Sprinklr
““We were growing faster than the emotional heart could process. Feeling disconnected to our colleagues in a way video calls couldn’t satisfy. We just needed to see, to hear, to feel we were on the same team. Turns out our customers felt this way, too.”
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Result
$80MM to $4.1B at IPO
Business Challenge
That was then, now is now. Back in 2012, just three years after birthing his idea in his entrepreneurial “garage” (a room in his house), Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO, had gained foothold in building a stunning and timely software to apply to the rising business use of social media. Sprinklr was at $80MM valuation and a few hundred employees. Ever the brand champion, Ragy recognized he and leadership had underwhelmed in telling its story more powerfully to enterprise customers, investors and internally to build its culture.
Customer Insight
Sprinklr was, as most tech companies were and continue to be, more tech-speak than human voice. So, decision makers and influencers weren’t connecting with the brand on a human, emotional level, where all evidence, including neuroscience, showed any purchase decision begins and grows.
I asked Ragy and leadership two “dumb” elephant-in-the-room questions: “What’s most important, Trust or Respect?” and “What Business Are You Really In?” After listening, really listening to customers. And digging deeper into real strategic conversation, I answered (and showed neuroscience evidence) that 1. Trust comes before Respect. And, to my own branding brain, 2. Sprinklr was not just another company in the business of technology. It was in the business of Knowing something More Trustworthy …about the most important investor on the planet. The customer.
Brand Position/Strategy
Know thy Customer. So you can serve them better, so they can know and trust you — to make them happier. The positioning of knowing a person better was simple and touched on a larger truth: people just want to be happier at every step of “getting a job done” in life. It inspired conversation and built real relationships with customers and internally across all departments. Building a simple Trust (warmth) in Sprinklr as people and ethos, before asking for Respect for its technology.
Brand/Marketing Creative
1. Mission, core values, brand position
2. Internal/Culture building, office design
3. Real-customer videos
4. Real-customer artifacts
5. Product Videos
Many of the customer/investor “touchpoints” were purposely not digital; artifacts and other experiences through which people could touch and feel the brand, hand to heart to brain.
janzlotnick@gmail.com or call/text +1 973-454-8536