GrowthSpree’s Co-founder on Leveraging Data, AI, and Team Dynamics

Let’s address the elephant in the room: No marketing campaign performs equally well as the others. But does that mean we stop experimenting? 

Numbers do the real talking in marketing, and a brand’s growth is defined by the growing metrics on the spreadsheet. So, how much trust should we place in data amidst the unpredictable tides of the industry? 

“Mapping marketing efforts to revenue is crucial for measuring success,” says Ishan Manchanda, co-founder of GrowthSpree. But how do we measure whether a campaign is successful, and should we continue doing it? And what trends should we look out for to prepare for success in the future? 

In my recent interaction with Ishan, he answers all these questions and more. He talks about his journey, his amazing co-founders, the importance of first-party intent data, and upcoming marketing trends that we must look out for. 

This interview is part of G2’s Professional Spotlight series. For more content like this, subscribe to G2 Tea, a newsletter with SaaS-y news and entertainment.  

Deep Dives with Ishan Manchanda

Let’s begin by talking about your journey. Could you share the story behind GrowthSpree and the role your co-founders played in its journey?

I did one job at a startup right after my MBA in 2017. I could last only three months because, in the back of my mind, I had already started planning my own company with one of my four co-founders. I met him during an internship where he was my manager.

Initially, we started a marketing institute where we taught digital marketing. From 2018 to 2020, we struggled to develop EdTech products without success. But then, as our other co-founders joined us, we shifted our focus in 2020 to establishing a marketing agency. The same year, as more and more software as a service (SaaS) opportunities emerged, we found our niche in working with such companies. And that’s how GrowthSpree took off. 

One co-founder, Kushagra, whom I met during an internship, now leads our RevOps division, handling HubSpot and Salesforce implementations, as well as finance, critical client operations, and team management. Our third co-founder, Nilesh, joined us when we moved to Delhi. We got together and started building products.

Our fourth co-founder, Malav, joined in 2020, coinciding with our shift to a marketing agency. He began leading the agency while we continued product development, which eventually defined our focus as a group.

Having four co-founders is a blessing because when I’m in frustrating situations, I can always reach out to them and vent, and they would have their own side of stories. It allows us to share and divide challenges and support each other. Our dynamic thrives on honesty, open communication, and addressing issues head-on. We value a candid relationship, understanding the importance of compromise, and attentive listening to ensure our teamwork succeeds.

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In one of your LinkedIn posts, you talked about how nothing surpasses data. How does GrowthSpree leverage data analytics to enhance their clients’ marketing efforts?

I think nothing is more important today than data to make more informed decisions, be it in marketing or any other field. As an agency, we differentiate ourselves by leveraging data to build intelligence and drive decision-making.

“While many marketing agencies exist, those that effectively utilize data truly stand out.”

Ishan Manchanda
Co-founder, GrowthSpree

We use a lot of tools because they are crucial for our work with SaaS companies. Our foundational stack includes Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for tracking engagement metrics, while HubSpot serves as our central source of truth. We use Microsoft Clarity or a hot jar on the website to get qualitative data from it We use Factors.ai, which has come into the picture recently, helping us get first-party intent data. 

Although final analyses sometimes occur in Google Sheets, we strive to maximize HubSpot's potential, setting up comprehensive dashboards and reporting systems early in our client engagements. This allows all stakeholders to access and visualize the entire funnel, transforming raw data into actionable insights.

Our expertise in data-driven infrastructure and intelligence is one of our strongest assets.

With all this data talk, we cannot leave out AI. So, what role does AI play in GrowthSpree's marketing strategy, and how do you foster it?

For us, I think client operations is one area where AI plays a crucial role. And AI is everywhere. Whatever tools we're using, have created, or are planning to create, have an AI layer on top of them. At its core, ChatGPT stands out for me, especially in its premium version, for generating comprehensive reports and strategy documents and guiding content creation.

Beyond these, automation tools like Clay enable efficient scaling, and SendSpark facilitates video messaging at scale. One compelling AI application involves improving demo call attendance. Typically scheduling usually results in no-shows despite email reminders. To address this, we've deployed a two-way interactive AI voice agent that automatically contacts leads within 24 hours, conducting interactive qualification calls. This proactive approach has effectively reduced no-shows and improved engagement.

While we rely on AI a lot for our everyday tasks, we do not believe in doing so completely. We monitor everything on our own and use AI features to enhance our existing efforts.

“While AI is transformative, it's essential not to rely solely on it but rather integrate it thoughtfully to complement human efforts."

Ishan Manchanda
Co-founder, GrowthSpree

As you mentioned, your interactive voice agent has reduced no-shows. Was there a marketing campaign that was especially challenging and needed a creative solution?

I believe challenges depend on how you look at them. For us, a challenging campaign can be the client being adamant about something and us being adamant about something else. For instance, this one campaign that I tried out was a little out of the box for us. We typically rely on emails and LinkedIn to send out messages, but I attempted something unconventional by sending handwritten letters. I carefully curated a list and manually wrote each letter, believing this personal touch would make a strong impact. Unfortunately, the campaign failed.

The main issues were difficulties locating accurate addresses, compounded by remote work policies that left offices unoccupied. Additionally, even when tracked, the letters often ended up with security rather than the intended people. This experience highlighted the critical importance of planning and execution.

Looking back, I realized that it did not work out because it was different from how we usually did things, even though we put a lot of time and effort into it. I learned that not every idea easily translates into execution. Also, in this day and age, we naturally lean towards ideas that are easier to implement on a digital platform. Consequently, this campaign taught me to thoroughly plan each step and consider logistical challenges upfront to avoid wasted effort and ensure a greater chance of success.

“While innovative ideas are valuable, their success hinges on meticulous execution.”

Ishan Manchanda
Co-founder, GrowthSpree

What do you think are the most effective ways to measure the success of a marketing campaign?

For a long time, marketing has often been disconnected from direct revenue impact. However,  we are very clear that even when we engage with the client, we emphasize that our ultimate key performance indicator (KPI) is not just delivering marketing qualified leads (MQL) and sales-qualified leads (SQL) but owning the revenue pipeline.

In any SaaS company, it's crucial to align marketing efforts with revenue generation. We use HubSpot to map the journey from initial interactions, such as a LinkedIn ad, to actual deals. This setup allows us to track which campaigns contribute to revenue generation despite attribution challenges. Multiple such use cases can help you set up your infrastructure and your reporting to get a full-funnel visualization.

While attribution remains a complex issue, with multiple touchpoints influencing conversions, tools like HubSpot enable us to create custom reports and attribution models. These help us recognize the impact of various touchpoints, whether it's a LinkedIn ad, a blog post, or an email. Especially in mid-market enterprises, where numerous interactions occur before a conversion, understanding our role in the customer journey is vital.

The key is ensuring all data flows into a unified system, leading to a comprehensive end-to-end funnel visualization. This approach provides a clearer measure of marketing success compared to isolated metrics like impressions or clicks, which don't necessarily reflect business impact. 

What emerging marketing trends do you think companies should be paying attention to over the next few years?

I feel the traditional ways of doing things are somehow becoming obsolete. For example, a straightforward outbound does not work anymore. People want results faster with less effort, which is not something you can achieve by doing things the traditional way. So, upcoming tools and engaging in new software to maximize productivity will definitely be a priority in the coming years. 

In the SaaS and B2B space, face-to-face events are becoming increasingly popular. They offer value that virtual events cannot replicate, and these in-person interactions help build credibility in an internet-saturated world.

First-party intent data is also picking up really well in the industry. Tools like Factors.ai and other players are instrumental in identifying potential interest directly from target accounts, whether through website visits or product page interactions. Leveraging this data makes current marketing channels far more effective.

Also, AI is not going anywhere and plays an essential role in transforming operations by automating manual tasks, similar to how machines evolved during the Industrial Revolution. This shift allows businesses to focus more on strategic thinking, understanding audiences, and providing business context, which will become increasingly important.

Last but not least, can you share some tips for marketers looking to enhance customer engagement in a digital-first world?

There’s one piece of advice I give young marketers, regardless of their industry or their profile: the importance of acquiring diverse knowledge. 

This advice isn't exclusive to marketing; it's vital for anyone aiming to understand the world. Just go on LinkedIn and read about a certain topic with 10 different narratives from 10 different people who've done really well in the industry. I think having all these different perspectives about different things is very important, which comes in through exposing yourself to a lot of information and knowledge. 

It's also important to recognize that content is not absolute truth; instead, you should synthesize information to construct your own interpretations. 

And when I say information, I mean everything because marketing is about so many things. 

Take this example: understanding the Russia-Ukraine war can be crucial. You might notice your Google Ads CPC is suddenly skyrocketing. You've been doing a root cause analysis to understand why using core Google search campaigns. But you're not able to find an answer because the answer is a socioeconomic factor: the war. This example tells us that unless you're exposed to everything, you will not be able to figure out why certain things are happening.

Talking to people about diverse topics — geographies, cultures, and social trends — enriches your perspective. So, if you're able to sit in a random group and manage to have a conversation with them, I think that should be the aim. If you are able to do that, you will be fine everywhere.

Follow Ishan Manchanda on LinkedIn to keep yourself updated on the upcoming marketing trends and best strategies.

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