Video Case study: Workpro Casework

“Labrakita Marketing came in at a time that our Marketing Manager Lynne had more on her plate than was fair. They brought in structure at a chaotic time as we were moving into new markets. They immediately identified quick wins before introducing more marketing strategy.”

Ken Naismith
CEO, Workpro Casework

Labrakita Marketing was approached in 2021 to work alongside Workpro Casework’s Marketing Manager Lynne Campbell to look at the company from an outside perspective, to alleviate workload and help improve both marketing strategy and delivery. Our MD, Samantha Tonge, worked closely with Lynne as a Virtual Marketing Manager for 18 months. Once Workpro had a solid marketing strategy and plan, and had a marketing assistant to help with marketing delivery, Samantha moved to working as a Marketing Strategy Consultant to help take their strategy to the next level.

Main outcomes of working together:

• Improved marketing strategy and structure – less firefighting
• Improved content delivery e.g. blogs, videos and social media content
• Moved from spreadsheets to a full marketing automation system with built-in CRM
• Professionalised marketing - elevated the professionalism of Workpro’s marketing communications to match larger competitors.
• Improved the team’s confidence to plan and execute marketing communications.

Watch the video below to find out more about why Lynne chose to work with Samantha and what they achieved together. Alternatively, read the transcript below:

 

 

Transcript:

Samantha Tonge : Today I'm with one of my clients: I'm at Workpro with Lynne Campbell the Marketing Manager and we're going to talk about the work that we did over the years. So, Lynne, can you explain a bit about what Workpro is and what it does for customers?

Lynne Campbell : Workpro is case management software. There are two main two main applications for Workpro. It's used to manage complaints, and it's used in HR casework, to manage things like grievances and disciplinaries. It's really useful for cases that get that need managed, according to a process.

Workpro is workflow-based software. It uses workflows to guide staff along the correct process and it helps them to include everything they need to log, any documentation, correspondence, everything, everything kept in one place, so that they can easily find out what status the case is at. Workpro manages the whole thing from the point where somebody has a complaint, all the way to doing something about it, putting it right. It helps, it helps organisations to put things right

Samantha: Can you just explain the issues that you were facing and why you were looking for someone to help with your marketing?

Lynne: I was struggling with workload. I'm a part time marketing manager and at that stage, it was just me. We're a growing company and just trying to keep up with the amount of marketing tasks that I needed to do and wanted to do was difficult and I found it difficult to recruit somebody at that stage to come and work with me.

It wasn't just workload I was struggling with. I also felt there were things I wanted to do, but I didn't feel I had the skill sets to do them. So, for example, I wanted to do email marketing better. And I was working, ironically, from spreadsheets myself at the time, I didn't have a CRM set up. So, I wanted a CRM, to get email marketing working better, and I wanted to increase my confidence because I wasn't really sure about how to do certain things I that wanted to do. There were things I wanted to do, I just didn't know how to go about them. And I wanted somebody with experience to come and help me to do them better. Social media marketing was a big one as well for me. I wasn't very confident in in social media marketing. I knew what I wanted to do, I just didn't know how to go about it. And I wanted somebody with experience. And that's why I initially contacted you to help with those things.

I had been looking at various people's websites, but the thing that attracted me to you was that you were very good at selling yourself. I think if you can't market yourself that you're not going to be good at marketing my company, and I was really struck by some of the videos that you had done, with you interviewing some marketing experts, and I thought, “what a good idea”. It also it gave me a chance to see what you were like  because your personality. comes across in those videos. So, got in touch.

And then you quickly grasped what I was looking for and seemed to know your stuff. So, what we did initially was a three month contract, which I thought was a pretty easy way to check somebody out because it's a low risk. So, if it hadn't worked out it was only three months. As it happens we worked together for.

Samantha: Quite a bit longer than that.

Lynne: An awful lot longer than that! So, we extended that contract.

I wanted help to improve our content that we were putting out. You wrote blogs for me, and that was helpful. And then we were working together on business development. It was all about how to reach people.

One of the things I found most valuable was our face to face sessions. We were working remotely because of the pandemic, but then, once we were allowed, we met up every now and again over a coffee, and I found those sessions really helpful - brainstorming what to do next. I found that brainstorming really helpful: “right, let's do this, let's do that”. And then tapping into your experience working with other companies. It's having that external perspective on messaging, knowing what has worked at another client, trying that, we did some business development work, LinkedIn ads, and other things that I hadn't thought of doing. I found that really valuable. Then we sort of moved into creating a plan for the month and then and then you would help me execute that plan. And we did that for quite some time.

I had you looking at my email marketing and you helped me set up a CRM system, you helped me choose a CRM system because that's not that easy. Gosh, there are so many out there. And you spent time working out what I needed.

Samantha: Yes, I wanted to make sure that you had something that would grow with you. Something that would do more than just be a CRM, could also do your marketing automation and the emails that we were talking about in one place.

Lynne: Yes, I also wanted something that could track the sales pipeline. So, you did have quite a long list of requirements. It wasn't just a CRM I wanted. I wanted the email marketing but also, the ability to track sales pipeline. So, you did research into that. And then you actually set it up which was the other thing I really liked was it wasn't just "this is what I think you should do". You actually then did it for me. So that was really good, because I wouldn't have had a clue how to set it up.

Samantha: We worked together to get you on Active Campaign. And then as a result, it seems like you had the confidence to go the whole hog is going to HubSpot.

Lynne: Yes, which I wouldn't have done before. There were other things that we wanted to do beyond what Active Campaign was capable of doing. There were also organisational process reasons why HubSpot was going to help. We wanted to change our website as well. You helped me identify that our current content marketing system (CMS) just wasn't working for us. It was difficult, even you were finding it difficult to use.

Samantha: Yes, it wasn't delivering the value that it should.

Lynne: And you're very experienced with lots of CMs. So you helped me to realise that there was a better way to do this. It doesn't have to be this hard. And then we started to look at how to move the website to a user-friendly CMS and then as part of that process, identified HubSpot as a suitable CMS but actually it could also replace ActiveCampaign. It could do everything that ActiveCampaign could do so we moved it across and I've been really pleased with the result is a lot easier now. Of course, it was quite a project to move it across

Samantha: Of course, yes. But worth it.

Lynne: Definitely worth it. And you helped us with that as well. You helped us identify the requirements for the new website and for the new piece of software. So that was good. Andgave me the confidence to make this change. It also gave me insight into what it's like to buy a big piece of software. We learned so much from that process. In terms of what that must be like for our own customers moving to us. It's been really helpful.

Samantha: I thought it was quite interesting that because Workpro is software as a service you learned from buying software as a service yourself. And then we used that insight when we looked at the customer journey for Workpro.

Lynne: It was really helpful. Having gone through that process of onboarding with a soft cloud software product myself I understood the highs and lows of that.

Samantha: Including understanding the emotional journey because sometimes in B2B that is difficult to understand. You are still dealing with humans with emotions but sometimes it's difficult for clients to see that the emotional journey is just as important as the facts and figures about the product. So, it's interesting looking at your customers’ journey once you've been through that process yourself.

Lynne: Yes, and I really enjoyed that. It was really fun mapping that out, and it's been good because you have an external viewpoint, you're not too caught up in the minutiae of what we do, but you know us well enough that you can you understand.

And you were translating it for me. You translated some of the messaging away from our Workpro speak into customer speak and that that was helpful.

Samantha: Speaking the customer's language is really important!

I think that's a good piece of learning for anyone actually, if you're if you're in B2B and you're buying something, think about what you're going through as part of that process. And note that emotions do play a part in that.

Lynne: Going through that emotional journey was one of the most useful things we've done as it has fed into messaging that we're using now. Also. when we implemented HubSpot, we had to think about our process and how we're going to do things, how we're going to take somebody through a sales journey with us. Understanding the emotional journey as part of that helped us to do that

Samantha: And realise what pieces of content were missing.

Lynne: Yes, it made us think about our content and what we need at each stage. We're still working through that because that's a process. We've got a plan and we're creating content each month to address different parts of that emotional journey and we'll be doing that for a long time yet.

Lynne: Then we decided that I needed a bigger team so we invested in a marketing assistant. Once my marketing assistant came on what I really needed from you was the strategic work. All that brainstorming.

Samantha: Yes, we had been doing the strategy work. We had put a strategy and marketing plan together.

Lynne: But once I have a marketing assistant to do the day-to-day stuff, then we moved into a phase of mentoring and strategy.

Samantha: Taking that strategy a bit further.

Lynne: Yes, and a sounding board. So we moved into that phase and, like you say, taking the strategy further.

Samantha: What’s changed in the business as a result of working with Labrakita Marketing?

Lynne: Well, I feel more in control. I also feel like I've got a better plan. I feel like I'm not just firefighting. I know what I'm trying to achieve. And I’m no longer scared to outsource. I used to think I had to do it all myself. I had to learn to trust that somebody can come in from outside of the business. They don't need to know everything about us, and they can still do what needs to be done. In fact, probably better because they're not getting caught up in the jargon. So I feel more in control but also more able to let go where I need to let go, or bring in help where I need to bring in help.

In terms of the company's marketing, I think we're just more professional now.

Samantha: It's very easy to end up firefighting constantly in marketing. But taking that step back and taking a little bit of time to work on strategy and planning saves time in the long run. It leads to not doing things you don't need to as much as doing things that you do need to

Lynne: You need to have the confidence to park some things while you're while you're tackling all the other stuff. I used to feel like I was in headless chicken mode because I was trying to do so much, and it was just me. But I don't feel like I'm in headless chicken mode anymore.

Samantha: That is fantastic to hear.

Lynne: Isn't that good?

Samantha: And you're not alone. There are plenty of marketing managers that feel exactly the same because you feel like you need to do everything and you can't.

Lynne: So, what changes have you seen with us since you worked with us?

Samantha: That's a really good question! I’ve seen huge changes it's been lovely to see actually. Even things like this. (Samantha points at the Workpro stand behind them).

Lynne: I know, isn't that smart? Your suggestion.

Samantha: You have been doing events and you've been able to do that and look like a much bigger company than you are. Which is right because you have products that are just as good as your large competitors but you need to look as slick as those big competitors.

Obviously, the website is a good example of change. And your processes -  bringing in marketing automation. I've seen you personally grow in confidence as well.

Lynne: I do feel more confident now. I'm confident because I don't have to do all myself if you I'm confident because know that I've got people I can ask.

Samantha: Yeah, you feel confident to do that.

Lynne: Yes, rather than having to be confident my own skills to do everything.

Samantha: And confident that you've got a plan and feel more secure.

I was so delighted when you told me that you had made the decision to go the whole hog to HubSpot, because I think you were a little bit nervous going into ActiveCampaign and starting the marketing automation journey.

Lynne: Yes, because HubSpot is a much bigger investment than ActiveCampaign. We needed to take that baby step first. I would have worried about making that massive investment. I needed the experience with ActiveCampaign before I could make the big investment.

Samantha: And the other big change is that you were able to find someone as a marketing assistant, because you've got all that plan in place. You didn't need someone with my level of experience doing the day-to-day work anymore.

Lynne: Also, I hadn't worked with you the first time I was recruiting a marketing assistant, I wasn’t as clear what we needed. It's hard to recruit the right person if you don't know what you want. Yes. But then I was clearer because I had a better plan.

Samantha: And you found a fabulous marketing assistant.

Lynne: Yes, she's great! Then I was able to bring you in for strategy because now you know us. So, for example, recently, I had you in because I wanted your help on brand, which was something we were doing recently. And that was helpful because you just know us.

Samantha: Would you recommend Labrakita Marketing to other companies?

Lynne: Oh, yes, of course I would. Absolutely. Highly recommended. I would 100% recommend you.

Samantha: Brilliant. Thank you very much!