Podcast Title: B2B Marketing with Dave Gerhardt
Episode: Mastering Lifecycle Marketing: Real-World Tactics from Leading B2B Teams
Release Date: June 9, 2025

Introduction to the Live Session

At the outset of the episode, Charlotte Hardin enthusiastically welcomes participants to the live session, highlighting the interactive nature of the webinar. She introduces the two esteemed guests:

• Charlotte Hardin, Marketing Operations and Lifecycle Manager at Rebuyengine
• Naomi West, Senior Product Manager at Customer.io

Timestamp: [00:00 - 03:20]

Defining Lifecycle Marketing

The discussion kicks off with both Charlotte and Naomi sharing their definitions and perspectives on lifecycle marketing.

• Brendan emphasizes the foundational role of email in lifecycle marketing, stating, “Lifecycle marketing is just this phenomenal way to build relationships with various audiences” (04:00).
• Naomi echoes this sentiment, adding, “Setting up the right touch points for your customers at the right time” (27:18).

Changing Perspectives on Lifecycle Marketing

Both marketers discuss beliefs they've re-evaluated over the past year regarding lifecycle marketing.

• Brendan shares his shift from valuing elaborate email designs to appreciating simpler, text-based approaches: “Let’s simplify the amount of hoops that this email or channel needs to go through in order to become live” (08:01).
• Charlotte adds her own experience with email design constraints, noting the necessity of sometimes opting for plain text for better engagement: “We go with text and plain font and this is what we’re doing” (08:24).
• Naomi highlights the effectiveness of plain text emails in fostering a more personal connection: “Plain text feels more personal and might drive more engagement” (08:55).

Experimentation and AB Testing

The panel delves into the importance of experimentation within lifecycle marketing.

• Naomi stresses the balance between speed and experimentation: “You have to strike a balance between launching quickly and optimizing through testing” (10:13).
• Brendan outlines his approach to AB testing, categorizing lifecycle marketing into three pillars: activation, monetization, and retention. He explains how testing within these silos can yield insights beneficial across the organization: “What gaps currently exist in the customer life cycle and what ways can I implement tests” (11:54).

Notable Quote:
“Benchmarks are not one size fits all. Lean on your own benchmarks” – Brendan (48:11)

Day in the Life of a Lifecycle Marketer

Responding to audience questions, the panel shares insights into their daily responsibilities.

• Naomi mentions that a significant portion of her time is dedicated to marketing operations and reporting on lifecycle campaigns: “Taking all of the data available and parsing it out for lifecycle campaigns takes up a ton of my time” (16:15).
• Brendan describes his day as varied, including brainstorming sessions, writing campaigns, and leveraging AI tools for tasks like HTML troubleshooting: “Some days I'm spent on calls just talking through new initiatives” (17:04).

Strategic Asset Creation for Lifecycle Marketing

The conversation shifts to creating and managing marketing assets, especially when resources are limited.

• Naomi emphasizes aligning lifecycle campaigns with company goals: “Understanding what data you have and what data you’re able to get is essential” (21:57).
• Brendan recommends templatizing processes to save time, such as having a well-oiled email design system and using project management tools for approvals: “Having a repository and documentation of what content can be used where is super beneficial” (43:07).

Engaging B2B Users

The panel discusses strategies to maintain engagement with B2B audiences post-welcome sequence.

• Brendan advocates for behavior-based touchpoints, such as congratulatory milestone emails: “Look at behavior and try to convince people that have monetized to refer and share with their network” (35:15).
• Naomi adds the importance of newsletters and reinforcing key messages to keep the audience engaged: “Reusing a lot of the same stuff in a different way is also going to be really helpful” (38:08).

Notable Example:
Charlotte shares a personal anecdote about receiving a delightful surprise from a B2C company, illustrating the impact of unexpected positive reinforcement: “They sent a cute little waffle dog toy. It was such a delightful moment” (39:10).

KPIs and Metrics for Lifecycle Marketing

Addressing newcomers, Julia asks about fundamental KPIs for lifecycle marketing.

• Naomi suggests starting with basic metrics like open rates and click-through rates, and developing a simple attribution model to understand the correlation between marketing campaigns and conversions: “Open rate and click-through rate are always going to be helpful” (21:57).
• Brendan emphasizes creating company-specific benchmarks instead of relying on broad industry standards: “Benchmarking yourself is essential” (48:11).

Keeping Users Engaged Over Long Sales Cycles

For companies with extended sales cycles, the panel offers tailored advice.

• Naomi recommends collaborating closely with sales teams to understand client needs over time: “Talk to your salespeople and make sure you are understanding what’s happening and what are people needing” (43:55).
• Brendan suggests maintaining consistent communication through resources like monthly newsletters to stay top-of-mind: “With a sales cycle that long, it’s all about being a good resource and partner” (44:42).

Best Practices and Key Takeaways

Wrapping up, the speakers share final thoughts on optimizing lifecycle marketing efforts.

• Brendan urges marketers to develop their own benchmarks and focus on data specific to their organizations: “Lean on your own benchmarks” (48:11).
• Charlotte emphasizes the continuous need to audit and optimize lifecycle campaigns: “Always be optimizing the things that you already have” (49:54).

Final Remark:
Naomi encourages marketers to maintain a fresh perspective on lifecycle marketing, regardless of experience level: “It’s never too late to map out the data and take a new lens to your touch points” (49:54).

Conclusion

This episode of B2B Marketing with Dave Gerhardt provides a comprehensive exploration of lifecycle marketing from seasoned professionals. Key insights include the pivotal role of email, the necessity of personalized and behavior-based communication, the importance of aligning marketing efforts with company goals, and the value of continuous optimization and benchmarking. Whether you're new to lifecycle marketing or looking to refine your strategies, Charlotte Hardin and Naomi West offer actionable tactics and thoughtful perspectives to elevate your B2B marketing initiatives.

Notable Quotes:

• Brendan at [08:01]: “Let’s simplify the amount of hoops that this email or channel needs to go through in order to become live.”
• Naomi at [27:18]: “Setting up the right touch points for your customers at the right time.”
• Brendan at [48:11]: “Benchmarking yourself is essential.”

Note: Timestamps are approximate and correspond to the provided transcript sections.