so it's kind of like, it's not just the closing CTA, but there's a bookend of reinforcing it from the beginning to the end. Simplified investing in money management is the through line that kind of connects each section individually.

1:01:48Yeah, I hear you. I agree because I think that would help me too if I were landing on the page the first time. And that way I didn't immediately think that it was, you know, a sponsored link that I clicked on. I'm like, no, no, I want their homepage. Oh, this is their homepage. Okay. That would kind of help clarify some of that for, I mean, maybe I only have that because I'm a marketer. So I, I recognize more of the sponsored stuff. So, but in any case, great tips and well done. Wealthfront PMMs. This is really good storytelling. And now I'm intrigued. I will, as a millennial, I will look in to the product as, you know, that's something I may use.

1:02:33Well, save yourself. I'll give you a referral link. I get, but we get benefits. They, they incentivize that. So we'll, we'll follow up out offline. Should we put your referral link in the show notes?

1:02:48Maybe. I wouldn't, I wouldn't mind that if, if, if folks are learning about it through you, it's all good all the same to me um it's you know i think one would be to use more specificity um and so like they could elevate again it's a home page and and they have kind of their lead gen acquisition funnel leading um but i think that they could elevate depending on who they're they're going after but some specific uh product features and not as only orienting towards like outcome and use case, like, all right, we make more money. Great. I think there's an opportunity where they could highlight like, hey, we automate your goals and you can create a saving and investing waterfall.

1:03:34Or the other one would be maybe highlighting specific product keywords. And so things like an IRA or a checking account may be like clear to call it out specifically for people who aren't as financially savvy or aren't able to kind of draw out like, oh, they do offer IRAs or, oh, this is about checking accounts. But I think, you know, at the level we're talking on the homepage and not drilling into any of their solution areas, it's a fairly good balance. But those would be a couple of things. Absolutely. Fun little example. I love it. I love it. Well, Keith, one thing I like to make room for on the show is a moment of gratitude because in product marketing, we never get here alone.

1:04:17We're always learning from each other and holding each other up, standing on each other's shoulders, and we're all better for it. So before we wrap up, I just want to say genuine thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to prepare for this conversation and to bring your expertise to the show. I'm sure it's going to be so helpful for so many product marketers. So thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Yeah, no, thanks so much, Elle. And it's a real treat and my gratitude extends to you as well as another product marketer I'm grateful to learn from and all the content and resources that you put out to the PMM community through your podcast and the things you're doing.

1:04:55So it was a real treat to be here with you. Of course. Yay. I'm so glad to hear that. And on the spirit of gratitude, this is a good opportunity to give shout outs to all the marketers, PMMs, peers, managers, and mentors that have been part of your career and really shaped the awesome marketer that you are today. This is a great chance to give them some kudos. Yeah, thanks. I have a lot because this was the crew that really taught me and showed me the ropes as I dove headfirst into product marketing as soon as I joined. So first, Tom Morris. Tom was my boss for several years on the PMM team at Classy.

1:05:36And actually, he was the person when he joined, I handed off Classy Pay to him. And so he really showed me the financial and analytical side of PMM, really digging into things like basis points. And so I learned a lot about that from him. Second would be Katie Golland. Katie is awesome and was the OG PMM when I joined. And so if there was a template or a doc or product tiering playbook, Katie, Stinger, we're all over it. And so it was really cool to see and learning what good PMM looks like before I even moved formally to that team. Then lastly, just a trio of Colin Majak, Megan Ferris, and Elaine Mozenner.

1:06:21They were the three PMMs for three distinct product areas when I was at Classy and GoFundMe Pro. And they kept me extremely busy sequencing and orchestrating the go-to-market for a steady stream of launches, sometimes three all at the same time. But it was really cool to see how they each owned their individual areas and approach marketing, product marketing in different ways. And so those would be my shout outs to the people that really helped shape and helped me learn the ropes as I was there. I love that. And I even recognize a few of those names. So it'll be great. I'll have to go and make sure that they hear this episode and then I'll be sharing.

1:07:06Maybe also tap on their shoulders, shoulders to be guests on the show sometime. Yeah, sure. I'll send you my referral link. There we go. There we go. Rolls all around. Okay. I promise this is my real last question for you. where is the best to access your expertise? Should listeners just reach out to you on LinkedIn? Yep. Follow me on LinkedIn. My URL is my name. So sorry to the other Keith Blazics out there. I have Keith-Blazic and I'm on there talking product marketing, marketing theory, sharing pictures of my whiteboards and occasionally making some jokes and stuff. So happy to connect and see if you want to reach out.

1:07:48Again, thank you so much, Keith. This was such a great story, such a great playbook. And hey, PMM listeners, if you really liked this episode, please share it with a PMM friend. I'd be so grateful if you would leave a review. It helps tremendously with our reach. And thank you so much for coming on this adventure with us today. I hope this episode leaves you with inspiration to take in the next step of your own journey.

1:08:18You