How StarTree Achieved a 3.17x Conversion Rate Boost in Pipeline Generation

StarTree is a leading real-time, user-facing analytics company that enables customers to derive advanced insights from both real-time and historical data. The company was founded by the core software engineering team and inventors of Apache Pinot™, which currently powers hundreds of user-facing applications at companies across industries, including LinkedIn, Uber, Target, 7Eleven, Etsy, Walmart, WePay, Factual, Weibo, and more. Their fully managed Database-as-a-Service product, StarTree Cloud, has enabled even more companies to deploy and operate real-time analytics at scale. This includes companies such as Stripe, Sovrn, Razorpay, Roadie, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Dialpad, Guitar Center, and Moveworks among others.

StarTree is a rapidly expanding Silicon Valley start-up that has raised $47 million in a Series B round led by GGV Capital with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and CRV, bringing the company’s total investment to over $75 million.

To drive a tangible impact on revenue, StarTree’s marketing team needed to align with sales on the audience. However, this strategy posed two key challenges, including:

• Identifying and targeting only decision-makers who matched their ICP, eliminating ad budget waste on contacts who are not within the buying group and won't convert. 
• Providing the sales team with actionable ad engagement data to help prioritize outreach.

Initially, StarTree encountered a common roadblock: traditional ABM platforms still lack desired precision. Targeting entire accounts meant reaching irrelevant individuals, diluting both messaging and budget. That's where contact-level advertising comes into play.

StarTree’s program consisted of three equally important layers – advertising to the same people that sales are going after, creating personalized journeys for each buyer, and providing sales with prospect engagement signals so that they could prioritize outreach.

To make sure StarTree’s ads reached the prospects that salespeople were trying to convert, marketing aligned with sales on the target audience. Contacts from high-priority accounts were pulled directly from Salesforce and passed to Influ2. This included both cold accounts and active pipeline.

To match StarTree's ICP, the target audience must meet the following parameters:

With the target audience established, StarTree’s marketing team prepared a variety of content pieces and used Influ2 to deliver them across different platforms. Recognizing that prospects see and engage with ads at their own pace, StarTree created personalized buyer’s journeys. 

The journey consisted of three stages – top, middle, and bottom of the funnel – with at least two creatives at each stage. When a prospect interacts with an ad on one stage, they're seamlessly moved to the next one, ensuring a smooth and relevant experience.

Here’s a more detailed overview of the granular buyer’s journey created by StarTree:

• Top of the Funnel – Content showcasing different value propositions, designed to build awareness among the target buying groups. These value propositions are coupled with educational content designed to provide prospects with valuable insights.

• Middle of the Funnel – Focused on delivering comprehensive Use Cases and Case Studies that aim to provide their target audience with deeper insights into the practical applications of their product and showcase real-world scenarios where they have successfully assisted others within their specific industry or space.

• Bottom of the Funnel – Ad messages tailored to convert the target audience by inviting them to free consultations and sales/architect-led product demos.

StarTree’s GTM team has created a flow where sales team members get Salesforce notifications about each ad click or 15+ ad impressions. These notifications contain detailed information about who’s engaged with the ad and which content sparked their interest. Sales then uses this data to send relevant outreach at the right moment. 

“Influ2 allows us to be a true partner to our sales team by warming up key prospects, so they can focus their expertise where it matters most – nurturing connections and closing deals.” - Megan Ayala, Demand Generation Manager at StarTree.

Here’s an example of how Influ2 contributed to building a relationship with a prominent S&P 100 multinational retail corporation. With the integration of Influ2, StarTree successfully executed a targeted ad campaign and obtained a click and a visit from the corporation. Within a few weeks, the corporation came inbound, and the opportunity was created.

Influ2 allowed StarTree’s GTM teams to align on the target audience and streamline contact-level intent. The marketing team was able to create personalized ad journeys for each prospect at scale. And with ad engagement signals, the sales team could focus their effort on the most promising accounts.

The new process translated to a significant boost in pipeline generation. Compared to cold outreach, StarTree achieved a 3.17x increase in conversion rates for new opportunities that were influenced by ads.