In early 2015, Qubole had been in market for four years with only 19 customers. Competitors outspent them on outbound marketing by five orders of magnitude, the product’s positioning was confused within the analyst community, and the sales team was blanketing the market indiscriminately — stretching a thin budget to breaking point. The Artesian Network was recruited as the interim marketing team and ran the engagement for roughly 18 months.
Key Results
- 5x increase in customers in three quarters
- Sales grew 600% year-over-year (per VP of Sales)
- $30M raise at a step-up valuation
- Named CNBC Top 50 Disruptor alongside Spotify, Uber, and Airbnb
- No. 127 on the Inc. 5000 with 3,165% three-year sales growth
The Challenge
Qubole had a genuinely differentiated cloud-native big data platform, but four years into its market life, nearly everything around the product was working against it. The company had only 19 customers. Competitors — well-funded, heavily marketed incumbents — outspent Qubole on outbound marketing by five orders of magnitude. The product’s positioning was confused within the analyst community, making it hard for buyers to place Qubole in a category they understood. And the sales team, lacking a clear ideal customer profile, was blanketing the market indiscriminately — burning through a thin budget on prospects that were never going to close.
What We Did
Operating as Qubole’s interim marketing leadership, The Artesian Network developed a targeted “baited hook” approach:
- Developed a carefully crafted Ideal Customer Profile built on 25 variables, then built a data model ranking the top 5,000 companies in North America and identifying the 400 that matched.
- Adjusted messaging and positioning to lead with the business outcomes Qubole’s platform delivered — not the technical architecture underneath it.
- Clarified company positioning with analysts, resolving the category confusion that had made it hard for enterprise buyers to evaluate Qubole against the competition.
- Ignored prospects outside the ICP, conserving resources and focusing every dollar of a thin budget on the accounts most likely to close.
The Outcome
Changes from the new messaging and positioning were visible within four months. Sales inflected almost immediately. In just three quarters, the company closed the year with a 5x increase in customers. The VP of Sales reported 600% year-over-year sales growth. In January 2016, Qubole closed $30M in financing at a multiple of previous valuations.
The company went on to become one of the most awarded in its industry. In 2017, Qubole placed No. 127 on the Inc. 5000 with three-year sales growth of 3,165%, and was named a CNBC Top 50 Disruptor alongside Spotify, Uber, and Airbnb. With a full-time marketing team recruited, The Artesian Network concluded its engagement in September 2016.