Can you tell us about the marketing technology stack currently in use at QAD?
We use a number of technologies to support our marketing efforts. QAD uses Salesforce as its CRM. In the area of Marketing Automation, we use Marketo and Unbounce. We use RFPio for RFP Automation. As far as ABM/Intent/Predictive/Paid Media, we use 6Sense. QAD uses Cvent for in-person events and On24 for online webinars. In the area of Social Media, we use employee advocacy tool GaggleAMP and social sharing tool Sprout Social. As far as Retargeting, QAD uses 6sense and Outreach. And, for our Conversational Marketing efforts, we use Drift.
What key metrics do you use to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns?
We use a number of measures to gauge the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. This includes leading and lagging indicators as well as measures of overall effectiveness and efficiency. Efficiency is critical to ensure our resources are invested for the greatest return possible. The measures include: open rates, increased account engagement, campaign successes, development accounts assigned to BDs (DAs), sales ready leads (SRs), sales accepted leads (SAs), pipeline generated, wins and cost per SA lead. Actuals are also compared to campaign budget targets.
How do you ensure that QAD’s marketing efforts are aligned with its overall business goals and objectives?
We have recently merged our product management and marketing function into one group to better align on market focus. We work closely with our CEO on strategy development. Marketing targets are built off a lead model jointly developed with sales driven by our bookings target. We have objective criteria agreed with sales and business development on sales acceptance of leads. We have weekly pipeline meetings at multiple levels within the organization including C-Level. Measurement is key. Marketing KPIs are provided in real time and visible to all in the company. We measure against cumulative daily targets, provide daily trending and how many days of target surplus or deficit we have.
How has the recent acquisition of Redzone impacted QAD’s marketing strategy?
It has provided us with a solution to address, head-on, two of the greatest challenges manufacturers face today: raising input costs and worker shortages. From a marketing perspective we have marketed the benefits of the solution to our installed base through a series of webinars, user groups, customer conferences, and productivity events (tours of existing manufacturing plants using QAD Redzone). Our vertical marketing team is assisting Redzone marketing and R&D with messaging, collateral and customer requirements for additional vertical markets within manufacturing.
In which areas of the marketing landscape do you see the most potential for QAD’s growth and development?
Leveraging intent data and predictive models for more effective targeting of in market accounts within our ideal customer profile is an area we are very excited about. Sales cycles are long and costly. Only a small percentage (8-12%) of accounts are looking for a new solution at any given time. More effectively surfacing the customers that match prior account wins and are consuming content off our site that indicates they are considering a purchase is a game changer for sales and marketing efficiency. It allows us to invest our time in opportunities we are most likely to win.
How do you prioritize which marketing tools and platforms to invest in for QAD?
We have a digital first approach where we try to maximize the leverage of our campaigns. We seek out tools and platforms that will help. Sometimes these are identified as part of our strategic plan as areas we believe could have an outsized impact. Other times an existing or new vendor comes to the table with something that opens our eyes to solving a challenge that we hadn’t thought was possible.
Can you give an example of a successful marketing implementation or campaign at QAD?
A key focus area for us has been helping our customers move the Cloud. In the past year we launched a cross functional set of initiatives to support these conversions. It included changes to our product life cycle, maintenance pricing, new user licensing, along with incentives to move to the cloud and a packaged services offering to minimize the friction of the migration. The program was supported with a series of emails, webinars, and events focused on the benefits of our latest release, the Cloud, and the QAD ELEVATE Program to get our customers there. QAD’s ELEVATE Program enables our customers to upgrade to QAD Adaptive ERP in the Cloud through a rapid, low-cost, automation-powered approach. We attribute the success of the program to the holistic cross functional approach and the realization that you can’t simply rely on how good the “to be” state is, the cost / effort / disruption of the move from the “as is” to the “to be” state needs to be minimized.
How does QAD ensure the security and privacy of customer data in its marketing operations?
All outbound marketing communications are centralized as a shared service through our marketing operations team. They use one marketing automation system. This means one enterprise system for data storage, email preferences / unsubscribes, and for monitoring / preceding over communication. Because this is a primary focus of the team, they do it everyday and are experienced. They monitor regulations in the markets we serve and review all requests for compliance. Potential concerns are proactively raised and discussed by marketing leadership.
How does QAD leverage data and analytics to inform its marketing decisions and strategies?
We have agreed on three primary KPIs for all of marketing: Sales Ready leads, Sales Accepted leads, and Pipeline associated with Sales Accepted Leads. Yearly targets are agreed with sales. We believe all roles within marketing directly or indirectly impact these KPIs. By doing this we are all aligned on our goals. At a more micro level, Allocadia, a marketing performance management tool that enables marketing teams to better collaborate and measure business impact, allows us to easily monitor our budget versus targets at the campaign level for both costs and leads generated. We have established guidelines for cost per lead and Allocadia provides the visibility to redirect efforts to those areas showing the greatest return. Predict models allow us to target those prospects most likely to buy.
Can you speak to QAD’s approach to personalization and the customer experience in its marketing efforts?
We have mapped our customers’ buying journey and developed collateral to answer questions at each stage, remove bottlenecks and accelerate pipeline. We can infer where prospects are in the journey by the type of content they consume. Our predictive models also do this leveraging intent data captured outside of our web site. This allows us to deliver tailored content directly or through targeted ads. Our Drift Conversational Marketing tool, which utilizes a chatbot and conversational playbooks to interact with visitors to QAD’s website, can suggest tailored material based on customer segmentation or what web page a customer or prospect is on.
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Carter Lloyds, Chief Marketing Officer at QAD
With a profound passion for technology and its potential to change the world, Carter Lloyds has been an integral part of QAD since 2004. As the Chief Product & Marketing Officer, he leads the company's product development and global marketing efforts, ensuring the effective alignment of customer needs, offerings, engagement, and messaging. Before taking the helm as CPMO, Carter held various leadership roles within QAD, including CMO, Vice President of Marketing Operations, Senior Director of Marketing and Sales Operations. Before joining QAD, Carter taught business strategy at the University of Southern California, where he earned his Ph.D. in Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship. Carter is known for his strong analytical skills, systems dynamics expertise, and keen understanding of market trends. In his free time, he enjoys expanding his knowledge by earning certifications in areas such as macroeconomics, deep learning, and machine learning. He is also a certified APICS SCOR Professional, CSCP, and CPIM, further demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning and growth. With a unique blend of humor and seriousness, Carter is a true leader, inspiring his team to push boundaries, drive innovation, and create a lasting impact on the world of manufacturing and supply chain. LinkedIn.