Scott Horn is a professional marketer with a computer science, artificial intelligence, business administration, and software engineering background. Scott Horn serves as Chief Marketing Officer at EnterpriseDB.
Scott discusses increasing RevOps in your business by integrating new technology in this blog. He will answer some questions and debunk a myth related to RevOps.
Myth: There is no template for RevOps; each business must adjust to its unique situation.
It is a myth that a single template applies to each business.
Scott believes that nobody is fully aware of everything. He highlights that learning and personal development are lifelong efforts for all individuals. He states that no solution can be applied to everyone, although books and other resources can provide insightful information and best practices.
The secret to success is modifying strategies to suit every company's particulars and improving them.
How does he handle shifts between workplaces when the critical components of success in every business environment differ?
Scott has had a variety of experiences throughout his career. He has, however, come to understand his preferences and strengths through it all.
B2C at scale was amazing but different from his area of expertise. The mid-market and corporate sectors of the B2B industry are his strong points. His time as a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) improved his skills even further. He is in his element at the Economic Development Board (EDB) now. He is learning everything from account-based marketing to website optimization and analytics and establishing a direct sales force targeted at large corporations.
For the past few months, his main focus has been assembling the perfect team, just like a well-oiled machine that can create an excellent pipeline and collaborate with sales partners to create revenue growth. In other words, Scott has moved from B2C to B2B, which, according to him, is his perfect position.
He likes B2B marketing methods because they are more complex and often demand a wide range of skills over B2C marketing. He enjoys taking on challenges such as creating focused field events, visiting industry conferences, and designing account-based marketing campaigns. These strategies would not be effective in B2C because client loyalty is frequently poor, and the environment changes quickly here.
Which technical issues or worries are keeping him up at night?
He has led two significant IT revolutions in a short time. He oversaw a website re-platforming project in the first place, which was started in June of the previous year and is still in its second phase. His team's top bloggers will find it easier to navigate the newly designed website, which also improves analytics tools for visitor segmentation and conversion optimization.
Then, he oversaw a total redesign of the lead scoring model. This new model increases pipeline generation and analytics accuracy. It was implemented after the drawbacks of the prior model were examined. The success of both projects was due to the collaboration and support he received from the IT, sales, and marketing operations teams.
In what ways does RevOps connect or integrate with the process of re-platforming a website, like changing a content management system (CMS)?
He oversaw a complex website re-platforming project with multiple objectives in mind.
First, they needed greater skills to progress faster continuously, and here is where the open-source Drupal CMS came into action. This approach keeps development and content updates apart. It allows for quick content updates as needed. The development follows a quarterly release schedule similar to software product launches.
His other major aims were compatibility with their expanding marketing tech stack and better analytics integration. This called for significant collaboration between the analytics team, sales operations, and marketing operations.
Various teams were involved, including those from sales, marketing, and customer service. Each had its function: marketing was responsible for branding and content, sales was responsible for prospective utilization, and customer-facing features like online payments and knowledge bases were essential.
Collaboration guarantees a smooth user experience for every website visitor using particular instances such as software download repositories, partner portals, and support portals.
This covers account creation, login integration, and security considerations, ensuring user experience and intellectual property protection strategies seamlessly integrate with IT's authentication systems.
Before interacting with a salesman, customers take control of the sales process by researching online. The key to showcasing your product or solution is your company's website; thus, it must be easy to use, updated often, and accessible.
What guidance would he provide someone about to start a project similar to his?
He shares the insightful lessons he gained from EDB's website replatforming project. These are:
Open Communication
Be honest with the business on the level of the website modifications. You should specify what stays the same and not just list the new things. As a result, during previews, confusion and unwanted comments are avoided.
Open Access
Involve the entire organization by utilizing your open-source culture. Enough time for pre-launch reviews guarantees a range of viewpoints and insightful comments, even if not every recommendation is implemented.
SEO Mitigation
After re-platforming, there will be a brief decline in SEO. For unbranded keywords, consider short-term PPC advertisements to keep exposure during this period of change.
Pre-launch Examining
Consult others and pay attention before beginning the project. Identify any odd ways the website is utilized, such as hidden RSS feeds, to check everything works correctly and avoid surprises after launch.
Where does he see this function going beyond RevOps and websites in the future?
Scott is excited about chatbots and thinks they will be on the EDB website at the latest in the next 18 months. He has been testing GPT-4 and Bing AI to see how they could improve current technologies. He envisions self-service online experiences provided by chatbots powered by user data and valuable frameworks. He encourages the perspective on the website's future, especially the possibility of chatbots improving user experience.
Scott Horn has an inspiring journey. He oversaw the complex re-platforming of websites and improved them. Scott has led two major IT revolutions in a short period. He enjoys using B2B marketing methods and applying a range of skills. Additionally, Scott envisions the future to have self-service online experiences powered by chatbots.
Listen to the full episode here.