An interview with Mary Jane Williams, Head of Marketing at Namecoach
We sit down with Mary Jane Williams, Head of Marketing at Namecoach. Namecoach aims to solve the common problem of name mispronunciation.
How did you end up at Namecoach, and what problem does Namecoach solve for its clients?
Namecoach aims to solve the common problem of name mispronunciation in as many critical settings as possible. We do this by providing accurate audio name pronunciations right within the platforms and software that people use everyday: Slack, Outlook, Gmail, Teams, Salesforce, Learning Management Systems - you name it! I ended up at Namecoach right after the Series A funding was secured. Namecoach was ready to invest in taking the business to the next level and to do that, they needed a Marketing operation to support the Growth department. I was brought on the build the Marketing operation from the ground up and market our product to organizations that will benefit from our accurate audio name pronunciation tool. (Hint: That's everyone!)
As the Head of Marketing, what are your main responsibilities at Namecoach?
First and foremost, my responsibility is to oversee the Marketing and Sales Dev operations at Namecoach. To do that, I wear many hats. This includes project management, stakeholder communication, strategy planning, creative direction, review/workshopping deliverables, and managing the Marketing & Sales Dev employees. I also get to travel for conferences from time to time. I really value that opportunity because it allows me to engage with our prospects and customers face-to-face. Every person has a name and every name has a story. I love getting to hear the diverse stories that people share. They inspire and motivate me because I get to see how our tool helps people and make them feel a sense of empowerment and belonging.
To get a bit more technical, what are some of the acquisition channels that have worked well for Namecoach and why do you think that is?
Our most effective tools are conferences and LinkedIn engagement. This is because our tool is most widely marketed to other organizations so conferences and LinkedIn are where the majority of our audience lives. On LinkedIn, we use a diverse mix of ads, organic posts, social listening, and direct outreach to connect with our audience. When it comes to conferences, we love our sponsorships! Being a booth exhibitor has been great way to get the word out and make lasting impressions through in-person communication.
At ColdFire, when we look at our clients' Marketing strategies, they vary greatly. Some have found a single, scalable client acquisition process while others thrive on a mix of top-of-funnel strategies. If you had to summarise the high-level LeadGenMarketing strategy of Name-coach, what would it be?
We follow the Marketing Funnel. Our marketing strategy revolves around getting quality leads to know our tool and how we can help them through Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion campaigns. It takes some patience and A/B testing to get it right but when you effectively use the Marketing Funnel approach to your marketing strategy, it really pays off. You get higher quality leads which saves you time and resources in the long run. Win-win!
What is a Marketing technique that you've used at Name-coach or at previous companies which you believe is underutilized at most Marketing teams - and why?
I see Awareness and Consideration campaigns often overlooked by other companies. The truth is, you just can't expect someone to convert the first time they see your ad. You have to tailor the campaigns to nurture (and earn) that lead.
Has your Marketing team experimented with some kind of cold outbound strategy (like cold email)? If yes what was the general outcome and if no, why not?
We have. I think there is certainly value in it but it can't be the sole focus. The best think you can do it diversify your Marketing and Sales Dev mix to work together and bring in the highest quality leads for the least amount of investment. Cost per lead and Cost per opportunity is something that we definitely monitor closely to ensure we're making data-driven decisions.
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