Martech Edge Interview with Michelle Huff, Chief Marketing Officer, UserTesting

Hi Michelle, please share your journey and milestones that culminated in you being the UserTesting CMO. 

My journey to becoming UserTesting’s CMO has been shaped by over two decades of strategic marketing and product management experience. From my time at Act-On Software, where I led the successful launch of a new company vision which drove record growth, to my roles at Salesforce and Oracle, where I honed my skills in understanding diverse markets, enterprise value selling, and scaling businesses – every step has been a milestone. Throughout my career, I've held firm to the belief that human insights are key to building exceptional customer experiences. This belief has guided me as I've led product teams, crafted marketing campaigns, and driven go-to-market strategies. Today, as the CMO of UserTesting, I'm excited to continue this journey by strengthening our brand, driving revenue growth, and fostering deep customer engagement and loyalty—all fueled by the power of human-centered insights.

How does UserTesting differentiate itself in providing comprehensive experience research solutions compared to other platforms?

UserTesting sets itself apart in the experience research market by delivering rapid, human-centric insights that enable companies to make informed decisions pre-launch. We focus on providing an end-to-end solution that empowers businesses to understand their customers deeply and quickly. Our approach leverages the power of human insights to simulate actual customer interactions and feedback, making our data not only robust but also immediately actionable. This speed in gathering and deploying insights is critical in today’s fast-paced markets and is a cornerstone of our service.

Additionally, UserTesting is recognized as an industry leader, trusted by 75 of the Fortune 100 companies. This reputation is built on our ability to provide comprehensive solutions that cover every stage of product development—from ideation through to final launch. Our platform's strength lies in its ability to seamlessly integrate into any company’s workflow, enhancing their capability to test, iterate, and launch products that are well-tuned to meet customer demands and exceed their expectations.

What are the key benefits of leveraging human insight provided by UserTesting compared to relying solely on user behavior tracking or customer listening data?

Leveraging human insight through UserTesting offers several key advantages, particularly when used in conjunction with user behavior tracking and customer listening data. Our platform enriches traditional quantitative methods by providing a deeper understanding of user intentions, preferences, and emotions. This comprehensive approach goes beyond mere metrics to uncover the "why" behind user actions, offering rich qualitative feedback that helps businesses identify specific issues within their products, tailor offerings to user feedback, and detect emerging trends early on.

Many of our customers integrate UserTesting’s insights with traditional data sources like A/B testing, behavioral analytics, and customer data. This hybrid approach fosters a robust testing and experimentation culture within organizations, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions. By combining these methods, companies can not only validate hypotheses and optimize experiences based on real user feedback but also enhance their product design and strategy continuously.

UserTesting’s human-centered approach prioritizes empathy and customer-centricity, empowering companies to craft user and customer experiences that resonate authentically and drive loyalty. By offering a direct link to real users’ feedback and voices, we enable businesses to anticipate evolving needs, stay ahead of competitors, and deliver transparent experiences that inspire customer trust and satisfaction. This strategic integration of human insight with quantitative data sources is what helps our clients lead in their markets.

You wrote an article on “British FCA's Consumer Duty mandate”. Could you share some key insights from the article?

The British FCA Consumer Duty mandate, while appearing as a set of localized regulations, has profound implications for businesses worldwide. This mandate acts as a customer care manifesto, urging companies to prioritize the needs of customers and to embed customer-centric values into their organizational culture. As a CMO, I recognize the mandate's explicit call to action for businesses to provide accessible customer support and effective communication throughout their operations. It’s not solely about compliance; it's about urging businesses to evolve and place exceptional customer care and experience at the forefront of their priorities.

Additionally, it’s important to note the broader context of such regulatory initiatives. Similar to many regulatory trends that originate in Europe, the principles of the Consumer Duty are likely to influence policies in the U.S. and other regions. This pattern of regulatory influence suggests that businesses, regardless of their geographical location, should prepare to adapt to similar standards, which could become global norms. This foresight into compliance can provide a competitive advantage by anticipating changes and proactively enhancing customer relationships, making businesses not just compliant but also leaders in customer experience.

What marketing approach do you follow in terms with Demand Generation? How do you align it with your marketing strategies?

My approach to Demand Generation is structured around fostering close collaboration among our sales, customer success, partner, and marketing teams, particularly within the dynamic context of the SaaS industry. We strategically organize our sales and business development teams to capture valuable data and nurture qualified leads effectively, enriching our pipeline. It's crucial for us to leverage the evolving data landscape and market insights for a more accurate understanding of our position, moving beyond solely qualitative measures which can sometimes lead to incorrect assumptions.

Moreover, our Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is tailored to accommodate a diverse range of businesses—from startups and mid-size organizations to large global entities. This broad targeting requires a sophisticated Demand Generation machine that not only supports traditional lead generation but also incorporates Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and enablement programs that significantly influence our pipeline. By integrating these elements, we ensure that our marketing efforts are not only comprehensive but also highly effective in driving demand and enhancing customer engagement across various market segments worldwide.

What future does the Martech industry hold regarding digital and customer experience?

The future of the Martech industry in relation to digital and customer experience is rapidly transforming. As the world becomes increasingly digital, customer experiences are not only moving online but also becoming more integrated with real-world interactions. In this evolving landscape, marketing teams are enhancing their capabilities by incorporating developer skill sets and centralizing operations to avoid system overlaps and disjointed customer experiences. This shift is evident in the rising budgets for CMOs, often surpassing those of IT departments, as investments surge in technologies that enhance end-to-end customer journeys.

In the B2B sector, account-based marketing is becoming a critical focus, with an increasing reliance on tools for testing and AI to drive scalability and deepen customer connections. As digital strategies become more integral to customer interactions, marketers are fostering cultures of continuous experimentation and learning. The "test and learn" approach, coupled with the broader adoption of generative AI technologies, is being applied across numerous points in the customer journey and throughout the Martech stack, indicating a future where marketing and technology not only intersect but work in concert to create more personalized and impactful customer experiences. This convergence is set to redefine the efficiency of operations and the effectiveness of customer engagement in the Martech space.