Mastering Lifecycle Marketing: Real-World Tactics from Leading B2B Teams

#253 Lifecycle Marketing | In this episode, we’re joined by two expert lifecycle marketers: Charlotte Hardin, Lifecycle Marketing Manager at Rebuy Engine, and Naomi West, Senior Product Manager at Customer.io. Charlotte and Naomi bring years of hands-on experience running email, onboarding, and retention programs inside B2B SaaS companies.

They break down how B2B teams can use lifecycle marketing to drive more revenue, boost product engagement, and strengthen customer relationships, without needing a massive team.

Charlotte and Naomi cover:

• How top B2B teams build high-performing welcome sequences, and why they’re constantly worth revisiting
• The role of experimentation and how to prioritize AB tests that deliver learnings (even with small audiences)
• Strategic ways to keep users engaged post-onboarding, including behavior-based triggers and surprise-and-delight moments

Timestamps

• (00:00) - – Intro
• (03:45) - – Meet Charlotte and Naomi
• (05:30) - – How they define lifecycle marketing
• (07:15) - – What they’ve changed their minds about recently
• (10:25) - – Plain text vs. designed emails
• (12:15) - – Their frameworks for experimentation
• (14:45) - – How to test in low-volume environments
• (17:05) - – Common mistakes in A/B testing
• (18:15) - – What a day in lifecycle marketing looks like
• (20:25) - – How they (actually) use AI in their workflows
• (24:15) - – Building a reporting foundation for lifecycle
• (28:20) - – Naomi’s example of measuring aha moments
• (30:20) - – Quick definitions of lifecycle marketing
• (31:50) - – Tips for writing lifecycle campaigns that actually matter
• (32:20) - – Favorite lifecycle campaigns they’ve run
• (34:20) - – Why revamping welcome flows is always worth it
• (36:20) - - Frameworks they use for building new flows
• (39:20) - – What to do *after* onboarding ends
• (40:50) - – Using behavior-based triggers and milestones
• (42:50) - – Surprise and delight moments in B2B
• (44:20) - – Creating assets with a lean team
• (47:20) - – Systems and templates that save time
• (49:20) - – Navigating multi-year sales cycles with lifecycle content
• (52:20) - – Why benchmarks are often misleading
• (54:20) - – Final advice: audit often, talk to your team, and keep learning
• (56:20) - – Wrap-up and where to find Naomi and Charlotte

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:

Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link.

Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn more at vector.co, and get on the waitlist for their new MCP server by clicking here. 

Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

• They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
• Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
• Visit hatch.fm to learn more