Automating the User Journey for Participants
Automations & Workflows
Challenge
The Future of Energy Challenge, run by Net Impact, invited graduate students and early-stage startups to submit technical solutions to issues such as carbon emissions. Because the program targeted a specialized audience and had multiple deadlines, we needed an automated way to move interested prospects from initial engagement to completed submissions.
Action
I built two connected Pardot Engagement Programs to guide prospects through the application journey.
The first program was triggered when someone completed an interest form. It automatically delivered the program brief, then ended and moved the prospect into the nurture campaign.
The second program used prospect behavior and program deadlines to nurture participants toward submission. I built the workflow around two key deadlines:
- Early-bird deadline: Encouraged participants to submit early so they could receive feedback from judges and improve their solution before the final deadline.
- Final deadline: Used deadline-driven reminders to encourage remaining prospects to complete their applications.
The nurture also highlighted the program’s $10,000 cash prize, which could provide seed funding for winning projects. Once someone submitted an application, the workflow automatically sent a thank-you email and removed them from further nurture communications.
The Pardot programs were connected to Salesforce, where participants were created as Program Participant records, keeping marketing automation and program participation data connected.
Result
The program generated approximately 400 brief downloads and 32 completed submissions, representing an 8% conversion from brief download to completed solution.