Vivid Seats Taps Lesperance to Build Out Data-Driven Marketing Programs to Further Enhance Exceptional Fan Experiences
Vivid Seats, one of the largest online ticket marketplaces in North America, today announced Rich Lesperance has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Lesperance will be based in Chicagoand will report directly to Jerry Bednyak, co-founder of Vivid Seats.
An industry veteran with more than 25 years of marketing expertise, Lesperance will oversee all aspects of the company’s brand experience and consumer engagement strategy, leveraging data analytics to drive a diverse customer acquisition platform.
“Rich brings a rare combination of experience driving significant growth for both household-name brands and fast-growing startups,” said Bednyak. “Vivid Seats has grown substantially in recent years, and Rich’s talent and proven track record of accomplishments is precisely what we need to continue to deliver, and further elevate, the exceptional fan experiences that have fueled our success to date.”
Lesperance formerly served as Vice President of Digital Marketing and CRM for GrubHub – where he launched loyalty gamification programs and pioneered the use of weather data to build algorithms to predict customer demand – before becoming CMO at leading online clothing retailer Swap.com. Previously, he held positions at Walgreens, Circuit City and Dell. Lesperance earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’sStephen M. Ross Schoolof Business, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University.
“The online ticket industry is incredibly dynamic, and I am excited to join a leading e-commerce innovator like Vivid Seats to help them continue their pace of explosive growth,” said Lesperance. “I look forward to sharing my passion and insights to help Vivid Seats deliver to its customers the right seats at the right price supported by the best overall ticket buying experience in the industry.”
Datix, an enterprise software consulting firm based in St. Louis, has long been celebrated for its sophisticated integrations. Unity, its flagship integration application, is a pre-built solution designed to seamlessly connect Epicor ERP® with an array of software, including CRM and eCommerce. Recently, they expanded their integration solutions by debuting Unity for HubSpot, a top Marketing Automation vendor.
Marketing Automation software serves as a critical tool for developing customer relationships through digital marketing strategies, such as website content management, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), email campaigns and more. HubSpot earns the distinction of being a forerunner in inbound marketing and a user-friendly solution for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs). With a range of pricing plans and extensive educational support, companies of any size can easily take advantage of a variety of marketing tools to accelerate growth.
Candice Evertowski
However, Datix found that their manufacturing and distribution clients craved more from their Marketing Automation solution. “Today’s marketplace is all about putting the customer first,” explains Candice Evertowski, Datix’s Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer. “Our clients have been inquiring about Epicor and HubSpot integrations because they want quick access to customer data so they can tailor their marketing strategies and content to targeted audiences.” Evertowski continues, “These clients have a continuous improvement and goal oriented culture, want scalable growth, understand automation complexity, and value relationship and client service.”
Unity supports bidirectional data synchronization between HubSpot and Epicor ERP, eliminating tedious dual data entries and providing marketers with real-time access to customer contact information, sales history, shipping orders and more. Sophisticated reporting tools and total transparency enable marketing teams to track lead conversion and analyze the performance of marketing campaigns and strategies. By connecting HubSpot and Epicor, users enjoy greater efficiency and optimal insight, giving the entire workplace more time to focus on revenue-generating activities.
Datix CEO Matt Schuval describes how their latest solution is in line with their company values: “We’ve distinguished ourselves as an Epicor Platinum Partner and integration expert because of our commitment to doing whatever it takes to serve our clients. Our latest Unity integration for Epicor and HubSpot was in direct response to our clients, facilitating their need for a comprehensive solution that streamlines business processes and improves marketing strategies.”
In addition, Datix’s newest Unity application offers the same advantages as their existing integration platforms for Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Each pre-built Unity solution integrates software seamlessly, easily and affordably. Datix’s expert consultants ensure the system is deployed quickly and updates and maintenance are seamless throughout the software’s lifetime.
Scout by Miller Heiman Group, powered by the new Strategic Selling with Perspective methodology, helps sellers “see the move that moves the deal”
Miller Heiman Group launched a new sales analytics platform today that combines the company’s iconic Strategic Selling methodology with powerful technology to recommend the next steps sellers should take to close a deal.
Scout by Miller Heiman Group, powered by the Strategic Selling with Perspective sales methodology, leverages data and analytics to predict which seller actions will improve the odds of winning. The subscription-based software utilizes the Strategic Selling Blue Sheet – a strategic analysis tool for managing complex sales – in a cloud-based, mobile-first platform that guides sellers through the methodology and provides suggestions for active opportunities.
The introduction of Scout comes as part of the biggest update to Strategic Selling in decades. Now called Strategic Selling with Perspective, the methodology includes new approaches that help sales teams bring insights and expertise to buyers throughout the sales cycle. The methodology continues to put the customer at the center and directly addresses the struggle salespeople have to distinguish themselves as trusted partners and problem-solvers in the eyes of buyers.
The combination of proven sales methodology and technology built for sellers addresses many of the frustrations organizations still have with CRMs. Scout can be used as a standalone product or integrated with an existing CRM via two-way web services integration to improve data quality.
“Today’s sales technology isn’t helping sellers close more deals,” said Byron Matthews, president and CEO of Miller Heiman Group. “Unfortunately, many sales reps still see CRM as an administrative task and a mandate that’s taking time away from selling. We developed a solution that helps sellers win more and specifically reinforces their sales training in the moment. It exchanges the CRM stick for a carrot and incentivizes sellers to embrace technology.”
In addition to driving seller actions, Scout gives sales managers real-time insights into opportunities to more effectively coach sellers in a structured and personalized way. The platform also shows sales leaders the seller activity that most closely correlates with higher win rates, larger deal sizes and faster close times, enabling them to replicate best practices across the organization.
“Scout helps sellers see the move that moves the deal,” said Dana Hamerschlag, chief product officer at Miller Heiman Group. “The technology offers helpful data-driven suggestions to sellers and sales leaders based on the strategies that have proved effective for decades. Investments in technology without alignment to a sales process often disappoint. We are arming sales teams with a direct link between technology and methodology that drives transformational change in performance.”
For four decades, the Strategic Selling framework and the Blue Sheet have provided sales organizations a repeatable, consistent and scalable framework for winning complex sales that involve multiple decision-makers. Expanding this proven methodology, Strategic Selling with Perspective arms teams with an approach to add value earlier in the sales process and better distinguish themselves with buyers. Scout encourages adoption of the methodology at each stage of the sales process.
“Buyers are getting better at buying faster than sellers are getting better at selling,” Matthews said. “To win in today’s changing selling environment, sales professionals have to provide ‘perspective,’ whether that’s relevant research, an alternative solution or an unconventional idea. They must bring a point of view that challenges the customer to think about their objectives in a different way.”
Scout is available through a SaaS subscription, and 12 months of access is included for all sales professionals who complete the Strategic Selling with Perspective course. To learn more about Scout, Strategic Selling with Perspective and Miller Heiman Group, visit millerheimangroup.com.
Next-Generation Strategies for B2B Sales and Marketing Leaders to Be Discussed at the Gartner Sales and Marketing Conference, October 9-11 in Las Vegas
Customer journey maps are a critical component of many organizations’ customer experience (CX) framework, however, almost one-third of organizations still face difficulty incorporating journey maps into their CXefforts, according to Gartner, Inc. That’s because many lack governance and oversight, and that ultimately undermines even the best maps’ ability to drive action.
Gartner Says Strong Governance and Oversight are Key to Successful Customer Journey Maps
Gartner defines customer journey mapping as a collaborative process of gathering qualitative and quantitative data to understand customers’ desired journeys and identify gaps between their expectations and their perceptions of the experience delivered by a brand at steps along the journey. The main goal of journey mapping is to determine the challenges and opportunities a brand faces in improving its CX and improve satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy.
“While CX leaders have long understood the value of customer journey maps and the impact they have on an organization’s ability to exceed or meet customer expectations, many still struggle to utilize them effectively in their CX initiatives,” said Jane-Anne Mennella, senior research director at Gartner.
“There are a number of reasons why this happens, from stakeholders who don’t understand their role, to using incomplete or incorrect data sources,” added Ms. Mennella. “Essentially, many fail because they don’t incorporate the governance and oversight needed to realize the journey map’s true ROI.”
According to Gartner, the main objectives of a customer journey map should be to (a) identify specific CX problems and opportunities, and (b) gain alignment and consensus on how to address those problems and opportunities. To execute on this effectively, and establish the appropriate governance and oversight, CX teams should follow three key steps:
Master the Foundational Elements First: The same attention paid to laying the groundwork for journey mapping initiatives should be given to the actual creation of the journey map itself. Before building a journey map, CX leaders should consider the following: affirm leadership and key stakeholder support, build a cross-functional team composed of representatives from all departments who support the CX, assess data sources and needs, and know the audience for whom you are mapping the journey.
Focus on the Actionable and Accurate: Determining and building successful customer journeys requires clear communication among the team and a strong understanding of the entire journey the customers take. CX leaders should start with aligning team goals and expectations. Next, the customer journey map should include the following criteria: it should be created from the customer’s perspective and reflect the customer’s entire journey — from evaluation, purchase, use through to loyalty, satisfaction and/or advocacy. Lastly, CX teams should consider validating the data included in the journey to ensure it accurately reflects the experience, feelings, thoughts and actions of the customers.
Cultivate Value from Journey Maps: When journey maps fail, research shows it typically happens following the design phase. To get maximum value from customer journey maps, CX leaders must turn the insight derived from journey maps into action and experiences, ensure those journey maps are current, and develop a communications plan to reinforce progress toward realizing the customer’s desired journey.
Ansira appoints new executive leadership, acquires Brand Protection Agency, and receives recognition by prestigious independent research firm and MarTechExecs
Ansira, one of the largest agencies in North America specializing in CRM, loyalty, marketing solutions and digital strategies, today announced tremendous company growth led by increasing year-over-year, top-line performance. In its 99th year, Ansira has been recognized as a leader and strong performer in the The Forrester Wave™: Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) and Customer Database and Engagement Agencies, Q2 2018 report. The company also recently announced the acquisition of Brand Protection Agency and made history by hiring its first female CEO, Daina Middleton.
“I am thrilled to be leading an award-winning team that has built such an incredible reputation,” said Middleton. “For the last 99 years, we have experienced rapid growth as a direct result of the team’s persistence and dedication to remaining an innovator in activating and curating seamless customer experiences for brands who have a local presence. As we look forward to our 100-year anniversary, we are excited to continue evolving our capabilities while also continuing to provide sophisticated data-driven customer engagement solutions coupled with industry-leading channel partner enablement.”
Ansira’s continued momentum speaks to significant market opportunities and demand for actionable customer experience management, transparent and accountable enterprise-to-local expertise and channel partner empowerment.
Andy Arnold
“Our unwavering commitment to enhancing the customer experience while increasing engagement and fostering ever-more profitable customer relationships for our clients has driven us to relentlessly evolve our technology-enabled marketing intelligence capabilities,” said Andy Arnold, EVP, Client Partnership. “Ansira is an innovative company delivering impactful technology integration and data-driven intelligence that we can leverage at scale across our clients’ programs.”
As part of this tremendous growth, Ansira has reached several major milestones including:
New Executive Leadership: Ansira appointed its first female CEO, Daina Middleton and expanded its executive team, hiring John Parks as EVP, chief information officer; Chris Henger as EVP, chief product officer; and Cindy McEntire, chief of people and culture.
Industry Recognition and Accolades: Ansira has been cited as a leader and strong agency performer in Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) and Customer Database and Engagement, by Forrester’s quarterly Forrester Wave report — the only agency to be cited in both Waves, demonstrating the company’s breadth and depth of solution sets. This prestigious recognition comes on the heels of MarTechExec’s 50 Women to Know in MarTech – 2018 award that Middleton and Kelly Jo Sands, EVP, marketing technology and data services, received.
Acquisition of Brand Protection Agency (BPA): Ansira continues its winning acquisition streak by acquiring Dallas-based Brand Protection Agency, an SaaS-based platform that provides manufacturers and brands with the ability to monitor, manage and communicate with their online reseller channels.
“Our recent acquisition aligns with our growth strategy of pursuing companies that share our vision of being a bellwether marketing solutions provider in the brand-to-local marketing space,” said Adam Vandermyde, EVP, operations.
Ansira has maintained an above-average NPS score while remaining one of the top three largest independently owned CRM and direct marketing agencies in the United States. With over 800 team members across 13 office locations, Ansira was built to align brands, consumers and channel partners in today’s complex, rapidly changing business environment — ensuring that all three can compete to win in the marketplace.
Ansira establishes and strengthens profitable customer relationships for its clients, by offering integrated and stand-alone marketing solutions that are focused on transparent and accountable channel partner management, optimizing CRM programs and customer acquisition platforms, and strategies. Ansira’s core capabilities include: data analytics, campaign management, strategic planning, digital design, web development, integrated media/search, creative, channel marketing automation, Co-op and MDF fund management, brand and financial compliance, digital asset management and experiential marketing.
Ansira models, integrates and activates first-, second- and third-party data, delivering data-driven marketing programs at the national and local level. Ansira supports its clients with digital media buying and planning, CRM and loyalty programs, web and creative development, and strategy and analytics. The company is majority owned by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors and continues to be open to strategic acquisitions to reinforce Ansira’s position as an industry leader. Ansira is focused on other best-in-class marketing services companies that complement Ansira’s business while best positioning it for continued growth.
The Company has achieved this position in the annual “Inovação Brasil” ranking published by Valor Econômico, one of the country’s leading business journals
The company came in 47th place in the overall ranking, becoming one of the 50 most innovative companies in the Country and having scaled 51 positions since last year
Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO), the leading provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services (CRM/BPO) in Latin America, and one of the top five providers worldwide, was recognized as the 2nd most innovative company in Brazil’s service sector in the Ranking Valor Inovação, two positions up from last year’s ranking.
Regis Noronha
The company came in 47th place in the overall ranking, being considered one of the 50 most innovative companies in the country proving that innovations such as robotization, are already part of the operations routines of Atento. The study is prepared by the journal Valor Econômico, one of the country’s most renowned business publications, in partnership with Strategy&, the strategic consultancy firm of the PwC Network.
“This recognition means a lot to our company. We have invested heavily in innovation and the development of new solutions with state-of-the-art technology and intelligence, “said Regis Noronha, Director of Marketing and Strategy for Atento Brazil. “We are very satisfied with this result, which was only possible thanks to the dedication of our employees, who strive to make Atento increasingly digital and which shows that, more than just a technological and process evolution, we are experiencing a real change the culture in innovation, “he said.
ELEAD1ONE’s automotive retail front office applications and integrated customer service platform to complement the diversified product and service portfolio of CDK
CDK Global, Inc., a leading enabler of automotive commerce, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ELEAD1ONE. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the CDK Board of Directors.
“In addition, ELEAD1ONE’s well-regarded customer service capabilities will complement our focus on delivering an outstanding experience to its dealer customers. We look forward to helping dealers deliver a great customer experience with our combined products and services.”
ELEAD1ONE’s automotive customer relationship management (CRM) software and call center solutions enable seamless interaction between sales, service and marketing operations to provide dealers with a best-in-class customer acquisition and retention platform. As a trusted software and business consultant to approximately 4,000 auto dealerships across North America, ELEAD1ONE stands ahead of the curve to service today’s changing and competitive automotive retail environment.
Brian MacDonald
“As we looked at how best to rapidly address the needs of dealers in today’s evolving marketplace, we determined that ELEAD1ONE’s centerpiece CRM offering and fully integrated suite of layered applications fit well with our diversified product offerings,” said Brian MacDonald, president and CEO, CDK Global. “In addition, ELEAD1ONE’s well-regarded customer service capabilities will complement our focus on delivering an outstanding experience to its dealer customers. We look forward to helping dealers deliver a great customer experience with our combined products and services.”
“ELEAD1ONE dealers demand superior performance from the most advanced and integrated CRM software solution in the automotive industry,” said Hugh Hathcock, founder and CEO, ELEAD1ONE. “Recognized as a clear industry leader, ELEAD1ONE has consistently developed and delivered powerful cutting-edge dealer solutions, combining CRM with our successful ELEAD1ONE Contact Center, and Fixed Ops platform.” Judy Hathcock, founder and president of ELEAD1ONE added, “Together with CDK, the integrated companies will leverage vast resources to continue to invest in state-of-the-art information technology, innovative software application development, and highly effective communication platforms that emphasize superior user experiences with significant measurable ROI and reporting. Together we remain dedicated to focusing on innovation, support, and delivering the highest quality technology, products and services.”
The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The value of the transaction was not disclosed and is expected to be modestly dilutive to adjusted earnings per share in Fiscal 2019 and accretive to adjusted earnings per share in Fiscal 2020. More details will be provided after closing. Portico Capital Securities LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is serving as legal counsel to ELEAD1ONE in the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to CDK in the transaction.
Launches High Alpha Studio II and High Alpha Capital II Marking the Beginning of Next-Generation Wave for High-Speed Tech Innovation in Martech and Sales Tech
It’s an exciting Monday! Today, a leading venture studio that has launched numerous MarTech and Sales Tech companies announced its latest funding round. High Alpha raised $100 million to race ahead in the tech innovation game, fueling the next-generation wave for enterprise software making and SaaS launches. With the latest funding round, High Alpha becomes one of the largest venture studios for cloud and SaaS companies in the world.
Currently, the pioneering venture studio model conceives, launches and scales software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses by uniting company building and venture capital.
High Alpha Studio II, an enterprise cloud startup studio, raised $16.65 million from repeat investor Emergence Capital, based in San Francisco and an early investor in cloud luminaries Salesforce, Box, and Veeva Systems, alongside new investor Foundry Group, based in Boulder, Colo. Brad Feld, Partner at Foundry Group, will join the High Alpha board alongside Gordon Ritter, Founder and General Partner of Emergence Capital, and the High Alpha partners.
MarTech RADAR 2018 has High-Performing High Alpha Companies
High Alpha Capital, a Seed and Series A venture capital fund, also announced the close of High Alpha Capital II, an $85 million fund focused on supporting innovative entrepreneurs building the next generation of enterprise software. With its previous fund of $21 million, High Alpha Capital I’s portfolio boasts many leading software startups and scale-ups across North America, including — G2 Crowd, Narvar, SalesLoft, When I Work, Integrate, Terminus, DroneDeploy, Lessonly, Zylo, Sigstr, and many others.
Continued Success for Ahigh Alpha with 11 Co-Founded Enterprise Cloud Companies and 21 Venture Investments
At the time of this announcement, Scott Dorsey, High Alpha Managing Partner, said, “Three years ago, we pioneered the venture studio model by combining a startup studio with a venture capital fund. We are delighted with the 11 enterprise cloud companies we have co-founded and the 21 venture investments we’ve made.”
Scott added, “With the support of amazing investors like Gordon Ritter from Emergence Capital, Brad Feld from Foundry Group and numerous limited partners in our venture fund, we are doubling-down on our initial vision and making sizeable investments in design, engineering, data science and corporate innovation resources.”
“Emergence Capital has always invested in leading-edge, disruptive technologies that fundamentally improve the way people work,” said Gordon Ritter, Emergence Capital Founder and General Partner.
Gordon added, “After partnering with this amazing team to create High Alpha Studio I, we are thrilled to double down on their next set of companies that leverage machine learning, AI, and coaching networks to dramatically improve human productivity and make the next era of software the most valuable one yet.”
“With the success of ExactTarget and Salesforce, Indianapolis has emerged as one of the most promising tech ecosystems globally,” said Brad Feld, a partner at Foundry Group, co-founder of Techstars and author of Venture Deals and Startup Communities.
Brad added, “We believe the venture studio model will drive the next generation of tech entrepreneurship, and we are excited to be partnering with the High Alpha team to bring this vision to life.”
Currently, the High Alpha team creates and launches new businesses internally, in addition to partnering with entrepreneurs, large corporations and other investors to conceive, launch and scale new businesses. The venture studio is led by proven tech entrepreneurs Scott Dorsey, Eric Tobias, Kristian Andersen and Mike Fitzgerald.
Omni Drives People-Based Precision Marketing at Scale Across Creative, Media and CRM
Leading global marketing and corporate communications company Omnicom Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMC), today announced the roll-out of Omni, its people-based precision marketing and insights platform, designed to identify and define personalized consumer experiences at scale across creative, media, CRM as well as other Omnicom practice areas.
Omni delivers a first-of-its kind, single view of the consumer that can be dynamically tracked and shared across all marketing practices. Omni transforms the way Omnicom teams work, collaborate and deliver value, from insights generation to audience building, channel planning, creative development and message distribution. All of the activities are continuously measured and optimized with attribution tied to client performance at every step of the consumer journey.
At the core of Omni is the industry’s most robust people-based identity graph – a database of connected consumers built from all significant identity authorities including Neustar, LiveRamp and Experian among several others. The identity graph links second-by-second consumer behaviors to reveal how people connect, engage and transact with brands; joining data sets using a methodology that respects regional regulatory and privacy practices.
Consumer behaviors are mapped to an equally comprehensive media inventory graph that delivers a precise view of the quality, value and availability of inventory in the marketplace. This connected plan is activated through a work flow and content engine that enables Omnicom agency teams to efficiently deliver personalized messaging at scale.
“When we launched Annalect seven years ago, we dedicated ourselves to transforming the effects of data and analytics on media. With Omni, we’re extending everything we’ve learned to transform the entire marketing process,” said Omnicom Media Group CEO Daryl Simm. “Omni connects our talent around a single view of the consumer and inspires them to create the best integrated ideas that drive performance and success for our clients.”
Omnicom Digital CEO Jonathan Nelson added, “Until now, the idea of mass personalization was more of an aspiration than a reality. Omni changes that. This is precision marketing at scale and in action. And the new platform can be leveraged by all Omnicom clients across multiple disciplines.”
Developed and hosted by Annalect, in partnership with OPMG (Omnicom Precision Marketing Group), Omni continues the group’s strategy of neutrality with no ownership interest in data or tech partners. This ensures the agility and flexibility to continuously source the right vendors and application partners in an ever-changing data and technology ecosystem. Additionally, Omni is designed to integrate with marketing cloud providers, allowing clients to get the most from their first-party data and mar-tech investments.
The broad roll-out of Omni comes after several months of implementing the platform on select creative, media and CRM business engagements, as well as other Omnicom Practice Areas. Deployment of Omni will continue across Omnicom’s leading agencies in the coming months.
PropertyDeck is an integrated, GDPR compliant system, developed for the property and lettings industry at every level to easily store, search and manage client data. Users can enjoy free unlimited use of the CRM functionalities, which include contact management, property history, free file storage and reminders, and plans to release in-app addons and purchases.
Steve Rad
Steve Rad, Managing Director of Radweb comments: “We’ve been working tirelessly over the last seven years to develop leading technological solutions in the property industry. Property Deck is an incredible addition to our current suite of software.
Property Deck fills a gap for a readily available, off-the-shelf CRM that aligns with property owners, property managers and suppliers. We want to provide a CRM platform that people within the property and lettings industry will find valuable, and we plan to release in-app add-ons and a Pro version of Property Deck in the coming months.
Our existing Proptech software, InventoryBase is a market leader and we anticipate Property Deck to reach the same success. The system has been developed with simplicity in mind to remove the complexity of enterprise software – for free.”
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