THE RESULTS AT A GLANCE
26%Average conversion from Demo View to MQL |
18 Minutesof view time before first call |
44%Conversion rate on top demo
|
16%MQL to SQL conversion |
400% increaseIn views on demo used in-app |
|
THE CHALLENGE
Gated Demos Create Customer Friction
Follett Software realized that while traditional "request a demo" forms captured lead data, they created friction by making prospects wait for information that could be immediately accessible. This reliance on static forms resulted in two primary challenges for the marketing and sales teams:
- Low-Quality MQLs: The standard demo request funnel failed to deeply educate prospects before passing them to sales, resulting in inefficient initial conversations.
- Customer Experience Gap: Prospects, especially those interested in detailed modules like the facilities suite, wanted instant access to product information. Forcing them to coordinate meetings for high-level content led to a poor, impersonal experience.
"People would so much rather have instant access to a high-level demo than have to request a meeting with a person, coordinate that meeting, and then go all the way through all of the hoops."
.png?width=75&height=75&name=Frame%2023%20(1).png)
Alyssa Laessig
Director of Growth Marketing | Follet Software
THE SOLUTION
Instant, Personalized Product Education
To solve the friction problem and leverage the success the sales team was already having with Consensus, Follett Software’s marketing team integrated Consensus directly into its demand generation engine.
Follett deployed Consensus across its core marketing channels to offer instant, on-demand engagement:
- Dual CTAs on Website: Follett implemented dual Calls to Action on product and landing pages, giving prospects the choice between "Watch a Demo" (Consensus) and "Speak with Sales" (Traditional Form). This immediately addressed the buyer friction issue.
- HubSpot Integration for Scoring: The marketing team leveraged the rich buyer interest data captured by Consensus, feeding it directly into HubSpot. This allowed them to filter leads based on engagement and customer profile before pushing only the most qualified prospects into Salesforce, greatly improving the MQL-to-SQL handoff efficiency.
- In-Product Activation: Follett strategically placed a link to a Consensus demo within a Pendo guide in their existing product ecosystem to highlight a new AI feature for current users, driving immediate feature adoption interest.
“The straightforward HubSpot integration allowed for effective filtering of unqualified marketing leads, enhancing lead scoring and campaign insights.”
Alyssa Laessig
Director of Growth Marketing | Follet Software
The Results
Highly Qualified Buyers Enter the Funnel
By prioritizing on-demand video demos, Follett accelerated its marketing funnel and drastically improved the quality of leads flowing to the sales team, demonstrating the buyer's preference for self-service product education.
Unprecedented Engagement and Intent
The deep level of engagement demonstrated by converting prospects proved that Consensus was delivering buyers ready to talk product specifics.
For one popular product suite, converting leads watched almost 18 minutes of product footage before ever speaking to a sales representative, confirming they arrive highly informed and motivated.
The Facilities Schedules Consensus demo also quickly became their best-performing asset, according to Laessig:
“The average view time for those who convert is almost 18 minutes... So, they've already watched 18 minutes of product footage before they get to the sales rep, which is amazing.”
Alyssa Laessig
Director of Growth Marketing | Follet Software
Superior Lead Quality and Volume
The data clearly shows that when given a choice, buyers prefer the Consensus experience, resulting in both higher volume and higher conversion rates than static forms.
The campaign placing a Consensus link inside their existing product via Pendo saw an immediate and huge return.
The ability to scale product education and give buyers what they want—instant access to tailored information—has established Consensus as a high-value driver of pipeline efficiency for Follett Software.
"All our best converting channels are the ones that have Consensus CTAs."
Alyssa Laessig
Director of Growth Marketing | Follet Software
Key Takeaways:
-
- Consensus optimizes the marketing funnel by replacing friction-filled forms with on-demand, high-converting video demos.
- Deep product engagement creates superior leads, delivering highly educated prospects to the sales team.
- In-product placement drives hyper-adoption, generating a massive spike in views for new features among existing users via tools like Pendo.
- The seamless HubSpot integration allows marketing to effectively score and filter leads, ensuring MQL quality drastically improves the sales pipeline.
