How Superhuman created its loyal fanbase — Seiyonne Suriyakumar // Superhuman

Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing at Superhuman, talks about identifying personas that will convert into loyal customers. The idea of building an email tool to improve the established email experience is intimidating, but Superhuman's open and excited approach created an intriguing story. Seven-plus years later, Superhuman has built a dedicated fan base and become a respected name in the technology community. Today, Seiyonne discusses how Superhuman created its loyal fan base.
About the speaker

Seiyonne Suriyakumar

Superhuman

 - Superhuman

Seiyonne is the Head of Marketing at Superhuman

Show Notes

  • 02:06
    How Superhuman created its loyal fan base
    From the start, Superhuman prioritized customer experience and sought to create a product that delivers the value they say it does. By providing a tool that helps users and feel different from existing options, Superhuman successfully built a loyal following.
  • 05:10
    Superhuman's concierge onboarding approach
    In the early days, Superhuman used a waiting list approach to provide one-to-one concierge onboarding. Customers had the opportunity to spend 30 minutes with a Superhuman productivity expert, and they continue to provide one-on-one time with new customers today.
  • 07:29
    Making the transition to a product led version of one to one concierge onboarding
    After several people expressed that they didnt want to wait to schedule a 30-minute onboarding, Superhuman launched a self-service option. Today, they've expanded from just one-on-one human onboarding to entirely self-serve group onboarding sessions.
  • 09:33
    Superhuman's thought process behind its onboarding and acceptance system
    Initially, Superhuman did not support Microsoft Outlook, so they asked potential customers about their email system beforehand to prevent disappointment. Theyve also created a loyal fan base by following up with customers about feature requests when they've built them.
  • 11:38
    Marketing tactics to build loyalty in your fan base
    Superhuman was able to build its loyal fan base by meeting customers where they live on social and responding to customer feedback. Their product also provides moments of delight like Inbox Zero and customers are very involved in the product and the addition of new features.
  • 16:20
    How word of mouth and customer advocacy facilitated Superhuman's growth
    Superhuman built a viral following due to a strong fit with their ideal customer profile, by taking a unique approach to building features, and being vocal at events and conferences. Today, word of mouth continues to be their largest acquisition channel.

Quotes

  • "The first piece of building a loyal and excited fan base is giving people something that, at its core, they like using, that helps them that feels like it's intentional and well built." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "In the early days, Rahul would visit people at their offices. Hed bring his laptop, and he would spend 30, 40, 50, sometimes an hour or two, with them going through their email habits." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "If you email superhuman with the feature you want, and we don't have it, we actually log that. And then we follow up when we've built it. Sometimes that might take three to six months." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "The act of meeting customers where they live is super important. When you combine that with a product experience, it presents these small moments of delight for a customer." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "Customers get this small dose of delight whenever they hit inbox zero because we want them to feel accomplished. We want them to feel that they've mastered that day." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "When you think about a loyal fan base, and a fan base that loves to talk about you, giving them a reason to talk is one of the most important things." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "One of the ways we think about product development is that, it's not just about what you build, it's about how you build it." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

  • "Today, word of mouth is the single largest way that people hear about and come to Superhuman, even seven plus years down the road." -Seiyonne Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing, Superhuman

About the speaker

Seiyonne Suriyakumar

Superhuman

 - Superhuman

Seiyonne is the Head of Marketing at Superhuman

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