I’m an Experiential Marketing Manager at Avalara, a leading sales tax compliance software company headquartered in Seattle. In my role, I specialize in crafting immersive experiences for the customer audience.
In the realm of experiential marketing, I thrive on being metrics-driven. Every event I curate is not just a moment in time; it’s a strategic initiative aimed at delivering measurable impact. Whether it’s in-person or within the virtual sphere, I leverage data insights to continuously improve experiences, ensuring that events not only engage but also contribute to business outcomes.
Webinars
Metrics: webinars play a pivotal role by driving $8 million in cross-sell and upsell bookings. This achievement underscores the effectiveness and significance of my webinar strategy in engaging and influencing our customer base.
Content strategy: I tailor my content creation strategy with precision, addressing personas that span from tax professionals and finance experts to website developers. I understand the unique needs and perspectives of each persona and industry, crafting content that speaks directly to their concerns and challenges. This personalized touch ensures that our messaging resonates with our diverse customer base.
Event build: I utilize various platforms to ensure seamless and engaging experiences. My proficiency extends across platforms such as Salesforce, Tableau, On24, Jira, Workfront, and Adobe Creative Suite. Leveraging these tools, I design and implement campaigns that deliver valuable content to our customers.
In-person events
About: In response to COVID, Avalara underwent a strategic shift in its annual conference approach. Traditionally a national event, the conference transitioned to a virtual format from 2020 to 2022.
Recognizing the need for flexibility, in 2023, Avalara opted to introduce a regional, traveling conference designed for our customers. This shift in strategy aimed to bring the essence of our national conference directly to our customers.
The responsibility for orchestrating this regional show transitioned from the events team to my customer marketing team. As the driving force behind strategy, planning, and execution, my team aims to create a more intimate experience for customers, fostering connections and providing education with localized context.
Branding: I advocated for the “CRUSH Regional” branding as it capitalizes on the brand awareness created by the national conference, coined “CRUSH.” This branding also positions the regional events as a natural extension of the annual conference, igniting recognition among our customer community while also leaving the door open for a return to a national conference in the future.
Format: In shaping the CRUSH Regional experience, I devised a comprehensive framework for a small expo hall and thought leadership sessions.
The expo hall was designed to facilitate 1:1 appointments, offering a personalized touch for attendees to connect directly with experts. The inclusion of the Avalara Ambassador Wall of Fame celebrated our community, highlighting specific individuals who provided testimonials, case studies, or quotes. To infuse an element of fun, I included activities such as trivia, research wall, and swag store. The silent disco demos brought a unique and entertaining twist to product demonstrations, ensuring a memorable experience for participants.
In addition to the expo hall, the event featured four sessions, allowing attendees to tailor their experience based on their specific interests and goals. By blending these elements seamlessly, CRUSH Regional created a well-rounded experience, combining connection, entertainment, and education.
Locations: In 2023, CRUSH Regional visited eight cities. My strategic approach focused on covering every timezone to ensure accessibility for our customers. Analyzing our customer base and total addressable market, I selected to host events in San Jose, San Diego, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta. In a collaborative effort, I partnered with our EMEA marketing team to extend our reach by also hosting an event in London.
Content development: I played a key role in content creation for CRUSH Regional sessions. Half of the sessions were pillar thought leadership content, providing a strong foundation for the event. The remaining sessions were dynamic, rotating based on factors like industry trends, geographical relevance, or real-time business needs.
Staffing: I managed staffing assignments and travel logistics for a team of 25 Avalarians. This involved meticulous planning and organization to ensure smooth operations and a seamless experience for all team members.
Collaboration: I worked closely with various departments and teams across Avalara to support their goals:
- The brand team secured 20 customer reviews during a single event, surpassing their quarterly goal. This accomplishment highlights the profound impact of face-to-face interactions in fostering positive customer engagement and feedback.
- The Advocacy Manager met 150 new Avalara Advocates and obtained marketing release forms from 50 new companies. Beyond the numbers, these events provided an opportunity to meet customers, fostering rapport and strengthening the foundation of our advocacy initiatives.
- Professional service engineers played a pivotal role by scanning lead information during silent disco demos, providing valuable insights that were shared with the cross-sell team responsible for driving sales.
- I compiled insights from the research wall, identifying common threads, and shared these findings with our product marketing and product teams. This information reinforced many marketing initiatives and also brought to light new ideas to improve our product and messaging.
- The Partner Team featured an accounting firm in each city during CRUSH Regional, aligning with Avalara executives’ goal to actively engage and involve partners in marketing efforts.
- We provided support to various industry teams by hosting user groups. Notably, the oil & gas team organized morning sessions in Houston, while our accounting firm team led a user group in Chicago.
- These events had a broader positive impact by serving as a morale boost for Avalarians, especially following a challenging period of layoffs. CRUSH Regionals provided a way to reconnect, foster a sense of unity, and renew team spirit within the organization.
Budget: I oversaw the $800K budget for the CRUSH Regional tour. I managed contracts with our event agency, covering physical assets, set-up, warehousing, and shipping. I also handled the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and food and beverage contracts with hotels and venues. Internally, I collaborated with procurement, accounting, and finance teams, following defined purchasing guidelines. Diligent tracking of purchase orders and invoices ensured effective budget management throughout the entire tour.
