Salsa Labs

The Challenge:

Salsa Labs, a prominent provider of software solutions for nonprofit and social good organizations, faced a unique challenge following its 2015 merger with DonorPro. The merger brought together two distinct platforms: one focused on constituent relationship management and the other on a digital marketing system, enriched with modules for fundraising, peer-to-peer networking, and advocacy. Although a bridge had been constructed between these two systems to offer a versatile combination of tools, this diversity presented a significant marketing challenge. The core question was: How do you effectively market a multifaceted tool suite where certain features might not be relevant to each individual prospect?

In response to this challenge, I was recruited to revitalize the marketing team. My mandate included developing a comprehensive marketing strategy, redesigning the website, initiating a paid search campaign, and enhancing overall conversion rates. The primary goal was to significantly increase the volume of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) while simultaneously reducing their acquisition costs.

The Solution:

Given the breadth of tasks undertaken, a detailed discussion would exceed the scope of this document. However, I will focus on a particularly effective strategy: the implementation of webinars.

Recognizing the need to effectively demonstrate our diverse feature set to a broad audience, we established a regular schedule of webinars that were aligned with topical events and directly addressed the interests of our target demographic. Hosting webinars is a nuanced endeavor that requires a balance between providing valuable information and promoting the product. Our webinars were meticulously planned to deliver content that was universally applicable, regardless of the attendees’ current software solutions. We covered topics that were both relevant and timely, explored best practices, discussed forthcoming industry trends and challenges, and provided actionable resources like worksheets and checklists. Throughout these sessions, we seamlessly integrated demonstrations of our software, highlighting the robust capabilities of our platform while also engaging participants with interactive questions to deepen their involvement and gather valuable feedback.

Additionally, we offered complimentary one-on-one consultations post-webinar, where our experts would delve into the specific needs and operations of a prospect. This personalized approach not only showcased our commitment to understanding and enhancing our clients’ processes but also allowed us to direct them towards further educational resources, such as our extensive library of ebooks, tips, and instructional videos, should our tools not be the right fit.

The Result:

This strategic shift towards more informational and less promotional content in our webinars proved to be highly successful. The influence of webinars on our sales qualified leads (SQLs) saw a dramatic increase—escalating by 5.7 times year over year. Moreover, the sales revenue influenced by webinars surged by an astonishing 15 times, underscoring the efficacy of this approach in engaging prospects and driving significant business outcomes.