Uplifting engagement in global markets via Digital Transformation
Company: Sabre, travel software provider for airlines, hotels, and travel agencies worldwide
My role: Digital Marketing Lead from start to finish working cross-functionally and with agencies
Project summary
Context
- Lack of growth globally
- Need to keep up with competition
- Reduced digital presence
- No unified vision, digital strategy
Objective
- Drive Digital Transformation to ensure increased brand perception and engagement across target audience
Challenges
- Legacy & outdated design with >1K old pages
- 80+ products, 10 audiences
- Limited measurement
- Lack of collaboration with developers
Roadmap
- Analysed problems
- Set KPIs, developed digital marketing strategy (Web, Content, SEO, PPC)
- Implemented improvements roadmap in 8 months
Outcomes & key metrics
Engagement on product pages
Relevant Organic traffic
Clicks from Paid channels
Improved NPS / brand perception
Impact:
- High engagement growth on product portfolio pages 4% > 46%
- Increased online visibility, +31% of non-branded Organic traffic
- Improved ROI on Paid Marketing campaigns with x2 more clicks and decreased bounce rates
- Improved UX, brand perception and awareness globally
- Unified digital strategy and alignment with key stakeholders
3 things I’ve learnt:
- Partnerships with Developers and Product teams are valuable for unlocking opportunities
- Speaking our customers' language is crucial
- Change management is a time-consuming process; it's essential to allocate extra time for education and training when implementing new technology or processes
Before & after: delivering impactful improvements
Product portfolio pages optimization led to x10 higher engagement
All products page optimization led to reduced bounce rate 92% > 45%
"It’s been great to have Ksenia part of the team, and I admire how she is driving a better digital experience for our customers and helps uncover critical insights."
- Marketing Leadership Team, Sabre
From concept to completion: visualizing project evolution
Developing customer digital touchpoint map to prioritise roadmap actions with highest impact
Optimising website navigation to streamline customer journeys and increase engagement
Developing dashboards and reports to enable A/B testing, insights and data-driven actions
Developing SEO strategy with prioritisation of technical and content fixes for quick wins
SEO optimizations led to overall 31% increase of Organic search traffic share outperforming main competitor
How I achieved results step-by-step
Data gathering and analysis:
- Conducted interviews with Product and Customer Marketing teams to understand requirements, business objectives
- Reviewed analytical platforms and identified gaps and opportunities for informed decision-making (migrating to GA4, UTM fix, Hotjar, Semrush)
- Developed personas and refined product hierarchy (80+ products)
- Deployed customized surveys via Hotjar to gather real-time customer feedback
- Conducted website audit to identify navigation & usability issues
UX and engagement enhancement:
- Streamlined navigation and product discovery path
- Updated design/layout of key pages for more engaging experience
- Oversaw micro-sites migration to the main platform
- Developed and implemented SEO strategy with focus on content to improve online visibility and attract more relevant traffic
- Refined paid marketing strategy to increase customer reach optimising budget, target audiences, channel mix, keywords, creative and ads (Google Ads, LinkedIn)
Implementation and collaboration:
- Fostered team leadership and cross-functional collaboration cultivating a strong partnership with Development Team
- Managed relationships with agencies ensuring quality delivery
- Created and discussed roadmaps considering resources/timelines
- Implemented clear processes to increase team efficiency
- Conducted trainings for 40+ marketers on new tools and processes, fostering a culture of innovation and learning
Optimization and continuous improvement:
- Established key digital KPIs and benchmarks, developing monthly performance templates for campaigns with a focus on test-and-learn approach
- Identified and rectified structural and reporting errors in PPC strategy for optimal ROI
- Consistently monitored performance, including A/B testing and customer feedback
Insights from those I've worked with
"I’m grateful for Ksenia’s partnership with Product Marketing and constantly pushing our team to be more data driven on our marketing tactics.“
“Ksenia’s drive to modernize our ways of working (and respectfully challenge the old ways) is greatly appreciated. She’s helping us improve, inspiring to embrace new tactics.”
- Sr Managers from Product & Content Marketing Teams
